How come marijuana is looked down upon when it's less harmful than alcohol and tobacco?

Question

I know doctors and lawyers who do it. celebrities do it. and it is no more of a gateway drug than alcohol. there is no harm whatsoever linked to the use of marijuana. everything that has been said about it are lies.

i know it's illegal, but only because of the lies the government said about it so they could make it illegal to get all the mexicans to leave the usa a long time ago... i can shoot all derogatory comments about weed down all day long! keep em coming!

just like when there was a prohibition against alcohol, there were bootleggers who made it and sold it. well since there's a prohibition against marijuana, there are weed dealers. when the prohibition against alcohol went away, so did the bootleggers. If weed is legal, weed dealers will go away too.

there was a study and a chemical in marijuana PREVENTS CANCER. so you can't get cancer from smoking pot!

about what nicol guy said: the study he is showing is about people who smoke cigs along w/pot. cigs DO give cancer, which i am not supporting. marijuana does not!!

david: there are people who become alcoholics, but that doesn't mean everyone who drinks will. everything in moderation! i don't support high school kids doing it, i think you should be at least 18. highschoolers drink too!!! and it does not affect your coordination, so you can still drive. i don't condone it, but it is possible.

woman: pot does not fry your brain cells! a chemical attaches itself to the brain which gives the relaxed effects. after a month of not using pot, it all gets flushed from your system. i'm sorry you live w/a pot head ( the equivalent of an alcoholic) that does not mean people who use marijuana responsibly are going to be like that.

all homeless criminals use alcohol, does that mean if you use alcohol you'll turn out like them?

there was an official list made in Europe ranking the harm of all drugs and they ranked marijuana below alcohol and tobacco, so it's not just my opinion! It's a Fact!

aztrain: your ideas rock! you're on my level!

Answer 1

I've got to agree with you to some extent. Marijuana is a drug. But so is tobacco, alcohol, and painkillers. All drugs have the potential to be abused, and all drug have their dangers and side effects. I don't necessarily think that hitting the bong is LESS harmful than alcohol and tobacco (however I haven't specifically looked into it), but I would never put it on the same level as more hardcore drugs such as PCP, cocaine, and heroin.

However, just because lots of people (doctors, lawyers, celebrities) have been known to puff the magic dragon, doesn't mean that it's a smart decision or that it's particularly healthy for you. Of course, I can say the same about having a drink or seven after work or smoking half a pack during one break.

I think there should be an age limit (either 18 or 21, I'm not smart enough to figure it out), before you're allowed to rock the ganja, and it should be treated the same way as alcohol in terms of operating a motor vehicle or heavy machinery. Additionally, coming to work stoned would probably affect my performance similarly as coming to work hammered, and in neither case would I expect my supervisor to be pleased.

I'm not going to claim that everything said about pot has been lies, but I don't believe it's as awful as some others claim. It doesn't have to be abused to be enjoyed. That said, it should be used in moderation and regulated, and kids should be given the facts and taught not to toke up irresponsibly.

Answer 2

It is amazing how many people genuinely believe all the government propaganda. Although they have no motivation to actually seek out the truth either. I have heard that pot can give relief to people with advanced emphysema because it actually has a positive effect on the small passageways of the lungs. also, it drops the internal eye pressure so that probably accounts for your sight issue. as for any harm, there are no confirmed cases of people dying from long term or short term problems resulting from marijuana. In fact, researchers have not been able to establish an "LD50" for cannabis. (That's a required FDA test where a Lethal Dose is given to a test group of mice of such a quantity to kill 50% of the subjects). It should be noted that McDonald's french fries have an LD50 dose and so does even water. Far beyond the fun reasons to make it legal there i also the fact that Hemp could make ethanol production a reality whereas corn never will due to corn's low cellulose yield. (Hemp is almost 11 times more productive.) ADDED: Spike is close, it was Harry Anslinger who pushed the "Marihuana Stamp Act" through the ways and means committee in congress with Hearst's help. Hemp was poised to re-emerge on the textile market which would have shifted fiber growth out of the south. DuPont's interest was in their new product "Nylon" and didn't want competition (they were not in the timber business). Anslinger and Hearst had major timberland holdings that they were protecting. and for sure, they were targeting the blacks and Mexicans to sell the idea that this was bad.

