Why is marijuana illegal while cigarettes are legal?

Can anyone tell me the difference between pot and everyday cigarettes?

Why is it that pot is illegal?

Dear SUE90. That is the dumbest crap I've heard. You can not use that as a reason why pot is illegal, if so then apparently the bus driver and pilots and doctors would be drinkin up a storm at work now dont ya think. Your a tool and need not throw your halfwit ignorance upon us. If marijuana was legal im sure it would be just like alcohol and be illegal to work under the influence along with driving under the influence you twit.

Marijuana only has 3 side effects!!!

HUNGRY HAPPY AND SLEEPY!!! Drugs you have to do crap to chemically, add baking soda, water, sturr it up. I dont know the recipe im just sayin.

long story short, marijuana was first illegalized in 1937 by our government because they could not tax it and make money off of it, the REAL reason it was illegalized was because a someone(not sure of his name right now) sold 2 joints...just 2 joints, and the gov realized this and knew that since people can grow it in their basements, they can't tax it to make more money. and also because it is used in many medical purposes, pharmacutical companies would be out of business from this god given cure/reliever of many diseases. think about it, cigarettes are so popular because once you try it, you get addicted to it from the manmade nicotine they put inside of it, and then you start to buy more and more and more. thats how the gov makes so much money off of cig's from its addictive nature to people, that they won't illegalize it for that reason alone. isn't it strange how the gov lets us consume deathly products that are manmade, such as alcohol, nicotine, tobacco, and the like, but when its something that god actually made from the beginning of time,(it's in the bible) that they say its illegal because man has no power over it?

From The End of Faith by Sam Harris. Reposted from http://quotes.gaia.com/61529/p_many_references_from_a/by_sam_harris

The consequences of our irrationality on this front are so egregious that they bear closer examination. Each year, over 1.5 million men and women are arrested in the United States because of our drug laws. At this moment, somewhere on the order of 400,000 men and women languish in U.S. prisons for nonviolent drug offenses. One million others are currently on probation. More people are imprisoned for nonviolent drug offenses in the United States than are incarcerated, for any reason, in all of Western Europe (which has a larger population). The cost of these efforts, at the federal level alone, is nearly $20 billion dollars annually. The total cost of our drug laws – when one factors in the expense to state and local governments and the tax revenue lost by our failure to regulate the sale of drugs – could easily be in excess of $100 billion dollars each year. Our war on drugs consumes an estimated 50 percent of the trial time of our courts and the full-time energies of over 400,000 police officers. These are resources that might otherwise be used to fight violent crimes and terrorism.

In historical terms, there was every reason to expect that such a policy of prohibition would fail. It is well known, for instance, that the experiment with prohibition of alcohol in the United States did little more than precipitate a terrible comedy of increased drinking, organized crime, and police corruption. What is not generally remembered is that Prohibition was an explicitly religious exercise, being the joint product of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union and the pious lobbying of certain Protestant missionary societies.

The problem with prohibition of any desirable commodity is money. The United Nations values the drug trade at $400 billion a year. This exceeds the annual budget for the U.S. Department of Defense. If this figure is correct, the trade in illegal drugs constitutes 8 percent of all international commerce (while the sale of textiles makes up 7.5 percent and motor vehicles just 5.3 percent). (35 – http://www.lindesmith.org) And yet, prohibition itself is what makes the manufacture and sale of drugs so extraordinarily profitable. Those who earn there living in this way enjoy a 5,000 to 20,000 percent return on their investment, tax-free. Every relevant indicator of the drug trades – rates of drug use and interdiction, estimates of production, the purity of drugs on the street, etc. – shows that the government can do nothing to stop it as long as such profit exists (indeed, these profits are highly corrupting of law enforcement in any case). The crimes of the addict, to finance the stratospheric cost of his lifestyle, and the crimes of the dealer, to protect both his territory and his goods, are likewise the result of prohibition. (36 footnote below) A final irony, which seems good enough to be the work of Satan himself, is that the market we have created by our drug laws has become a steady source of revenue for terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, Shining Path, and others. [supporting link – not from Sam Harris: drug policy and terrorism]

Even if we acknowledge that stopping drug use is a justifiable social goal, how does the financial cost of our war on drugs appear in light of the other challenges we face? Consider that it would require only a onetime expenditure of $2 billion to secure our commercial seaports against smuggled nuclear weapons. At present we have allocated a mere $93 million for this purpose. (footnote link) How will our prohibition of marijuana use look (this comes at the cost of $4 billion annually) if a new sun ever dawns over the port of Los Angeles? Or consider that the U.S. government can afford to spend only $2.3 billion each year on reconstruction of Afghanistan. The Taliban and Al Qaeda are now regrouping. Warlords rule the countryside beyond the city limits of Kabul. Which is more important to us, reclaiming this part of the world for the forces of civilization or keeping cancer patients in Berkeley from relieving their nausea with marijuana? Our present use of government funds suggests an uncanny skewing – we might even say derangement – of our national priorities. Such a bizarre allocation of resources is sure to keep Afghanistan in ruins for years to come. It will also leave Afghan farmers with no alternative but to grow opium. Happily for them, our drug laws still render this a highly profitable enterprise.

