I have to ask one question. . .

[Sexual Harassment Panda]

Its illegal because the government can't make a profit off of it.

Tobacco and alcohol can kill you.

Weed can't

Exactly. Y'know, this is why I kinda believe that we have the cure for aids and cancer, but they don't want to distribute it. Where would all of those hospital bills go?

They'd go towards the antidote as being the next hospital bill.

As for weed not being legalized is probably because of the social stigma assigned to it, and the fact that we've been fighting this "drug war" for so long, that backing out now would just further show our lack of commitment on things. People would cry out "What next?"

That is a funny conspiracy theory. It would be like sitting on the cure for baldness because you're worried that the wig industry might suffer.

If we're to believe that buying weed funds organised crime(some even claim terrorism), isn't that reason enough to legalise it? It's a money maker, and we could perhaps save money too as we won't be imprisoning people over petty drug offences.

 

[pillagerromanman]

Because back in the day some paper company needed to ban cannabis to make money. it's like the banana Republics in central America <----- regurgitating things he isn't too sure about.

 

[Xanadu84]

Weed is illegal because it was brought over by immigrants. Suddenly, there was a need to disenfranchise immigrants. Hey, Pot is as good of a thing as any. Even though they could in theory tax Pot, they might as well stick with booze and tobacco, and use pot to arrest those Mexicans.

Seems to me the only reason it'd be seen as a gateway drug is because it's illegal, ironically. People try it, see how harmless it is, and wonder what else have they been lied to about. I've seen much, much worse things with alcohol, weed just seems to make people stupid for a while, alcohol can be truly dangerous. Not that weed isn't without it's risks, but if the money spent on enforcing it was used was used on education (truthfully) of it's effects then I'm all for it. It's a complete double standard as long as alcohol is legal, it's much worse, both short and long term.

Ah, the gateway drug theory: The bane of real social scientists. It's baffling that this completely unscientific myth has managed to persevere for so long, in spite of how thoroughly real science has debunked it. Wanna know how they came to the gateway drug conclusion? They found out that most heroin addicts had done pot, therefore pot use leads to heroin use. In other words, they failed Psych 101. Heroin addicts will inject bleach into there eyeballs to get high if you told them it would work, of course they have done something as ubiquitous as pot. But that piece of trash study stuck, and people don't want to listen to all the studies that show just how harmless pot really is.

 

[Eggsnham]

-Snip-

Welcome to America, would you like a side order of bigotry with your propaganda and paranoia?

 

[jboking]

Its illegal because the government can't make a profit off of it.

You seriously underestimate the governments ability to tax. If they can sell it in a regular store, they can tax it. This is one of the reasons California is seriously considering fully legalizing it instead of just legalizing medical marijuana.

It's not legal yet because congress is complicated, slow, and has more important things to worry about. Simple as that.

 

[Burningsok]

It seems like people want this drug so bad yet it does little to nothing for them. It's just a damn high my god!!

I think it's the attitude that people develop when they take weed, they become total douches almost every kid who smokes weed at my school are douche-bags. They think it makes them cool.

But... i can agree on why its not legal. The gov can't make any money off it, plus its true its not all that dangerous. I just think it's a waste of time. and since you smoke it, i'd stay away.

 

[MiserableOldGit]

It's a handy boogeyman to scare people into voting for you. Also, legalising cannabis will pave the way for more robust medical research, which may end up impacting on the pharmaceutical companies (this is a broad statement, theres a lot of ifs and buts, but the pharmaceutical industry is not well known for encouraging competition). It could also screw with the textiles and fuel industries a bit too.

 

[WolfThomas]

I'd don't do any "recreational" drugs but even I think quite a few could be made safer and profitable for the government by legalizing them. Marijuana and Ecstasy for example. There would have to be quality standards, measured amounts of the dose (much like standard drinks in alcohol) and they'd cost a lot more.

In Australia, a lot of people spend about 20 dollars on pills and have the same sort of night someone spending one hundred dollars on alcohol might have.

If drugs were safer, less potent, more expensive and less of a social taboo, I think they'd be a lot few less deaths and more money for the government.

 

[Aur0ra145]

Simple answer; MADD has much more lobbying power than any Decriminalization effort.

 

[Standby]

Its illegal because the government can't make a profit off of it.

Tobacco and alcohol can kill you.

Weed can't

I'm not sure if this argument is sound, the amount of money spent on the NHS (if English) on alchohol and smoke related things far outweighs the tax they put on cigarettes and alchohol. If weed was legalised it could be taxed similarly without the healthcare costs.

Heres the thing though, how are they supposed to enforce a tax on something you can grow in your window?

One thing i've always found a bit funny. Theres always claims that weed is a gateway drug, you never hear someone make that connection with alcohol though.

 

[SturmDolch]

I have never tried it, nor do I think I ever will, but I don't really see why it shouldn't be legalized. It would reduce the news stories of "OMG GIRL DIED BECAUSE PCP-LACED WEED" to zilch if there was legislation to NOT put PCP in it.

Besides, it might even go out of style if it's legal, because I'm quite sure most of the people that smoke it smoke it because it's "coolio".