Answer 3

Because it effcts the brain in such a way that people become burnouts (I know a few) and people end up "doing nothing" (just like the guys on the couch of that anti-drug program). Of the three, tobacco has the least negative short term effects. Alcohol is a real problem due to drunken driving and domestic abuse. People think weed is harmless, but it is not. It is highly carcinogenic(tar/resin) and causes poor judgement. we all joke around about it, but it can adversly effect your driving a vehicle just like you are when you are drunk. Just because alcohol is legal does not make the case for marijuana being legal. Is it a gateway drug?
Maybe-maybe not. But too many highschool kids do it for it to be more easily accessible. Even where it is legal (Netherlands), only small amounts are allowed. If it were no more harmful than alcohol, then we could legally grow it in our backyards.

Answer 4

I don't do things just because doctors,lawyers and celebrities do it.Their brains are obviously fried,I'll keep the brains I have ,thank you,they do come in handy in the real world.
I lived with a long time pot addict,I know the long term effects this drug has on people.He couldn't hold a job.He was sweet as pie when he had his dope,but when he was out,he was a monster.I could write a book on what this drug did to him and our family.If choosing a drug over your family isn't doing harm,then I don't know what is.

Answer 5

actually, marijuana is 5 times more harsh on your lungs than cigs.



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N Engl J Med. 1988 Feb 11;318(6):347-51.
Pulmonary hazards of smoking marijuana as compared with tobacco.
Wu TC, Tashkin DP, Djahed B, Rose JE.
Department of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine 90024.

To compare the pulmonary hazards of smoking marijuana and tobacco, we quantified the relative burden to the lung of insoluble particulates (tar) and carbon monoxide from the smoke of similar quantities of marijuana and tobacco. The 15 subjects, all men, had smoked both marijuana and tobacco habitually for at least five years. We measured each subject's blood carboxyhemoglobin level before and after smoking and the amount of tar inhaled and deposited in the respiratory tract from the smoke of single filter-tipped tobacco cigarettes (900 to 1200 mg) and marijuana cigarettes (741 to 985 mg) containing 0.004 percent or 1.24 percent delta 9-tetrahydrocanabinol. As compared with smoking tobacco, smoking marijuana was associated with a nearly fivefold greater increment in the blood carboxyhemoglobin level, an approximately threefold increase in the amount of tar inhaled, and retention in the respiratory tract of one third more inhaled tar (P less than 0.001). Significant differences were also noted in the dynamics of smoking marijuana and tobacco, among them an approximately two-thirds larger puff volume, a one-third greater depth of inhalation, and a fourfold longer breath-holding time with marijuana than with tobacco (P less than 0.01). Smoking dynamics and the delivery of tar during marijuana smoking were only slightly influenced by the percentage of tetrahydrocanabinol. We conclude that smoking marijuana, regardless of tetrahydrocannabinol content, results in a substantially greater respiratory burden of carbon monoxide and tar than smoking a similar quantity of tobacco.

Answer 6

What about this? A joint is alot stronger than a cigarette..CANCER. I admit I used to be in the fight for marijuana,too years ago but not anymore. Also, marijuana clouds judgment.Plain and simple, it isn't safe.

Answer 7

It's not "looked down upon". It's illegal.

And what is legal or illegal is largely arbitary. Congress can change the laws regarding illegal drugs any time it wants.

Answer 8

Find out who is getting rich keeping it illegal and you will find the culprit behind the lies.....

lawyers, small town and judges... jail builders.... lol

most cops wouldnt have a job without it,,,,,,

and neither would most criminals......

Answer 9

It's not looked down upon, it's illegal. Since the others are legal, they're more socially acceptable.

Answer 10

though i dont smoke it, i think it should be legal. it isn't harmful, and is essencially unaddictive, unlike many legal drugs. The only reason it is illegal... the government banned it, and they cant be wrong... what would the people think-sarcasticly- ?