how is alcohol legal but marijuana not?

[Teseron 34527]

Im Rinny

ℜinny says: Because they can't tax it. That's pretty much the entire reason.

they can't tax it cuz it's not legal. if it were legal, and being sold in stores, then it would be taxed.

[Trigr Warning]

Alcohol companies wield power.

Textile manufacturers made hemp illegal because it competed with them. They blew the THC thing way out of proportion to garner public support.

Now, the prison-industrial complex and the War on Drugs relies on Marijuana being illegal.

It's all politics.

Anyone who says that a drug is illegal because it's "bad for you" is full of s**t.

[hiya im chaya]

it's legal here

[Great Rumpus Cat]

It's legal in my basement

[Lisa_the_paramagic]

So many of my relatives died from alcoholism.

[Evil Asparagus]

Touching Hair

There hasn't been enough research into Marijuana, come back in 50 years.

Seriously? There are tons of meds that haven't been around for very long. We eat genetically modified food and processed junk. We're exposed to chemicals all throughout the day. We're basically walking test subjects.

Besides, we already know plenty about marijuana. It's been around for thousands of years and there has been a great deal of research put into it.

[Touching Hair]

Evil Asparagus

...

Would you care to quote those research sources? Other than the recent one showing long term use by adolescents decreases intelligence.

[Lycoris Path]

it's just another one of those things that people 100 years from now will look at and think, "people back then were so stupid"

[Rebeldoomer]

Usurper Of Thrones

It's all about the money.

Cannabis is illegal because anyone can produce it and if anyone can produce it, no one would buy cigarettes or alcohol anymore causing big businesses to go to s**t. Our government doesn't want this and that's why they spend billions of tax payer dollars on prosecuting pot smokers/distributors.

Also, little known fact, getting high isn't the only purpose of cannabis. Historically, the plant's been used to create hemp, which is a source of industrial products such as food, clothing, medicine, paper, rope, biodegradable plastics, fuel, anything you can think of (hell, our constitution was even written on hemp). Why is it illegal to grow hemp? Imagine if every American could make his or her own clothing, paper, fuel... Cannabis became illegal in the US at the wake of the industrial revolution. Before that, it was legal.

Interesting.

[Teseron 34527]

Spyke180

Alcohol is a dirty drug.
Why is marijuana illegal you ask?
Because alcohol industry would lose money,
Because (especially) Big Pharma would lose money.
And there is an awesome thing in the government
where evil companies pay lawmakers to serve their interests.
Lobby money.
If corporations are people, Pfizer is satan.

******** that s**t. i don't get how corporations are their own "legal entity". means the people running have basically no liability whatsoever and can't get punished for all the s**t they do.

[CH1YO]

It has thousands of years of cultural significance.

[Teseron 34527]

okcarmen

I also agree that alcohol is worse than marijuana. It causes so many problems in today's society, drink driving, resulting in car crashes and people getting injured and dying. And also domestic violence and assault and other illegal behaviors brought on by being seriously drunk.

I don't really know why pot is illegal, perhaps because it's always been seen and labeled as a narcotic.
And I don't know how in the world the government would succeed at changing that.
Because the millions of people who have been put in prison, probation, and other consequences faced by possessing, manufacturing, selling marijuana etc. What would they do about that? They can't just change the law when millions have already been punished for it, cause what about all those people who have done time, done a criminal record, had their kids taken away, because of its illegal status? Theres no way they could change the status to legal after the significant amount of law enforcement put upon marijuana.

whoever labelled it as a narcotic is an idiot. in canada, marijuana laws are a lot more lenient. you only get jailed if you're growing it and selling it. it's not worth anyone's time to put someone in jail for smoking weed here. i don't smoke pot at all, not my thing, but I would rather be around someone who is high on pot than someone who is drunk.

[Teseron 34527]

booiscaredjoo

Now I'm not a certified specialist on this subject, but I'm pretty sure that using marijuana (as well as alcohol) can lead to some long term effects, especially if used everyday or in large amounts. Marijuana can cause the heart to beat faster and then could lead to heart attack. In fact, using marijuana increases that chance for a heart attack. It also lowers the blood pressure. It causes the same problems that tobacco smokers exhibit, but the important thing to know is that it contains a higher amount of carcinogenic hydrocarbons which can cause cancer.

Not to mention, like alcohol, marijuana-use can affect other members of the family. It's a very emotional subject, and it also costs a lot of money depending on how much one buys. That money can be used for more important things than something as trivial as pot. It's not a gateway drug--it's just something that makes people addicted and ruins family bonds.

So really, both of these have similar effects but one is just more effective than the other in the way that alcohol reacts quicker.

My opinion? Both are bad. I've done both, and realized that the money and the way I felt are DEFINITELY not worth it. confused

but how is that any different than cigarettes and alcohol? energy drinks are legal, and they cause heart attacks way faster than pot and cigarettes. you drink two of those things in one sitting and you could die from a heart arythmia, and there are no restrictions on it. and the idiot parents will give energy drinks to their 3 year olds. my cousin saw it on toddlers and tiaras. 6 year old was too tired to do pageant so mother shoved a red bull down her throat. one of the reasons why we're boycotting TLC.

[Tiggette]

Because Politics. Research Prohibition and learn why banning alcohol never did and never will work.

It's one of those things that have been so deeply entrenched into the lives of the majority that a law holds no power.

[Riviera de la Mancha]

Tiggette

Because Politics. Research Prohibition and learn why banning alcohol never did and never will work.

It's one of those things that have been so deeply entrenched into the lives of the majority that a law holds no power.

Its not just politics. Its also social.

Socially speaking, alcohol has been accepted for a long time. Jesus almost certainly drank beer all the time because the water from the Nile was too much of a risk. Alot of our Founding Fathers were moonshiners back when it wasn't such a crime.

Weed however has been a sub-culture in the US pretty much since the 20's onward. Its not been really ever widely accepted, and people are always going to be more inclined to ban things they themselves do not use.

The main policy issue that most pro-weed people don't address too well is this notion of Pandora's Box. The fear is that, while weed is not as bad as alcohol, legalizing it would add yet another massly produced and abusable substance to the market. Anytime you increase access, you increase the likelihood of abuse. And what's more, the policing agencies for such substances already legalized are having a hard enough time managing that.

The reasons are multi-faceted, and go beyond the ol' hemp paper story we all for the most part know.