Modern Prohibition

[EHKOS]

Now I'm not a history buff by all means, but I recall the US government once outlawed alchohal.
Americans as a whole rejected this and thus opened speakeasies, smuggled liquor, and just pretty much ignored the new law. Soon afterward the law was repealed and the people could drink when and what they wanted again.

We all know this, so my question is why is our modern prohibition so much harder to break?
I don't smoke weed, but I don't care if people do. It doesn't seem to harm us more than beer or cigerettes so why can't we topple the law on this? So many people are in favor of it. But my main confusion stems from the fact that we have places to smoke it without being judged and people smuggle tons of it. It's alot like that old prohibition so what is the problem?

I hope we can all discuss this without flaming and or trolling, thank you. -EHKOS

 

[Gxas]

Four Loco. The new prohibition.

My cousin still has a case in his house. He'll probably never drink it, but its there because its illegal now.

 

[emeraldrafael]

So you're asking why we (the US) dont allow pot? Thats all politics and money (it usually is). It was a smear compaign run in the early(-ish) 1930s (?) to protect interest in the timber industry.

 

[Motiv_]

I don't understand why pot is still illegal, to be completely honest. I despise how it smells, but I think one should have the right to let their breath smell like ass if they want to. Alcohol and cigarette smoke doesn't smell like roses either, but those are perfectly legal.

Legalize it, tax it, pay people to grow it for you. Bam, new jobs, new tax money, new solutions to old problems.

 

[mrm5561]

the government cant make money off of pot like they can beer since its easy to grow and unlike beer wont explode and kill you if you do it wrong

Four Loco. The new prohibition.

My cousin still has a case in his house. He'll probably never drink it, but its there because its illegal now.[/quote

its still legal they just had to take some stuff outa it everclear 190 however is about to be gone

 

[Kpt._Rob]

The problem is that America is a very conservative nation whose most motivated voting blocks are terrified of change. Want to take a guess at who votes here? Probably the most motivated voting block is conservative Christians, and while there are rare exceptions here and there, most of them don't spend time with Mrs. Mary Jane. Want to take a guess at one of the least motivated voting blocks? Stoners. I smoke weed, and I still vote, but the vast majority of the people I know who smoke don't give a fuck. When they tried to make marijuana completely legal in California (for everyone, not just medicinal users) the thing that stood in the way was that only a relatively small portion of the younger community (the community that smokes the most MJ) actually bothered to show up and vote.

The modern prohibition is harder to break because unlike Alcohol (which most people had drunk before prohibition went into affect), the only people living in America who have smoked weed (exceptions for Californians) are people who have smoked it illegally. So most of the people who vote on issues like whether or not it should be legal have no idea what it's actually like, they base their ideas of what it's like on how it's presented in TV and movies, and the way it's presented in TV and movies couldn't be more inaccurate. Add to this the blatantly propagandic programs (I'm looking at you DARE) that we use to try and convince people that marijuana is dangerous, granted, it's not without its risks, but it's hardly as dangerous as the police officer who visited your seventh grade history class every Thursday lead you to believe.

Another problem is that marijuana lobbies don't have a lot of money, and they're not likely to get it anytime soon. The fact that marijuana is a black market compound means that people who grow and sell it can make a lot of money off of it, if marijuana becomes legal pricing becomes much more competitive, and they lose their source of income to bigger corporations who can grow more for less. So the people who are involved with marijuana and have a lot of money as a result, actually want it to remain illegal.

The prohibition on cannabis will not end until people who have an idea of what it really is get motivated enough to vote. That's a difficult task, because these are people who have broken the laws, they stand outside of a system which frequently punishes them for the choices they make, leading to a general disenfranchisement with the government as a whole. Still, America's younger generation seems to have shifted increasingly towards a liberal viewpoint, and as they grow up there is good reason to believe that the country might begin to shift left again, a move which, one can hope, would lend itself to a great number of changes, one of which could very well be the legalization of marijuana.

 

[FalloutJack]

I think the answer is that it ISN'T hard. They're just keeping it under the radar like good little black marketeers.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

Getting weed is laughably easy. At Brandon Hill, in Bristol, it's easier to get ahold of weed than it is to get ahold of water for a dying man.

I can't speak for the US, but as a student in England weed is very easy to get hold of, and from what I remember of history lessons it sounds much the same as prohibition era US. If people want stuff, they'll find a way to get it.

 

[Blue_vision]

I don't understand why pot is still illegal, to be completely honest. I despise how it smells, but I think one should have the right to let their breath smell like ass if they want to. Alcohol and cigarette smoke doesn't smell like roses either, but those are perfectly legal.

