Why is marijuana still illegal?
968027
Keeping drugs illegal hardly makes money for the government.  We spend billions each year and have little to show for it.  Instead, the reality is that it is very politically unpopular to come out in favor of legalization.  actually there are even several conservative thinkers who despise addicts and addiction and drugs in general nonetheless favor legalization (including legendary but controversial conservative economist Milton Friedman who died last week) as a policy.  Until these voices can convince the general public that legalization would save money and lives and not constitute society's tacit approval of what is generally destructive behavior (yes, even marijuana can have dire consequences for its abusers) there will be little political impetus for change.  Thus, right now, the issue is simply a nonstarter for any politician who wants to keep his or her job.
553843
Marijuana use is less harmful and risky than the use of alcohol, tobacco, and many nonprescription drugs. It is the safest (currently) illegal drug. Marijuana is much less addictive than tobacco or alcohol. This is one reason why most people that smoked it in the 70's were able to quit easily and not become addicts.\n\n2) Legalization of marijuana would cut down on crime. Because marijuana is illegal, it is difficult to manufacture, and is expensive, so addicts often have to turn to crime to sustain their habit. Legalization would drive the price down and alleviate this problem. Currently, much of the crime that goes on is a result of territory disputes between dealers. Legalization of marijuana would hurt organized crime as a whole. If marijuana was legal, the entire infrastructure of organized crime involved in its manufacturing and distribution would lose any reason for existence because marijuana would be legally produced and sold at a much cheaper price by legitimate companies. Police officers and suspected informants often face retribution by gangs and drug dealers. Legalization of marijuana would simply eliminate the need for dealers and put a stop to all this. Legalization would cut down on corruption in the law enforcement, the government. Officials will no longer be tempted into accepting bribes, and pocketing large amounts of drug money. \n\n3) Legalization would free up resources to fight legitimate crimes. It would end prison overcrowding, as many prisoners are sitting in jails for drug-related convictions. It would free up the court system and the police and allow them to concentrate on other crimes. Fighting marijuana-related "crimes" is costing us tax money. \n\n4) Legalizing marijuana would make it safer for users. One of the main reasons why marijuana is unsafe right now is because it isn't regulated, and its quality isn't monitored by anyone. When people buy marijuana, they don't know for sure what they're getting or where it's been.\n\n5) The government has no right to interfere with people's personal freedom as it is currently doing. Smoking marijuana only has the potential to hurt the health of the user. An individual should have the right to choose to use it. People are allowed to skydive, and drive cars. There are risks in those and many other activities, but the government isn't regulating them. Sure, smoking marijuana does put others at minimal risk through second hand smoke and the user's actions towards others, but this is also valid for alcohol and tobacco. This is why driving while stoned should remain illegal.
194897
Why WOULDN'T pot be legal?  Lets talk about what is legal and what is not legal... Alcohol is legal - People can get drunk all they want.  The fact is when people get drunk, they often get violent, and alcohol is a leading cause of family violence.  With weed, the worst thing people do is get the giggles and crave fast food.  Pot is not like other drugs (IE coke or other chemical drugs).  Pot is not physically addictive.  Its a natural plant from the earth, not processed in any way.  How can a PLANT from God be illegal?
549623
I love how most of you people respond to this question by repeating the same line that's been fed to you by DARE and the television.  \n\nThe only reason most narcotics are illegal is because the government saw certain groups of people (who they considered undesirable) using them and criminalized them in an effort to discourage those people.  \n\nCase in point: after the construction of the railroad in the Southwest, the government had more Mexicans in the country than they were willing to put up with.  So, after learning that those Mexicans liked to smoke marijuana, the government criminalized it and arrested and deported all Mexicans caught smoking it.\n\nCase in point:  In 1914 cocaine was criminalized after outragious claims were made that most crimes against white women in the South were made by the "cocaine-crazed Negro brain."  This played out well in the South where prejudice against blacks was still very strong.\n\nAs a side note: Prescription drugs are just as illegal as narcotics when used by a person other than the one they've been prescribed to.
546521
Dear Friend,\n\nYes, marijuana should be legal.  It is a mild narcotic with no addictive properties.  Money spent in a futile attempt to stamp out weed could be directed towards more pressing social problems.\n\nYour Friend,\nFrancesois
314571
pot was made illegal when lsd and all the hard druggs of the 60's were i think. instead of actually knowing what pot was or how it was different then acid and x and cocaine, and the other hard drugs, it was illegialized right along with it. so really for no good reason is it illegal.. yes it should be legalized.. we wouldnt spend so much money on the fight against drugs, and would be able to focus on the important things like coke, and crack, and heron, exc... the things that actually kill ppl
798840
Although I don't support it, the war on drugs is not over, it continues to this day.\nI do think they need to change the definition of illegal substances. Pot is not any more harmful than beer. throwing people in jail for having a small quantity of pot is ludicris. It overcrowds the jails and bogs down the system, it also destroys lives. A person caught with a few grams of pot is considered a criminal like a person caught with a pound of heroin. It's a joke (the war on drugs).
