Drugs are bad for you so they are illegal. Aren't cigarettes bad for you?

Question

Shouldn't they be illegal too?

WHEN WILL THE GOVERNMENT STOP TELLING US HOW TO LIVE OUR LIVES?!!

hey John K they were dumb enough to make that decision. you can educate people...like teens. there all these alcohol prevention ads and programs...why not have the same things for drugs.
by the way i don't use or ever will use drugs.

mbush 40- no i really don't want universal healthcare. i think it is retarded. thanks for telling me what i want though.

Does anyone know what happened in the Prohibition years? crime sky rocketed. same thing because of drugs.

Answer 1

great argument...which i've repeated myself many times...

there is no other rational reason I could give you except that there is no money to be made in legalizing marijuana...if there were and you could tax it, it would already be legal..but you cant' because if it were legal you wouldn't need to buy it, you would just grow your own. Simple as that. Any person with more than two brain cells can grow marijuana...the same can't be said for tobacco.

Cigarettes and alcohol contribute to thousands of deaths and diseases each year...

Marijuana has killed ZERO people.

Answer 2

Drugs cost money, in health care costs, and jail and court costs, drugs interfere with a persons judgment and ability to function in society, so does alcohol. We like what is bad for us, but we didn't know how bad cigarettes were until the forties.
Cigarette, are, for all practical purposes a controlled substance, with age limits an societal pressures.
Buying a pack when you are under eighteen is illegal in most states.
But cigarettes don't interfere with your judgment behind the wheel or whether or not you pick a fight.
Alcohol was made illegal and it opened the way for criminals. So did drugs.
But we can't have our working classes off their work so we allow some and disallow others.

Answer 3

Ruth, if you do your research you will find that Amsterdam is considering changing their drug laws because it is tourists that are the problem. They take it all in excess. I have been to Amsterdam 3 times for business (of course you do have to mix in some pleasure) and the locals have had it with not only American tourists but almost any tourist from any country. The Dutch use responsibly, it is the tourists that go there to get messed up that cause the problems.

Answer 4

Yes Cigarettes should be banned, at least take out the nicotine from its ingredients - causes addiction.

But honestly, in every food/medicines we consumed in the States have addiction ingredients added to them.

For example : "Coca" - Cola

"Still, Bolivian growers say coca is a "potent shrub [that] belongs to the cultural heritage of this Andean nation." While the coca leaf is indeed sacred to many in the region, it remains the base ingredient of cocaine and therefore illegal to use and grow in most places around the globe.
....

A little history lesson might be in order here: Originally, the Coca-Cola syrup was made from coca leaves and kola nuts -- the source of caffeine. An estimated 9 milligrams of cocaine were present in one glass, according to Wikipedia. Today, it is largely assumed that the syrup is made from "spent" coca leaves (the leftovers of the cocaine-extraction process) and kola nuts.

While Coca-Cola denies it has ever used cocaine as an ingredient, it wouldn't say whether the natural coca leaf was used to flavor the soda. Bolivian coca growers, however, claim the company used to purchase tons of their leaves annually. "

Answer 5

I take it from your post that you want drugs to be legal so that no one in the government is telling you how to live your life. I suggest you go into a rehab center for a few days and learn from those who are addicted the hell they have been through and are going through getting clean. That will give you a whole new outlook on whether drugs should be legal. Remember, addiction can happen to any and all of us. It knows no race, income or other boundaries.

Answer 6

I'm with John K on this one. In fact, come spend a day in court with me, and I'll show you people there for armed robbery, car-jacking, burglary, rape and murder, all because of their drug addictions. Don't assume legalization makes these crimes stop. Addicts still have to support their habits.

Or go spend a day in juvenile court and see how many children become wards of the state because of their parents' drug addictions.

FYI: Even Amsterdam is considering tightening their stance on drugs, due to the criminal activities which are threatening the peace of everyone else.

Answer 7

More Psychologically-profiled plainclothed, armed guards in malls. Gun qualified educators.

Also we should consider and heed the wisdom of Pogo: We has met the enemy and he is Us!

At the same time we would do well to consider the well-documented fact that the cost of illegal drugs drives the need to commit crimes by many ignorant enough to get 'hooked' on them althewhile noting that coke, heroin -even 'grass' tends to make the user docile rather than violent. Arm and Educate...That's the ticket.

Answer 8

Well, cigarettes are not only bad for you and can cause lung cancer they also can cause lung cancer and asthma attacks in people who do not even smoke by second hand smoke. It is hazardous to everyone, plus it smells and it makes your eyes water. Why should innocent people sitting in a restaurant or other public place have to suffer because of a smoker's disgusting habit? If you want to smoke go outside, you chose to smoke so why should it be anyone else's problem?

Answer 9

You want the government to stop running your life, yet i bet you want Universal Healthcare.

Edit: you're right I shouldn't tell you how you live.

Ask yourself this though. How many people a day are rushed to the ER because of a Cigarette OD? Think before you speak.

Answer 10

Cigarettes are illegal for a large percentage of the people on here.