Why is tobacco legal?

Question

It kills SO MANY people every year, hundreds of thousands... meanwhile pot has killed no one that I've ever heard of, and people can go to jail for years in some places for just a small amount. Why is that?

Answer 1

Because its big money.
In the XIX century opium was legal.
The British Empire made big money selling opium to China.
See the Opium war in
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium_Wars
Nowadays we live the same dilemma.
Health versus profit.

Answer 2

Because the world has too much money wrapped up in tobacco. If they banned it then millions of people would loose their jobs and the economy would go to hell in a hand basket faster then you can blink.
Pot is illegal for two main reasons. 1. Because it would make the government look bad if they made it legal after brainwashing people for decades that it was bad for them and would kill them. If they change their mind in the middle of it then kids would believe that all the other drugs are ok too...and they are not.
2. In all actuality it is bad for you and can mentally retard you if smoked for long periods of times. Everyone has met the burnout! Normally people will smoke pot throughout their teen years and early twenties and then at some point they will have to stop to get a job or to become responsible and they will make it out with no major problems. If they made it legal then there would be no reason to stop and we would be a country full of burnouts that cannot remember their name, let alone work. Making the welfare and disability rates go sky high.
Both of these things have to be looked at as a political and economical light, not just the way each hurts you. If it was looked at on that level then everyone would be smoking pot and eating srooms and potato chips and depression medication would be illegal.

Answer 3

When I started to write this answer, you already had 22 responses, and a few of them were pretty well thought out.

For example, the people who pointed our that tobacco was an important crop during the settlement of this country are correct. But, there's more to it. Did you know that the first colonies were businesses? The King of England, especially, wanted goods that could be traded for profit to other European countries.

Also, consider this. In the 1600's, nobody had ever heard of nicotine. So, tobacco became an established crop long before the destructive aspects of its use were known.

After the Civil War (1860's), the poor in the south -- both black and white -- had to turn to "sharcropping" to make a living. Once again, tobacco was the crop of choice. And, in 2006, many farmers in the south still keep tobacco fields as a protection in case their other crops fail.

Some of your other respondents were also correct about tobacco being a political issue. Long after scientific evidence showed the harmful effects of smoking tobacco, powerful lobbyists courted lawmakers with every kind of gratuity (read: bribe) imaginable.

After more than half a century of court trials, Big Tobacco is still fighting allegations of "second-hand smoke" and its affects on people. Many states still allow smoking in public places, like bars and restaurants.

Finally, there is the money issue. Without tobacco crops, many of our dwindling number of small farmers would go broke and become dependent on public assistance. Also, tobacco accounts for huge tax transfers.

Combine all of the above, and you'll see why tobacco is still being grown legally.

On the other hand, marijuana was studied in the 1930's by a presidential commission. Unfortunately, the study centered on the concentrated resin from the leaves, a chemical called tetrahydrocanabinol. In a couple of Eurasian countries, clans of assassins used it to bolster their courage before a major hit. The word "hashish" derives from the word "assassin."

Consequently, when the FDA was created, it lumped together opiates and less potent substances. Originally, possession of marijuana was a federal offense, and some states augmented that with state crimes that could exact severe punishment. In Texas, in the early 1960s, people were in prison FOR LIFE for mere POSSESSION of pot.

The demonstations of the 1960's helped to change the laws and separate maijuana from the opiates. In California, possession became a "citation crime," punished by a fine.

Why is tobacco legal and pot illegal? No one really knows, but I suspect that pot dealers, being less well organized and financed than Big Tobacco, are being used as scapegoats to divert our attention from the international tobacco corporations.

Finally, ask yourself this question. If caffeine were introduced today as an ingredient in coffee, would it obtain FDA approval?
My answer if definitely not. I would not have the long-term vested interest and wide-spread addiction that it currently enjoys.

Let's talk about refined sugar at some later date.

Answer 4

Well, when the colonists came to the America, the first crop that ever grew well and turned a profit for them was tobacco! So in a sense it is an American tradition. The colonists traded tobacco (and cotton) with Europe for slaves and goods and thus Europeans became addicted. The tobacco lobby is so powerful now that cigarettes will never be outlawed. As for pot not killing anyone, don't you think people do stupid things and hurt themselves and others while high? Then they die of falling out of a tree or drowning in a pond.

Answer 5

Is this a political statement? Pot has killed people. Pot's long term effects aren't exactly determined yet. Due to modern technology today's pot has many times the amount of THC than the pot in the seventies. That means that the long term effects of those who have been smoking since the seventies may be completely different than those who smoke in the 90's.

Plus you can't smoke pot at work all day... but you can with cigarrettes.

You can't tell me that you can drive and smoke pot safely?

Answer 6

Tobacco is fast becoming limited legally as to where it can be used. Who knows it may eventually be eliminated. But we found with Prohibition of alcohol did not stop alcohol consumtion. It just went "underground". Education seems to be doing a better job of getting people off tobacco.

Marijuana is becoming less legally limited in some states already. It has been a misunderstood drug for a long time. If you don't believe that you can find old movies about drugs on the market. For a hoot pick up a copy of "Reefer Madness".Times they are a changin'

Answer 7

A free society implies risks and inconveniences by others' habits and interests. Tolerance has to be the way. Drugs, prostitution and some other things aren't legal because, ironically, our society hasn't matured enough to have the b***s to legalize them. However, I think its fair to call society "free" as long as it is working hard to make it more so as time goes on. Democracy isn't perfect, but it was a right step forward. However, Ill-egalizing smoking would be just another small abdication of liberty for the convenience of the many at the fundamental expense of the few.

Answer 8

Because tobacco growing is a well-established industry. It was one of the first major exports of america.
Plus, the tobacco companies put a lot of money into lobbying.

Moreover, no one really cares about it. People tend to figure that, if someone gets lung cancer from smoking, they deserve it for being so foolish.

I'm of the opinion that that attitute should be applied to all drugs and whatnot.

Answer 9

You have been answered about tobacco and I will not get political, but I will say that there are more burned out alcoholics, my expression, out there trying to work and pretend that they are fine because they just drink. Also, look at overeaters if we talk about health issues...obesity is rampant and so many people ruin their health. It boils down to choice and obviously pot has not been voted in and if it is ever legal, it will just be another legal choice rather than illegal.

Answer 10

Because the government can make money off of it by taxing the sale of cigarettes. Besides, tobacco was big business long before all the medical problems were realized. Money talks. Everything is about money these days, even traffic tickets and why certain laws are passed.

Answer 11

I personally think it would be hilarious if tobacco were made illegal. Yeah, yeah, yeah, sorry, the farmers would find something else to grow, boo hoo! Give me a break! And don't expect me to shed a single tear for the big tobacco companies or even anyone who works for them! They'll just have to figure out a way to survive just like the rest of us who have been fired, laid-off, down-sized, etc. at some point in our lives.

What would be truly interesting and yes, sorry, amusing, would be seeing who would just give up cigarettes and who would turn into criminals to continue the habit by buying in illegally or growing their own.