Why won't the goverment legalize marijuana?

MR. T.

Because they couldn't control it and tax it like alcohol, everyone would be growing their own, and not paying tax on it.

pepper

Because the majority of the population thinks it would be a bad idea - right, wrong or indifferent.

To have it decriminalized - requires grassroots action. What are you doing?

Take Action:
http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=3443

mostassuradlyso

Remember proihibition with alcohol and what it was about. Alcohol was allowed and prohibition repealed and who controls the industry 100%. Yep, you guess it. Same thing with marijuana, soon as the government can control it they will not care what it does to you as they do not care now. The only thing they care about is the control of the dollars you spend. Money is power and if marijuana was legal, those selling the marijuana would be in contention with the government and they do not like competition. If they cannot control it they simply make it illegal.

faulty_cortex

Too much money is being made by generous campaign contributors for the illegal trade to be stopped.

colorguy

The only reason it's illegal comes down to money. If it was legal, the government wouldn't make anywhere close to the money they make arresting people for possesion and distributing it. Unfortunately, the government doesn't care what's good for the people, they only care about how much money they can make off of something. Also, it's very easy to grow, so they also would lose money since people could grow it themselves rather than buy outrageously priced government grown stuff...it's the same with alchohol, gas etc.

Glen B

And some states allow medicinal marijuana use, too.

It has completely different affects compared to alcohol.

brian c

the majority of people decide the laws and since the majority of these voters think its a bad idea, it is illegal. note, i said these voters, but the tide is turning, let all keep their eyes on denver, colorado. the city legalized it, because these ultra conservative old schoolers were running someone elses life that day and didn,t show up for the vote. according to the mayor of denver, this vote passed as a sign that the younger generation is weighing in these days instead of letting the elders make all the decisions. i see a legalization opportunity more than ever, but you have to weigh in- vote, vote, vote

Aviator - THE Resolution

Same effects as alcohol? No, it is much safer then alcohol. For one, no adult can overdose on marijuana. It simply isn't possible. And you don't have thousands of people dying from Driving while high. And lastly, you don't have ex-boyfriends on COPS beating people up after a night of smoking.

It is illegal because the cookie dough industry doesn't have the same influence as the cigarette companies.

Will G

unethical
they banned alchohol once before too

Ciccio S

simple ,the gov. doesnt have their hand in the cookie jar!

AILENE

Split the difference....legalize it as controlled substances (like some narcotics) used for medicinal purposes.

Space Bluesman

Did you notice the trouble just with alcohol?

John B

You will hear tons of different answers, but honestly, it is simply a money issue with taxation, regulation, and industry issues at heart. First of all, the alcohol and tobacco industries have huge amounts of money and political power. It would be a bad thing for their business, so they will fight to the death against it. The government cannot regulate & tax something that any knucklehead with decent soil, a nice patch of sunshine, and a few seeds, can grow. There are all sorts of reasons debated around about the historic reasons for establishment anti-pot feelings, some of the strongest I have heard being racially based (popularized through early jazz & blues music scenes, makes black people "uppity" aka less prone to accept racist b.s., and the list goes on), and it being a threat to the status quo (people might just think for themselves & not like how things are currently run, like the LSD "Tune in & drop out" message of Timothy Leary & friends). Check out the website of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws for more info.

blame 3m for that conspiracy.

now it's just a scam... to make money, to keep control of the "herb" it's not a drug or a substance, i have no idea other than corruption.

to keep a lock on it.. this also makes it harder for research on the herb. which slowly being shown to maybe be the miracle plant... it's got many elements in it not just the THC that seem to help with many chronic and simple issues.

maybe one day... i don't imagine i'll see that day come again.

it doesn't have the same effects... alcohol is a dangerous thing, it has serious side effects.. there's more alcohol related deaths than marijuana... and alcohol has not many known benefits such as our mary jane apparently has.

besides.. pot cured my stomach issues while alcohol has made them much, MUCH worse.

alcohol deteriorates the body... where as pot doesn't have that much debilitating effects.. other than the smoke inhalation issues. (some depression.. suppression.. sleeping sickness.. )

pot is pro serotonin while alcohol is anti serotonin.

JenV

The government won't legalize marijuana because it still carries the stigma that was imposed upon the plant back when the government decided to pass laws against it's use and ran silly propaganda films showing how evil the drug was because it "made you do things you wouldn't ordinarily do" and also that it was "imported by those evil illegal immigrants." Also, the conservative organizations who have now decided that they have the right to legislate morality have decided that marijuana usage is a "moral issue" and will lobby against it, so it's not likely to be legalized again any time soon.

happymama

The pharmaceutical industry

NORM

Pot was once legal back in the day. Remember the movie Reefer Madness. That's why it is not legal. I agree the government would make a killing look at cigs. Plus smoking one joint is the same as like 5 cigs. Which is the lesser of two evils? Some of your midwest states you can have up to a certain amount on you without getting into trouble. What's up with that?

joshcrime

There isn't a good reason. They will give you a lot of reasons, but none of them are good. I'm sure you have heard them all by now.

