It's illegal because...

[~Darkseeker~]

the US Govt. don't want you to have any fun. Even the Department of justice ruled that not a single case of a primarily marijuana-related death has ever been recorded.

Deaths from Alcohol (US Dept. of food and drugs 2011): Approx. 75,000
Deaths from Tobacco (US Dept. of food and drugs 2011): Approx 5,000,000
Deaths recorded from the primary consumption of Cannabis (All time): 0

 

[muz]

whilst on the face of It I am of the belief that the use of marijuana should be de-criminalised for various reasons due to my future possible career plans (namely joining the police) and current jobs I am applying for requiring drugs tests it is not something I have direct experience with . Although that being said another argument I am more in favor of is banning alcohol and tobacco altogether because i seldom drink anymore and to be honest never consuming another alcoholic drink in my life would not be the end of the world for me . and smoking is something I never have had any interest in .
One problem I do have with the current consumption of marijuana is that you are actually funding gangs of organized criminals who engage in other illegal activities such as people smuggling and sex trafficking which is obviously a problem .That being said this is not an argument against de criminalizing as that issue could be dealt with by effective decriminalization .

Whilst I haven't really studied it and dont really know how reasonable the argument is . What would you make of the argument that marijuana could be a gateway drug leading to worse drugs .

 

[jmacavali]

There was a recent study done by ESPN The Magazine and they found that nearly half (or some absurd number like that) of the Oregon Ducks football team were regular users of marijuana. As they dug a little deeper it seems that all across college campuses in the US, marijuana is becoming increasingly common. It's no longer just that one dorm room or those few guys standing behind the shed out back of the frat house. The younger generation doesn't see it as something stoners do but instead see it as no big deal. The "so what, I got a little high, it's no worse than getting drunk" attitude. On that note, a lot of the Oregon football players said that it's actually better because they don't wake up with a hangover or any other side effects in the morning.

Personally I'm kind of indifferent on whether it's legal or not.

 

[MMM]

I know a few marijuana users who have smoked all their life, just like alcoholics their existence is for the next session.
Without realising it, drugs can become central to a person's life and can affect their personal relationships, ability to study and work, mental health and quality of life.

Do I have to say more!

 

[jmacavali]

Agreed that it can become an addiction, but it can also be used as recreation. There are a lot of people out there who just drink to have fun at a party or on the weekend and don't end up blacked out with no memory of the night. These same people would be the ones who smoke a little at a party or whatever and then go about with their lives.

 

[~Darkseeker~]

I know a few marijuana users who have smoked all their life, just like alcoholics their existence is for the next session.
Without realising it, drugs can become central to a person's life and can affect their personal relationships, ability to study and work, mental health and quality of life.

Do I have to say more!

Yes but thats exactly my point

Why are cigarettes and alcohol legal but cannabis isn't?

 

[Quack Quack Quack]

Yes but thats exactly my point

Why are cigarettes and alcohol legal but cannabis isn't?

Cos CANNABIS is waaaaay more dangerous APPARENTLY!
NO NO NO! drinking can cause violence=crime=more work for the police!
So why not nake getting drunk illegal? Well maybe as some don't know their limits but still... Be fair!

 

[MMM]

Yes but thats exactly my point

Why are cigarettes and alcohol legal but cannabis isn't?

I know and agree with what you say but "the line has been drawn in the sand", Times maybe changing as here in Australia is getting harder to smoke any where so one day it could be all banned, maybe alcohol too but then again how much money do governments make money out of tax on these vices.....we may even see marijuana and other drugs legalised.

We live in a weird weird world!!!

 

[muz]

Yes but thats exactly my point

Why are cigarettes and alcohol legal but cannabis isn't?

because the governments are in bed with cigarettes and alcohol manufacturers


I think another reason is because the tax revenue that would be gained from legalizing cannabis would actually not be that much . The fact is that as we already see people can grow cannabis at home with relative ease . if people could grow enough at home for personal consumption then the government really would be at odds trying to figure out an effective way to tax this .

and even if it was legalized just as you get people selling bootleg/duty free alcohol and duty free cigarettes they have illegally brought into the country from Calais the industrial sized cannabis farms we currently have run by organized criminals would continue to operate . and so with a minefield of how to regulate the legalization the government would rather keep it illegal . If you legalized it police would have to divert the resources spent currently investigating the closing down these industrial cannabis farms as their existence would no longer be a criminal justice problem it would be a problem for customs and excise and they simply do not have the resources to handle this issue .

Plus I have seen a study that suggests the long term health effects of smoking cannabis are worse than cigarettes due to the way you draw the smoke into the lungs , hold it there for longer and the absence of a filter when smoking cannabis . So just as cigarette smokers use a great deal of nhs resources in later life so do cannabis smokers . I personally would advocate a greater tax on cigarette companies to subsidize the healthcare of those who smoke however with cannabis it is not possible to do this ?

of course I know that people can produce alcohol at home but in order to produce alcohol on a scale big enough to sell for profit you need a lot more effort .

 

[berry120]

I can think of two main reasons why it's not:

- Historical - both alcohol and tobacco were drugs introduced long long before the harmful effects of them were ever noted, therefore there was no need to make them illegal. To make them illegal now would cause absolute uproar, and uproot a huge amount of tax coming in (let's face it, now is really not the time to be thinking of sources of cutting income!)

- Monetary - As above really, the taxes would be minimal because people can grow the stuff at home.

- Message - Like it or not, legalising something sends out the message to all that this is a good thing to do with no ill effects on health or anything else. Keeping it under the radar and just not bothering to arrest many people over it sends out the message that "we don't particularly care if you do, but we're not saying it's ok". That's probably the message they want to send out.

- Health - The research into the long term effect of cannabis on the human body doesn't come close to the extent of the research done into tobacco or alcohol. This makes sense really, since you can't officially publish in a journal that you've been conducting an unauthorised study with an illegal substance. The true answer at the moment is we just don't know if, long term, it's more harmful than cigarettes or not.


I don't know a huge amount on the topic, but I'd say it's far from a dead cert call that it should be legalised - there's a lot of complicated political, economic, physical and even subliminal aspects that would all take a lot of time and money to look at in detail first. I'm not sure in the current economic situation that's really the best use of resources...