Why is marijuana illegal in the United States?
-nobody wants to make it legal to drive & toke
-nobody advocates kids smoking reefer
-remember why alcohol prohibition was overturned
-think about how much federal money would be saved if marijuana offenders weren’t jailed
-and think about how much federal money would be made if marijuana was sold with a ‘sin tax’, like alcohol and tobacco, plus the creation of many more jobs.
—some think it is illegal because it BURNS BRAIN CELLS or causes insanity. (this is fear propaganda, look up results… less damage than tobacco or alcohol & only minimally addictive in heavy users)
—some people think it is because the government can’t TAX weed.
1937 Marihuana Tax Act, (levied a tax equaling roughly one dollar on anyone who dealt commercially in cannabis, hemp or marijuana. a $2000 and five years’ imprisonment was given for anyone dealing weed without a Tax Stamp. No tax stamps were issued.)
STEVE.. its not tax!
Convention on Psychotropic Substances in the late 60’s didn’t include wacky weed
United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances in 1988:
T]he policy of prohibiting drugs, based on the UN Conventions of 1961, 1971 and 1988, is the true cause of the increasing damage that the production of, trafficking in, and sale and use of illegal substances are inflicting on whole sectors of society, on the economy and on public institutions, eroding the health, freedom and life of individuals.
(the united states ignored that and decided to keep throwing money at the drug problem, including marijuana)
I’m with you,buddy.
Tax!
Edit: Sure it was in the beginning. But the government created a propaganda machine in the years in which it became illegal in order to demonize it.
Because a lot of burnt out pot heads go on to Heroin and Crack and then the taxpayers have to spend millions paying for their medical or funeral.
It is too easy to grow, and they can’t tax it like cigarettes and alcohol.
because the government did a really really good job at spreading its anti marijuana propaganda back in the 20s and 30s. the fear they instilled by stating complete and total lies about its affects such as it causing insanity, promiscuity, and violent and uncontrollable behavior has persisted to this day and the vast majority of the public remains ignorant of the true affects of marijuana.
thank “Reefer Madness” and the like films of its day.
and thank politicians fearful of what an educated informed public population would do.
The great depression
corporations lobbying against it
jobs
racism
there is much money to be made on the war on drugs.
No sense for me to go into detail,you seem to have your own answer.
It was an oblique attack against the Twinkie; the Twinkie was once mentioned to have a shelf life of at least 20 yrs, and this rumor caused damage to the Twinkie reputation.
Hostess had to be vindicated.
Because I don’t want to be around a bunch of giggling idiots.
Civil liability. We have alcohol tests that can determine the level in a person’s blood, indicating recency and quantity of use. Not so with mj.
Put some money where your mouth is and fund researchers who can develop a cheap reliable test.
ADDED: Here’s the scenerio: A young man is pulled over for not wearing a seat-belt. The officer detects the smell of mj and observes the behavior of the young man (nervous or shaky–who isn’t?). He takes him into custody. When they get him into custody, another officer, this one “highly trained” in detecting substance impairment conducts a series of tests, similar to field sobriety tests. When that officer makes the determination that the suspect is impaired, blood tests are done. Happens every day across the land. IF that young man had smoked 24 days ago, he’d still be charged with DUI.
The main reason was to protect the cotton farmers. They used Pancho Villa as the bad guy to enact the law outlawing marijuana in any form. Before this hemp was used for clothes, rope, and other items that cotton was fighting for. The Southern states were able to get this passed to keep their main cash crop around.
When it was prohibited, the majority of users were black. It is a remnant of the KKK mentality on our law books.
because the timber, paper, cotton and other industries were threatened by the multiple, superior uses of hemp in paper, clothes and so on. Before that period, it was widely grown and used for sacks, rope and more. Minus the THC.
The conglomerates with power sought a way to take them out of the equation and did so by starting in small, very religious areas and having its evils spoonfed by the religious. It took some time to get rolling and the result is what we see today, its illegality. It is far more promising than many will ever admit, cheaper, quicker to reproduce and much more tolerant, again, minus the THC.
Around the turn of the 20th century, hemp was commonplace and a necessity as was cocaine found in the local drug store and so on for many other items now “illegal”.
I believe the time is near for things to change. With the so called global warming, it makes more sense to use a diverse crop for the many things it is possible for and slow the cutting of forests, which take generations to repopulate and contribute to the oxygen, atmospheric cleansing we have obliterated.
There is no intelligent, sensible reason for marijuana to be illegal. Period.
Some reasons.
-The brewers and distillers don’t want competition.
– A lot of ignorrant people in power (and their constituents) still think ‘Reefer Madness’ is cutting edge documentary.
-Many still cling to the ‘Gateway’ argument – even though its been proven untrue and youth almost always use alcohol and/or tobacco BEFORE experimenting with weed.
-Many law enforcement groups cling to these outdated perspectives and like the budgets and toys they get to fight pot as part of the war on drugs.
*Many countries – or states and provinces within countries – have made pot legal, decriminalized, or de facto legal.
NONE of them have shown corelating increase in crime, heavy drug use, or a collapse of the social order.
I don’t smoke but I say, “Live and let smoke.” There’s bigger problems in this world.
No idea…other than the fact that we’re a puritanical society. Why is it ‘immoral’ to see a woman’s breast on TV, but seeing someone get their brains blown out is just peachy. My way of thinking; few things are more intimate than a person’s guts or a ‘fake’ snuff film.
I recently read this fascinating article that answers your question.
http://blogs.salon.com/0002762/stories/2003/12/22/whyIsMarijuanaIllegal.html
Interesting to note that in one time in this country, it was illegal for farmers NOT to grow marijuana. 🙂
Marijuana should be legalized without question.
Legalization has nothing to do with the effects of marijuana, if it did, cigarettes would be illegal. (They are must more harmful.) Marijuana is illegal mainly because of the market. If marijuana were legal, cotton and tobacco industries would be losing buisness, and those are two of the major industries in this country. And sadly enough, if marijuana became legal, poverty would increase because a lot of people would be out of jobs. (Drug dealers, traffickers, people who grow…) Although these jobs are illegal, they do help these people make money. That is why marijuana is illegal.
Marijuana was first made illegal in the 1930’s as a response to the influx of Mexican immigrants, who were the primary users. As a result, these laws were enacted at the ste level primarily in western states. Like the laws that preceded them that targeted opiods, it targeted a specific cultural set, as the opiod laws targeted orientals.
As to why it remains illegal, the causes are rooted in cultural bias as well. Many of the counter cultural movements from that time until present time have indulged in the use of marijuana, providing law enforcement with a convenient method of hassling them.