Marijuana...

[b.k. barunt]

Actually Nixon was worse than Reagan - he even had planes fly into Mexico and spray pot crops with paraquat. He also initiated piss tests in the military, which then spread to civilians. A real prince of a guy. Dupont Chemicals was actually the main force in illegalizing it, as the hemp ropes proved to be too much competition for the Dupont nylon crap.

[jonesthecurl]

I do not see how weed can be illegal on health grounds when tobacco is still legal.

[Hologram]

I do not see how weed can be illegal on health grounds when tobacco is still legal.

It's not.

That's just the argument everyone in Congress uses when they're asked about it. That and the manufactured social stigma against has destroyed any chances of it being legalized any time soon.

Sad, really.

[jonesthecurl]

Then why is it?

[Hologram]

Then why is it?

Partially because of the same reason why alcohol was once made illegal (evil stuff, produces immorality, defiant youth, and such) and partly because the government wanted their income tax from the dealers, and when too many dealers didn't report it as income the Treasury Department got involved to crack down on dealers, and eventually it went from dealers to anyone who possessed it and the FBI got involved and it was just a snoball effect.

[b.k. barunt]

It all comes down to money - BEEG money. The alcohol, pharmaceutical and tobacco companies are firmly entrenched here and will not be shaken. It has nothing to do with morality and/or health, but money and power. In the Muslim nations, it is perfectly ok to smoke hashish, but you can be put to death for getting drunk.

If potheads in this country would unite and boycott Anheuser Busch products, marijuana would be legalized within a year, but ours is a profoundly apathetic society these days, and i don't see that happening. I myself refrain from Budweiser, even when it's free.

It doesn't help matters any when we also have a plethora of idiots like UCAbears, who badmouth pot and those who smoke it in order to give themselves a whitewashed moral image.

[Pedronicus]

Drugs and prostitution should be legalised.
I've never slept with a prozzie and if they legalised it, I wouldn't rush out and have sex with one.
I would however go out and buy some weed from my government approved shop / cafe / pharmacy and stop giving my money to some scummy little bastard who is probably on unemployment benefits riding around in a BMW.

I might go out and buy heroin one weekend to have a try, but I doubt I'd become a heroin addict.
When I took acid, I didn't jump off a bridge because I thought I could fly.
When I took Coke, I wasn't climbing the walls looking to buy some more as soon as my wrap was finished.
When I took Ecstasy I didn't overheat and die.
When I took any drug, I went to work on Monday.

If drugs are illegal because they kill people, then outlaw motorbikes, horse riding and ladders etc.

[Snorri1234]

Drugs and prostitution should be legalised.
I've never slept with a prozzie and if they legalised it, I wouldn't rush out and have sex with one.
I would however go out and buy some weed from my government approved shop / cafe / pharmacy and stop giving my money to some scummy little bastard who is probably on unemployment benefits riding around in a BMW.

[DaGip]

Taking drugs is a personal and moral issue in which the Federal government should not be involved. Taking a drug is a privacy issue and should not be a concern unless that right is being used to infringe abuse upon other citizens' rights (thusly, driving intoxicated would be infringing on the rights of other people's safety in their lives).

But when the Federal government spends billions of dollars to go after marijuana dealers after state legislature had passed medicinal marijuana laws is totally absurd. And when the Federal government blows tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to prosecute Tommy Chong on drug paraphernalia, and literally goes out of its way to throw the book at the guy is absolutely ridiculous!

Sure, we can't capture Bin Laden; but, sure as f*ck, we can grab Tommy Chong and throw him in prison for nine months!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bF7KK5kXhWc

[PLAYER57832]

Then why is it?

As was mentioned before, Pot was made illegal primarily because it competed with some people's desire to make money. Specifically, it competed with timber paper production, fuel, even rope making.


Some of this is not even hidden. Some of this is out there, released from documents that were leaked or "stolen" from the companies involved. Some of it is alluded to by former employees, other witnesses, but not actually proven.

However, if you track the issue, you find an interesting assortment of folks against its legalization.


But, I want to make one thing clear. The marihauna sold today is much much more potent than what was sold years ago. Now, it may be getting close to being a truly harmful drug ... ironic isn't it. A formerly pretty harmless substance was made more harmful because it became illegal...

ALSO, those of you who buy it ... if you buy it "on the street" right now, (not from your local known producer), then you ARE supporting gangs and terrorist activities ... to muddy the water completely.


So, now it is a real threat in many communities, but the answer is not more laws, it is to legalize and tax it.

[Snorri1234]

But when the Federal government spends billions of dollars to go after marijuana dealers after state legislature had passed medicinal marijuana laws is totally absurd.