323935
Herb is illegal because of its ability to "gateway" individuals onto other stronger addictions. No matter what anyone tells your "herb" is a drug and is addicting, it puts pressure on the backs of the eyes, giving the impression of (stoned) (or chinked eyed) and speeds the bodies endomorphins up, (the bodies natural defense for pain) chemical alcohol is legal only because they can tax it and herb they cannot, in your defense, it should be legal, but they cant tax it and its america... so ......
52970
Pot is illegal because the War on Drugs is a cash cow for the government. And it also keeps undesirables - minorities, the poor, criminals - under control. It is a lot easier to bust a black kid with pot on him and get him convicted than a white kid. It's all part of the hate machine that our government's becoming.\nHey Figato - go ask your kids for a joint, smoke it, and chill the heck out man.
433183
I see there are quite a lot of uneducated people answering questions nowadays.\n\nThe only reason marijuana was made illegal was to discriminate against the Mexicans coming into America during the early 1900s. First, they passed a law that said if a person possessed marijuana, they needed a tax stamp on it, but the government never gave anyone these stamps so the cops would just throw those people in jail. It had nothing to do with people actually getting high off of it. Then in the 1950s, the government went and made it completely illegal because they were so uneducated about it, they thought it made people psychotic murderers.\n\nEdit: I swear, some people just buy into everything they are told on TV. As I see more stupid people comment on how marijuana is a gateway drug, I must interject once again. It's is NOT a gateway drug. People see all drugs as taboo, so if they try marijuana and like it, that makes them wonder if the government is wrong about all the other illegal drugs out there. Legalize it, and I guarantee people who do other drugs will quit doing those and just smoke marijuana. And the people who just start smoking marijuana will be content with the affect it has on them and won't do anything else. The folks that are so bent on trying other drugs will do so regardless if they ever smoke marijuana. It's just the fact that marijuana is much more accessable, so that is usually the drug they use first.
852294
It is illegal because there is no way for the U.S. to regulate and tax it. People would just grow it in their backyards. This is the REAL reason, not because it is a "gateway" drug. (If people want to do drugs, it is because they choose too, not because they got high and the joint said "Hey, you like this? Try Heroin!!" I've smoked marijuana many times before, but it has never made me want to try anything else.)
310667
Alcohol is more harmful to the human body. Marijuana is illegal because it is a drug and the government can't make any money off of it. If it were legalized, the revenue from it would be the releif that this country has been in need of for too many years. We have many legal drugs that are way more harmful and yet they are used every day. Pot makes you mello. I think it should be legalized, and sold like cigarettes. This would eliminate the drug dealers and make things safer. The gov must be in with the drug dealers... we go to jail and they are at fault for allowing this to happen.  Any body think this is true?
382209
Marijuana is illegal because, unlike alcohol, when used even in moderation, it is mind-altering. And even though it has some medical benefits in certain circumstances, the FDA would never approve it due to the harmful side affects from it being an inhalant.\n\nIn layman's terms, one beer will not have a mind-altering affect on you while one toke from a joint will.
336105
Marijuana has been used for centuries in many religious practices, it is only in modern times it has been outlawed. I think Rastafarians are still allowed to use it for religious purposes though.
406287
There are absolutely no reasons for it to stay illegal. It's an enormous cheek that it is illegal, it's a bit like saying "God made a mistake!" (thanks to Bill Hicks deceased for that) and that seems a tad presumptuous to me.
611498
i believe that it is a crime everywhere (federal law, and upheld by the supreme court) to have anything dealing with a marijuana plant in your possession, and also paraphanalia.  interestingly enough, in most places, it isnt illegal to actually smoke it, except if you are driving.
67551
There is no reason to keep it illegal, it does not make any sense. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson used to grow it, during WW II the US Government paid farmers to grow it, for rope, for ships.\n\nPeople can grow it themselves, and smoke it themselves, pretty hard to 'govern' a plant! Alas,  that is one of the reasons it remains illegal- You cannot 'patent' a plant, so drug companies cannot make a profit from it, so make synthetic drugs instead, which can be taxed, and profits made. A pity really, for out of the Hemp plant you can make:\n\nPaper\nFuel\nTofu (Hemp seeds have more digestible protein than soybeans do)\nFabric\nRope\nA Good Time