Why is marijuana illegal but alcohol is not?

Answer 1

Besides the fact that government cant tax it. Merck and Pfizer would disapprove the most because people would not need viagra or prozac anymore cutting into their profits.

Answer 2

Because people are so used to alcohol and tobacco being legal that there is no way in hell that anyone will let alcohol or tobacco become illegal again. Pot, on the other hand, I don't believe was ever legal in the states. It takes a long time for the stigma to wear off of something. Those crazy Reefer Madness movies didn't help either.

Marijuana does contain tar but does not have the same cancer causing agents as cigarettes. It is very harmless. Additionally, I have heard of plenty of alcohol-related violence but never have I heard of two pot-heads in a fight. It's a very mild drug.

Police also make a LOT of money off drug raids so.. yeah, they benefit from it being illegal.

Answer 3

Because Booze can not be used to make paper, cloth, medicine and oil. The noble hemp plant is easily raised and easily treated. Hemp paper is made without the horrendous bleach-pulp method used with wood. Strong weather resistant rope. The real reason Marijuana was banned in the '30s was to protect the lumber holdings of William Randolf Hearst and DuPont's burgeoning Nylon industry. If Hemp was not stopped WR Hearst would have lost MILLIONS in lumber holdings. As it it these two industries have contributed as much as anyone else to the pollution that is throttling our planet but they made billions for a lucky few

Answer 4

Marijuana is only illegal in certain countries. The reason it's illegal is because the government hasn't figured out a way to control it's taxes.

Answer 5

Because we had alcohol first. Even the Egyptians had it. And don't forget, they tried banning alcohol in the 1920's and all it got us was organized crime and a lot of disrespect for the law. Maybe when they first banned marijuana, there weren't enough people smoking it to really complain.

Answer 6

Yeah! Why is alcohol legal anyway? Thousands of people die and lose their families, jobs and homes due to alcohol abuse!! I've never heard or known anyone to go through such extremes from smoking the herb! I do think that one day, marijuana use will be legal--I just hope that I am around to reap the benefits!! Support Legalization!!!!!! I will advertise it!!!!

Answer 7

The reasons are historical rather than rational. Alcohol used to be illegal in the US for a brief period of time (prohibition), but a massive criminal element rose to the occasion to feed the black market. People actually figured out that it made more sense to leave it legal and so prohibition was retracted. Sure enough, organized crime began to crumble.

But then they figured that since prohibition worked so well the first time, they'd bring it back again - this time targetting other drugs. History repeated itself, but this time the lunes who brought it about just covered their eyes and buried their heads in their holy books, and to this day they just stick their fingers in their ears any time you try to show them facts.

Answer 8

Because Christians drank alcohol but didn't smoke marijuana. Every religion has its own mind-altering substance that's ok by them.

Answer 9

Sir J, alcohol can also give you cancer: mouth, throat, liver, cirrhosis, or alcohol liver disease. It can also cause car accidents, violence, drunken sex, among other things.
What it comes down to, is what someone said before me-the government can't figure out a good way to regulate and tax it. It's all about the benjamins, baby.

Answer 10

Nothing to do with religion.

Our government makes money off of booze. It is hard to set up your own distillery.

Pot is easy to grow. If you grow your own it is too tough to tax, easier to make it illegal and take the bribes from the cartels to keep it that way.