Why is Marijuana Illegal in the US?

Question

Alcohol is a far stronger then THC and I wanted to know the background of why marijuana is illegal.

Answer 1

There was a big anti-marijuana crusade back in the 1930s when millionaires such as Hearst & Dupont considered hemp to be an economic threat to their pulp mills (hemp is cheaper, more durable & saves more trees).

Today, I suspect that it may be the big pharmaceutical companies that are so against marijuana. Because it can be used for such a wide range of ailments & can be grown so cheaply, it's considered a threat to drug manufacturers because they would lose money.

Answer 2

For the response above: who says that we have to choose between drugs and alcohol? I do neither. No one is forcing you to choose a vice instead of having none. I agree that it is somewhat hypocritical to say one is bad and the other is not, however I still would not want pot legalized. I took a very interesting class about criminology (which I understand does not make me an expert on crime but has helped me to form more educated opinions) which indicated that drugs are very closely correlated with many types of crime. In my mind, even a correlation is enough to outlaw it. Furthermore, I do not feel that drugs are a good way to broaden your horizons. What about traveling the world, or even reading about other cultures, philosophies, and religions? There is so much to learn in the world and I don't think you can learn any of it from smoking pot. I think that drugs are about enjoyment and recreation, not about politics and philosophies.

Sorry, got a little off track from your question. I think a large part of why alcohol is still legal is because of corporate money. Companies that make alcohol are (for better or worse) significant contributers to the economy. Our government is heavily influenced by companies that can provide money for various funds, especially campaign funds.

Also, although you may not see it in everyday life, America is a very conservative country. Alcohol may be a financial boon to our economy, but drugs are seen in a different light by most Americans. When conservative America thinks "drugs," they relate the term to crime and poverty. It may not be true, but that's life. It doesn't have to be true, but if enough people believe drugs are worse than alcohol then drugs stay illegal and alcohol legal.

Answer 3

Because these old farts in DC have the misconception that if it is legal then everyone would just smoke weed all day, nothing will get done, and the US will go into turmoil.

THC is not an addictive substance. Nicotine is far worse for you. Once the initial hype of the legalization occurs, ppl will use it in moderation just like alcohol(with is far worse to the body than marijuana)

Answer 4

Marijuana, like alcohol, can be addictive as well as mind altering.

Just because alcohol is legal does not mean other addictive or mind altering substances should be legal.

Why? Because for the health overall of a society, the people in that society have to draw a line on PRINCIPLE as a way to knit together people around more, rather than less, productive consumption.

Even if the government legalizes marijuana usage, and the usage goes up by double - the damage is not so much the doubling of usage, but the fact that something that is harmful to people is endorsed by the government.

Look around you at the people the smoke a lot of pot. Sure, a few of them might be functioning successes, but most are barely employed or financial messes or limiting themselves with their addiction.

Pot is also a very addictive substance.

Answer 5

Because the Food and Drug Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms cannot agree on who will get the taxes?

This has been debated to death. Pot is less harmful than alcohol. Some say it is a "gateway" drug that leads to further experimentation with drugs. If it was legal and you got it from someone other than a street dealer it wouldn't put you into contact with people who were selling other illegal substances, now, would it?

When was the last time you heard of someone high on pot wiping out a family of five on the freeway? Not them...that's the job of all those who are addicted to that "legal" drug, alcohol.

People who have been smoking pot are more likely to be munching out and having deep philosophical discussions such as ......"Dude!"......"Yeah!"/////etc. They aren't out driving because they can't get motivated and stay on task long enough to find their keys and wallet.

Answer 6

i have my own personal opinion on this question which i always thought was right on the money. when you drink alcohol and do something that would cause you to encounter the police, they measure the amount of alcohol in your blood stream with a breathalyzer. this measures the amount of alcohol in your bloodstream at that moment and is accepted by the courts as evidence. when you smoke marajuana there is no "breathalyzer" that can measure the amount of altering chemicals in your body as well as no legal standard for a limit. the closest measurement is analyzing a persons hair to estimate the last time they ingested marajuana which is much less accurate. I think that if there were a "breathalyzer" type machine in the US than marajuana could be legalized.

Answer 7

If legal, marijuana would put the pharmaceutical, tobacco, and alcohol industries in a deep financial hole. As we all know, these big corporations are in bed with the political parties.

Originally, hemp became illegal because it was running Hearst (I think) publications out of business (something with the paper industry).

Answer 8

im pretty sure the dupont family had a lot to do with getting hemp outlawed, as it presented a threat to their production, hemp being a cheaper and renewable resource. Marijuana has yet to experience the acceptability of alcohol because of its "gate way drug" title,(which rightly belongs with the tobacco industry), and the outlandish propaganda of the government during the 60s and 70s. Also, millions of dollars are to be lost if a drug gets legalized because of lost jobs and the government will lose yet another avenue to pimp us out of our hard earned cash (the so called drug war)

Answer 9

Instant_Karma is right, and you have to add that in the early 1900's doctors and the public were both ignorant on the true effects of marijuana. It became synonymous with underground culture, poverty, and all the problems of society. They actually had campaign posters saying it made the black men go crazy and gave them super strength when they did so. Complete and utter nonsense, really. Always use responsibly though!

Answer 10

because the laws reflect what MOST voters want
Most voters are parents
Most parents want drugs Illegal
(And for parents WEED is A DRUG)
not a happy answer but if you think about it, it will explain why weed is still illegal and very likely to remain that way in the US