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

Question

Based on numerous conversations I have had with people, they all think marijuana a.k.a. pot is less harmful than alcohol and cigarettes. But in U.S., pot is illegal while alcohol and cigarettes are legal. I always wondered why such is the case.
I of course believe pot should be illegal. After all, we should trust our gov. cuz they are experts and are looking out for our best interests.
The Fed. gov must think pot should be illegal after numerous medical tests. But yet, I still encounter so many people who think pot is less harmful and kill far less people than alcohol or cigarette. One friend even boasted about knowing one professor who smokes pot.
I need you guys' insights.
1. Why are alcohol and cigarettes legal but pot isn't?
2. Do you believe pot is more harmful than alcohol or cigs. hence illegal?

Answer 1

Are you kidding, pot is so dangerous that you read all the time in the papers about someone smoking themselves into a blackout state, getting into their car and getting into accidents where Innocent people get killed.

Answer 2

Cigarettes are becoming more illegal. It's mainly taxing... There is a book that explains outlawing marijuana though. There were reasons such as nylon rope being invented and blah blah blah.

Pot is nearly harmless. People that say it does this and that needs to take an actual class on drugs. Most people work through hear say. It is a fact that pot is a hell of a lot more harmless than alchol.

In the 60's the said pot made you insane and psychotic.
In the 70's it was the same.
In the 80's it made you braindead.
In the 90's it made you depressed.
Now they say it makes you lazy such as that commercial where the kid is talking about just sitting at his friends house smoking pot... He says something like I might not have wrecked my bike, or hurt myself in a ____ accident. I just sat here all day because I was stoned.

It's mostly non profit organizations against the legalization of marijuana... Not really the government.

Answer 3

Too much of any drug, legal or not, is a bad thing. But I struggle to see why occasional use of this one is so much worse than a beer now and then or the occasional cigar.

There is a LOT of history behind this particular drug and the reasons that it is illegal. But you'll only get so far on Yahoo answers. I've posted some links below that have good information as to the history behind the prohibition and the reasons it doesn't make a lot of sense.

The best relatively short history on the reasons behind the war on weed:

http://marijuana.drugwarrant.com

That is the most direct answer to your question - it gives a history that walks you through the where, when, and why of marijuana law.

Also, some marijuana advocacy sites that have research on them are also listed in the links below. With the Marijuana Policy Project and NORML websites, check out their "library" section. On drugpolicy.org, check out "the facts" tab on the upper right hand corner.

This is one side of the argument. Look at both, and think it through for yourself.

Best of luck.

Answer 4

Some places have tried to make it legal. At least, for medicinal purposes. I remember voting on it here in AZ.... It passed, sort of. Yea votes won. But some government offical said "Ya'll don't know what's good for you and we are not going to allow it to be legalized." So much for democracy in action.....

Q.#1 I think it's because there isn't some big group of people with lots of money out there fighting for it to be legalized....like there was with alcohol and cigarettes. Or perhaps there is and that's why it's so easy to access.....

Q.#2 I believe it is equally harmful as the alcohol and the cigarettes.

Answer 5

And recently we had a local professor indicted for child pornography - so much for a single example of that profession as a reinforcement to your argument.

Alcohol is a legitimate comparison, cigarettes are not.

This country is host to a great many people who cannot/do not use alcohol in a responsible manner - and the costs in both human suffering and monetary outlay is staggering.
Do we really want to add yet another drug to this situation?

Whether or not it is more or less healthy in the long run wouldn't be the concern - the immediate and most probable dramatic increase in its use would be the concern.

Have you visited a rehab center...lately?

Answer 6

The first diesel en gin was designed for a fuel made from hemp seed oil.Anyone could grow enough in their back yard to operate a variety of applications.Rural America was not what the Centralist Government wanted.Gas from Oil is difficult to make at home.The newspaper tycoon Hearst owned large tracts of forest in Oregon {now stripped bare of trees}.Hearst bankrolled Henry Anslinger And forced congress threw disinformation to make pot illegal for his own Racist reasons.Hemp yields three crops per season.It makes wonderfull paper,but it did not keep the money in the pocket of the rich.This is why America has an army of idiots who die for the wrong cause.Not every one will become a drug addict.But if the gentle herbs are demonized our learning public will accept far more dangerous effects in order to illuminate the truth.

Answer 7

you gotta wonder don't ya? really there are 42 thousand deaths per year from alcohol related auto wrecks...none of which are due to pot...why? you never see a pot smoker going faster than 10 mph and usually they just want to stay at home eat chips and watch cartoons.
just wait until the politicians (both sides) realize they can make more money on pot than cigs and booze alone and they will legalize it in a snap and ban the others....

Answer 8

The reason is because the Government CAN'T make a profit from it!!!!!! Isn't Cancer and Liver Failure also a problem... caused by alcohol and cigarettes.... & if pot is so bad why is it okay for doctors to give them to people with cataracts... NO PROFIT THATS WHY!

Answer 9

Pot is the most abused narcotic in the U.S. Alcohol the most abused depressant. Drinking alcohol is what men do, because it's been done for thousands of years. Alcohol is good for celebrating, until you break down crying like a little p*ssy. Marijuana just makes you act retarted, and we have enough retarted Americans, so that may be one reason why pot is illegal.

Answer 10

Weed would be very, very hard too tax. And it is less harmful than tabbacco and alcohol.

Answer 11

Who wants potheads running around? Alcohol is perfectly healthy in responsible amounts. Cigarettes don't make you crazy, just the withdrawl.