When the moralizers run the government, you can be assured that morality will be legislated, and oddly enough, by the same Republicans that claim that you cannot legislate morality (and for you yahoos that don't know already, it was Ronald Reagan that said it).

Annie Oakley

It is my belief that the drug companies are the ones who are paying big bucks to keep marijuana illegal. The reason is because it works! The drug companies would suffer huge losses in revenues.

I am not a pothead. I smoked it in the '60's when I was a teenager. I know how good it works to help deal with pain and anxiety. So do the drug companies. They don't want the competition. Fortunately, they can't keep it illegal forever.

lomatar1186

alcohol should be banned too.. cause if it's illegal for you to get high off of marijuana (cause marijuana is illegal). then it should be illegal to get drunk. cause when you're drunk.. you can still get arrested in some cases, such as "public intoxication" or "driving under the influence" etc....

jmminnc

Help azthma ?
Taking smoke into the lungs helps?

create62

because they are all too stoned to make a decision

Pfo

There are more pressing issues for the government to deal with than legalizing a vice. I think Iraq, Afghanistan, immigration, budgets and general government business take precedent. Marijuana is usually a political topic constrained to younger people, who usually don't vote and so hold little clout in the political arena. As people age they care less and less about marijuana and so the issue never gets addressed, and marijuana remains illegal.

xx_kamasutra

it has not been scientifically proved that it help azthma and M. deceases. if that was the case, big drug company will use this as a wonder drug and makes millions...... What marijuana does is numb the pain and lets u forget the reality
for a while. Then time goes by.... u have to take it more and more.. eventually u ended up as a druggie

grumpyoldman

Because " FAR OUT MAN " went out in the 70';s.

conranger1

Seems you dont know it all, must be the effects of your dope addiction.

Campaigners pressed the Government to reclassify marijuana as new evidence emerged that the drug could more than double the risk of psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia.

Research found any use of marijuana - which means even taking the drug just once - was associated with a 41% greater risk.

People who smoked the most marijuana were the most likely to suffer a psychotic breakdown marked by delusions, hallucinations or disordered thoughts. For frequent users, the risk rose to between 50% and 200%.

In the wake of the research, published today in The Lancet medical journal, there were calls for the Government to reverse its decision to downgrade marijuana to a class C drug.

Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of the mental health charity Sane, said: "The Lancet report justifies Sane's campaign that downgrading a substance with such known dangers masked the mounting evidence of direct links between the use of marijuana and later psychotic illness.

"This analysis of 35 studies should act as a serious warning of the dangers of regular or heavy marijuana use, doubling the risk of developing later schizophrenia, a condition in which a person may hear voices and experience strange thoughts and paranoid delusions."

Shadow home secretary David Davis said: "On the basis of the scientific and medical evidence available alone, the Government should reverse their disastrous policy of declassifying this harmful drug."

The study is likely to have a big impact on the Government's deliberations about marijuana . Prime Minister Gordon Brown is now considering whether marijuana should be returned to its previous status as a class B drug. Under Tony Blair's premiership, the drug was downgraded from class B to class C, so possession ceased to be an arrestable offence.

But Paul Corry, director of public affairs at mental health charity Rethink, said education about the dangers of marijuana was more important than reclassification.

A single marijuana joint can damage the lungs as much as smoking up to five cigarettes in one go, according to experts.

Scientists warn that the drug forces the lungs to work harder by obstructing air flow and causes chest tightness and wheezing. It also damages the small vessels that transport oxygen around the lungs.

The news comes after research published last week showed that marijuana could more than double the risk of psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia.

Researchers in New Zealand investigating lung damage found that the harm was directly related to the number of joints smoked, with higher consumption linked to greater incapacity.

The effect on the lungs of each joint was equivalent to smoking between 2.5 and five cigarettes in one go, they said
They added that the extent of the damage was dependent on the strength of the joint and the way it was smoked.

Dr Keith Prowse, chairman of the British Lung Foundation, said: "This research confirms that marijuana poses a serious health risk to the lungs and smoking a joint can be more harmful to the lungs than smoking a cigarette.

"It's important to remember, though, that tobacco continues to be more harmful overall because it is typically smoked in much higher quantities than marijuana ."

Martin Barnes, chief executive of Drug-Scope, said: "Although there is a lot of focus on the links between marijuana use and mental health problems, this research highlights the fact that marijuana can also be harmful to physical health."

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