if marijuana is illegal to protect citizens from harm, then why are cigarettes legal?

Question

This never made sense to me...
It is kind of hypocritical.

Answer 1

because pharmaceutical and tobacco companys are organized and are together. there is no particular group from marijuana that pays to our leaders in washington. they own the law-makers thats why

Answer 2

Cigarettes are legal because consumers pay taxes and because the lobbyists are lining the pockets of the elected officials who play ignorant to the dangers of cigarettes... it is a multi-billion industry... the profits are enormous... maybe second only to pharmaceuticals! MONEY... that's the bottom line. (I smoked for 43 years and gave them up in January, hopefully in time...? I didn't know what an addiction was until I decided to quit!)

I've heard that Marijuana does basically the same as alcohol but alcohol causes more harm to the body... (you should see the autopsy of an alcoholic... whew... everything is just wasted away, but not as much with the drug addict). The reason it's illegal... there's more money floating around while it's illegal... fines, money for the underworld... and the cigarette companies have yet to figure out a way to get into that "industry" legally to make huge profits.

The reason it is so expensive now is because it is illegal; if it became legal, the cigarette companies would find a way to raise the prices artifically to make bigger profits. The underworld doesn't want it legalized... it would cut them out of a lucrative (illegal) business!

Answer 3

Marijuana is illegal primarily because of propaganda and racism. It has remained illegal because of money, and the government's inability to tax it thus far. The government refuses to admit that marijuana is not anywhere near as dangerous as they say, or even that's its less dangerous than cigarettes. Tobacco has remained legal because of money, the government makes huge profits off of the taxes from tobacco, and if it were to push to make it illegal the tobacco industry would make a huge fuss, which would cost the government even more money. Interestingly, tobacco isn't as bad for you as you think. What's really bad for you is all the chemicals they put in the cigarettes, but the government can't even get tobacco companies to admit what they put in their cigarettes. Natural tobacco is not only safer, but without the ammonia in the reconstituted tobacco its also LESS ADDICTIVE. On top of that, studies done on second hand smoke has proven that it's harmless, yet the government has insisted that its a public safety hazard. Almost as if the government wants you to think that smoking anything is going to lead to the deaths of thousands of people, yet they won't admit that they have mishandled the tobacco industry and that its this poor management of a company that they can no longer control that leads to thousands of preventable deaths a year.

Answer 4

I think it is inconsistent to legalize tobacco use, but outlaw marijuana. Both substances should be outlawed. They wreck the health of human beings in their own unique way. No good can come from cigarettes and marijuana impairs one's thinking. As for alcohol, there is nothing wrong with imbibing per se. Drinking wine (1 Timothy 5:23) or beer may even be good for the body when it is imbibed in moderation. Remember the golden mean of Aristotle? Or do you recall the story that Plato weaves about Socrates in the Symposium?

Cigarettes and marijuana are not analogous to moderate alcohol use. But if one has not learned to remain within the zone of moderation when consuming alcohol, the best decision is to abstain from alcoholic drinks. Learn to know thyself.

Answer 5

The fact that no one can agree on an exact reason as to why it's illegal should be very intriguing... kind of like we can't agree on an exact reason why we are at war.

My theory is that it is illegal for economic reasons. That is, the alcohol industry, the tobacco industry, the Dupont Corp, and many other lobbying interests have a valid reason (making money) in keeping it illegal.

Pot usage also promotes peace. This is also not economical.

Answer 6

Very good question!!!! Other than smoke inhalation, Marijuana is much safer than cigarettes. It doesn't have the chemicals and other nasty things cigs do. But marijuana alters your state of mind and does have long-term effects. Cigarettes do not make you change your way of thinking or impair your judgement. But does cause cancers and many other health issues.

Answer 7

It's not illegal as a means of protecting citizens. It is illegal because those who want it legal are not speaking out enough and those who want it to be illegal are. It is only illegal because it was never legalized. Nothing more, no one is out trying to protect you.

Answer 8

I think the main reason is that marijuana effects the brain, impairs judgement and thinking, while smoking, though dangerous to your health, does not. Therefore, as an 'impairing' product, it is classified as a drug. But then, doesnt alcohol impair judgement too? but we all know what happened when they tried to make that illegal? :)

Answer 9

because the government can not make money off of the Marijuana like they can the cigarettes..

Answer 10

The law doesn't have to make sense.
To take it a step further, why is marijuana illegal, but hard liquor isn't? Alcohol is WAY more dangerous.