And it's certainly the reason why criminals get involved into dealing marijuana and producing it. Growing a few plants at home gets you heavy penalties so you don't do it. The only ones who don't care about that are criminals because if criminals could be deterred from doing stuff because they might end up in prison the world would be a better place.

Even here the heavy crackdown on growing marijuana for commercial purposes has lead to increased prices, more deaths and other shit simply because criminals replaced ol' Johnny Everyman who just grew it at home for a little extra money on his pension. And criminals bring crime.

[jipsy king]

it's pretty bent that the government will only let you do something if they can find a way to tax it. on the other hand however, weed may be illegal, but do you really have any problem getting hold of it and smoking it? i thought not.

[DaGip]

it's pretty bent that the government will only let you do something if they can find a way to tax it. on the other hand however, weed may be illegal, but do you really have any problem getting hold of it and smoking it? i thought not.

Yeah, you can't even keep it out of the figgin' prisons!

[Snorri1234]

But, I want to make one thing clear. The marihauna sold today is much much more potent than what was sold years ago. Now, it may be getting close to being a truly harmful drug ... ironic isn't it. A formerly pretty harmless substance was made more harmful because it became illegal...

Nah, it'll take some time before being truly harmfull. The only harmfull things that are known (at least over here in what we smoke) is that you might get a psychosis if you're likely to get one (familily history) or just the mere problem of addiction which is ofcourse shit but it's true for plenty of things.

[boogiesadda]

California alone makes somewhere close to a billion a year in taxes on it, and that does not include sales tax from it nor the figures for all the payroll taxes paid when shops create jobs. This is with medicinal approval only! Imagine if it was legalized across the board! I for one would love to not play tag with the dealers and be able to go to the store and buy a bag when I wanted it and at a decent time of day. The health effects are far less than with cigarettes or alcohol yes yes before you say anything I know the tar in one joint is 10x that of a cigarette but I don't know many people that smoke 20 joints a day. The cost of enforcement in California is 150 million per year. Why so Joe Schmoe that bought a bag to relax can go to jail under the rockefeller drug laws and spend years away from his family and kids for an 1/2 ounce of weed? I work with someone that has had 3 DWI's one with property damage and he still has a drivers license and still drinks but i can't roll a blunt after a long week at work and mellow out? without fear of going to jail? The true answer is to decriminalize it but the only way that will ever fly is if there is something in it for uncle sam. Money Talks Bullshit Walks! BTW this drug is classified with cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin as Schedule II drugs. I for one have seen alcohol wreck way more families than some weed.

Just my 2 cents

[DaGip]

California alone makes somewhere close to a billion a year in taxes on it, and that does not include sales tax from it nor the figures for all the payroll taxes paid when shops create jobs. This is with medicinal approval only! Imagine if it was legalized across the board! I for one would love to not play tag with the dealers and be able to go to the store and buy a bag when I wanted it and at a decent time of day. The health effects are far less than with cigarettes or alcohol yes yes before you say anything I know the tar in one joint is 10x that of a cigarette but I don't know many people that smoke 20 joints a day. The cost of enforcement in California is 150 million per year. Why so Joe Schmoe that bought a bag to relax can go to jail under the rockefeller drug laws and spend years away from his family and kids for an 1/2 ounce of weed? I work with someone that has had 3 DWI's one with property damage and he still has a drivers license and still drinks but i can't roll a blunt after a long week at work and mellow out? without fear of going to jail? The true answer is to decriminalize it but the only way that will ever fly is if there is something in it for uncle sam. Money Talks Bullshit Walks! BTW this drug is classified with cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin as Schedule II drugs. I for one have seen alcohol wreck way more families than some weed.

Just my 2 cents

Yeah, when i used to smoke pot, I didn't smoke it one joint after another like I used to do with cigarettes. Plus, I think Marijuana smoke causes you to cough right away so stuff doesn't just sit around in your lungs and collect.

My breathing was fine after I quit smoking tobacco and all I did was smoke pot. Am I wrong on this? This is my own personal experience with the drug. I would smoke it early in the morning when I got up and then I would go for a 2 or 4 mile jog. Then when i got back I would drink lots of orange juice and eat vegetables from my garden. Then I would smoke another joint and stretch and do push ups and lift some weights. Then I would sit and play guitar and sing...make up a song or two.

Then I would smoke a big fatty and go to work all stoned...then eat all the doughnut holes in the convenience store!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohx-ONH66JQ

[Neoteny]

Let's get to the point...

[DaGip]

Let's get to the point...

and smoke a big fat hooter?