Legalize it, tax it, pay people to grow it for you. Bam, new jobs, new tax money, new solutions to old problems.

Pretty much. But Cigarettes should also get some more legislation to keep the smell away from people who are bothered by it, so that singular problem needs to be solved anyways.

I think the real question should be why hallucinogenic drugs are illegal. Seriously, the least harmful and most beneficial intoxicants are illegal and aren't even being asked for legality in mainstream circles? Silly.

 

[Neverhoodian]

When they tried to make marijuana completely legal in California (for everyone, not just medicinal users) the thing that stood in the way was that only a relatively small portion of the younger community (the community that smokes the most MJ) actually bothered to show up and vote.

Well, there was also the factor that the wording of the proposed legislation was vague at best, with lots of loopholes that had the potential of being a legal nightmare to sort out.

I wouldn't have a problem with legalizing marijuana in the United States. If nothing else, it would provide huge tax revenue for the country during these hard economic times.

 

[Aris Khandr]

I, for one, oppose it because keeping it illegal keeps it indoors. I don't care if you want to screw up the chemistry of your brain, but I certainly do NOT want any kind of "buzz" because some jackass decided to smoke right in front of the door. It's bad enough that people do that with normal cigarettes.

 

[Drakane]

It really makes no since to me while its still illegal (I am yet another none smoker) and its even more baffeling when you consider the other wide range of uses of the plant itself ie hemp. Its 1000 times better then say cotton that destroys the earth, is labor intensive, and is harvested once a year I think. Weed on the other hand takes almost no chems to grow, can be harvested multiple times a year, grows everywhere nearly and etc. So in the era of Go Green and all that bs the government is overlooking one of the most versatile cash crops they could ever hope for because.... THC is bad or something.

I, for one, oppose it because keeping it illegal keeps it indoors. I don't care if you want to screw up the chemistry of your brain, but I certainly do NOT want any kind of "buzz" because some jackass decided to smoke right in front of the door. It's bad enough that people do that with normal cigarettes.

The likely hood of getting any sort of contact high because some ppl were smoking a fatty out front of the door of your favorite establishment is very low, even for people w/ no tolerance for the stuff like me have to be in a room w/ a pretty dense cloud and constant contact to get a head change.

 

[Neverhoodian]

When they tried to make marijuana completely legal in California (for everyone, not just medicinal users) the thing that stood in the way was that only a relatively small portion of the younger community (the community that smokes the most MJ) actually bothered to show up and vote.

Well, there was also the factor that the wording of the proposed legislation was vague at best, with lots of loopholes that had the potential of being a legal nightmare to sort out.

I wouldn't have a problem with legalizing marijuana in the United States. If nothing else, it would provide huge tax revenue for the country during these hard economic times.

> Implying anyone actually was stupid enough to pay for it and didn't just grow it themselves.

Do you seriously think the U.S. government would allow Joe Everyman to grow his own personal pot plantation without a license? Like it or not, if marijuana does become legal it WILL be regulated along with other "sin tax" products like alcohol and tobacco. They might allow a plant or two to be grown for personal use, but no more than that.

 

[Aris Khandr]

The likely hood of getting any sort of contact high because some ppl were smoking a fatty out front of the door of your favorite establishment is very low, even for people w/ no tolerance for the stuff like me have to be in a room w/ a pretty dense cloud and constant contact to get a head change.

This is not a risk I'm willing to take. Just my outlook on things.

 

[tthor]

You know, after spending time around stoners, I've come to realize that people who are stoned turn into morons. seriously, try asking a guy stoned off his ass what 12 x 16 equals. I'm not sure this country really needs any more dumbing down; atleast while its illegal, tho many people get high, they atleast mostly get high in a private place, and probably not as often as they would if it were legal, so it helps keep some of their momentary stupidity in check

 

[kortin]

Theres a reason why pot is called the gateway drug...

 

[maddawg IAJI]

Guess who the majority of voters are? That's right, retired old christian senior citizens. Believe it or not, but apparently the majority of voters are against it. In fact, California has been trying to legalize it in an attempt to fix their already broken budget. At the moment, several surveys have shown that the majority of California voters DON'T want to legalize it.

 

[NotSoNimble]

NASCAR was created from prohibition. What have the weed smokers given us? (Sure, a few musicians swear by it) Fake doctor notes in the few states that have it legal medicinally isn't that big of an uprising.

I think that is why our 'modern prohibition' is so much harder to break.

Since it isn't anything near what the prohibition on alcohol was, it isn't important.

People that smoke weed compared to people who drink alcohol is a whole different level.