Why is marijuana considered an illegal drug when in actuallity it is an herb?

Question

I see mixing chemicals is a drug but rolling this herb into a cigarette and smoking it does not seem to be a problem. Drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes are more harmful to the body than smoking a joint.

Answer 1

I guess then that magic mushrooms are vegetables.

Answer 2

Be careful about posting questions like this - you arouse the ire of rabid, anti-drug zealots who would rather FEEL than THINK.

The fact that marijuana is an herb has absolutely nothing to do with its illegality. Similarly, it has nothing to do with "altering the brain's chemistry" as one poster said.

In fact, the prohibition against marijuana began shortly after the Mexican Revolution when a new tide of immigrants came flooding over the border. It was these farm workers who first introduced marijuana as a recreational drug to the United States (although it was, at the time, perfectly legal). Marijuana laws were first used as a racist measure of socio-economic control.

Marijuana was first outlawed in 1937 under the Marihuana Tax Act. This legislation also helped usher in the Federal Department of Narcotics, headed by Harry Anslinger, who was a one-man propaganda campaign. Anslinger was responsible for painting an otherwise innocuous plant enjoyed by a small minority of Americans into "The Weed with Roots in Hell!" describing users as violent, psychotic, rapists and killers.

Of course there was money to be made from this campaign (one could call it the drug hysteria-industrial complex, I suppose) . Today, with more and more of our country's drug convicts housed in PRIVATE prisons, the war against pot continues unabated.

And judging by some of the answers you've received thus far, it would appear that many people have done little to educate themselves about this issue. That's too bad because whether you use marijuana or not, its senseless prohibition is costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

Answer 3

The United States was the creation of men who believed that each person has the right to do what he wants with his own life as long as he does not interfere with his neighbors' pursuit of happiness the problem is when his neighbor's idea of happiness is persecuting others, and that is what it should be illegal.

Answer 4

The only reason marijuana is illegal is because of racism. They couldn't get the people to back a ban on it until they told them it had different effects on black people than it would on a white person.

They spread the propaganda saying it would turn a black man into a rampaging rapist and murderer if they smoked it. And unfortunately people were ignorant enough at that time to buy into it.

Answer 5

There are plenty of drugs found in herbs. Opium & Cocaine come immediately to mind.

Answer 6

because the government can not control the flow of the stuff. they cant tax it which means it doesnt make them money. its all about the money. if the government grew the stuff and sold it ppl would just take the seeds and grow it themselves. they cant make money on it so they wont let us have it. period end of story. go on vacation to amsterdam. everything is legal there. they have the best economy and lowest crime rate too!!!

Answer 7

almost every drug out there, both legal and illegal comes from herbs or plants.
Its considered illegal because that is what society as a whole wants.

Answer 8

And if you think you can convince a court on this B.S. semantic argument, go for it. Go deal about 20 pounds and get caught, so you can contest the current law. We'll see you in about 15 years, with good behavior.

Answer 9

It is an herb that naturally contains THC, a controlled substance.

Answer 10

Gosh, Heroin is a Flower (Poppy), Cocaine is a plant (Coca), and PCP is just a tranquilizer.
Gee, lets legalize them too, by your theory.....