Anyone who believes that God is watching us from beyond the stars will feel that punishing peaceful men and women for their private pleasure is perfectly reasonable. We are now in the twenty-first century. Perhaps we should have better reasons for depriving our neighbors of their liberty at gunpoint. Given the magnitude of the real problems that confront us – terrorism, nuclear proliferation, the spread of infectious disease, failing infrastructure, lack of adequate funds for education and health care, etc. – our war on sin is so outrageously unwise as to almost defy rational comment. How have we grown so blind to our deeper interests? And how have we manages to enact such policies with so little substantive debate?

36 footnote pg 259 of book

When was the last time someone was killed over a tobacco or alcohol deal gone awry? We can be confident that the same normalcy would be achieved if drugs were regulated by the government. At the inception of the modern “war on drugs,” the economist Milton Friedman observed that “legalizing drugs would simultaneously reduce the amount of crime and raise the quality of law enforcement.” He then invited the reader to “conceive of any other measure that would accomplish so much to promote law and order” (Friedman, “Prohibition and Drugs,” Newsweek May 1, 1972). What was true then remains true after three decades of pious misrule; the criminality associated with the drug trade is the inescapable consequence of our drug laws themselves.

Personally I think that pretty much all the bases have been covered on the subject here. Some posts have been GREAT and offer good solid information. I agree with a lot of them. However, most of them have been completely retarded.
I think we are focusing on WHY the drug is illegal too much here. The best answer I can come up with, seeing as how im not a politician or a doctor or a scientist, is that its illegal because our government says it is. As americans we just have to realize that our government doesnt always make sensable decisions.
I myself am a daily marijuana user. I have seen a lot of positive and negative results from using the drug. Personally I will not leave my house after using the drug for at least 3 hours. I could not forgive myself for hurting someone else while on marijuana. Lets face it, be honest with yourselves, marijuana does impair your motor skills. otherwise why are we using it, other than medically? we use it because it gets us high. and like alcohol it should be used responsibly.
its your body, do with it as you pleaase, lets just try to keep the consequences of the drug, whether positive or negative, to ourselves. why hurt other people with it.
the plain and simple fact is the government says they dont want us to use it. personally I dont understand it. but all the potheads on here throwing out conspiracy theories are making people who use marijuana sound stupid, only adding to the stereotype!

well because the government cant tax it...and because one joint is equal to four ciggarettes...itll get legalized eventually but when they do more research on it, but if you havent noticed, the U.S has more important things going on right now then legalizin drugs

weed is illegal because the government cant tax it to make money off of it... I dont know anyone who died from weed but plenty from cigarettes...

Actually there are at least 3 major types of cannabis and whether they produce aggression or not is completely up to the individual, although it is rare. The major types are: Afghani (indica), Skunk #1 (sativa) and Haze (sativa). Afghani and indicas have a sedative effect. Skunk has a euphoric effect, while Haze has a trippy/psychedelic effect. Most marijuana seeds on sale today a hybrids of these. Then, there are the landraces, many of which have their own unique effect. For instance, the African sativas often have 100% THC and 0% CBD, which give a very electric body stone/high. Personally, I only smoke sativas (on the euphoric side). Instead of a sedative effect, some indica's give me a melancholy and negative trip - so I don't smoke them. That is one of the benefits of growing your own weed - you always know what you are getting. All you need is a couple of fluorescent lights for germination/early vegging, and a balcony or small yard that gets enough sun. For flowering, you put them in a box or closet that keeps all the light out (important) but lets some air in. Keep the soil and nutrient ph around 6.8 to 7, and you're on your way to growing better weed than you can buy anywhere. And more of it, practically for free.

OMG some of you are stupid. ok, cigerettes do have some health risks with certain chemicals in it and harms your liver. Marijuana also had chemicals that harm your body, but also release Hallucinogens in your brain chemicals causing you to act different as well as redirect your brain cells with different messages in the dendrites causing it not only to effect your thinking, but also impair your memory. And don't say it's a plant from god, keep that religious crpa out of it because the government is based on freedom of religion so the god stuff won't work here. And to add to that, alcohol is bad for you if you drink it IN EXCESS!! for example a bit of wine will help clean your mouth and line it to prevent tooth decay or other oral bacteria.

So if you are stupid because of doing pot, then shut up now. If you aren't and can drive a decent arguement as very few people could, then ok. But stupid people need to shut up seriously.

weed is more dangerous than cigarettes, weed makes you hallucinate and messes up your body and mind while cigarettes dont do nearly as much damage to yourself and others

Oh yes? Well how many people died from smoking marijuana last year, compared to the number of people who died from smoking cigarettes?

Also, you can't overdose on marjiuana, or resin or thc. On the other hand, nicotine makes for a great insecticide. Which is also dangerous to humans.

And marijuana doesn't impair your memory - in my case, it enhances it. And it greatly enhances my ability to visualize.

I think the maxim; people fear what they do not understand is appropriate for this situation. I myself have smoked Marijuana for years and I have never tried or wish to try hard drugs. Furthermore, anyone with the mental capcity of a three year old can state that smoking Marijuana is illegal, but what seems to elude all of them is what IT ACTUALLY MEANS. As long as people chose ignorance over knowing and learning the barbarians will continue their mono-syallbic song of Ignorance is Bliss.

Cannabis makes you hallucinate? Really, you must be smoking some laced cannabis then.

Sleepiness
Difficulty keeping track of time, impaired or reduced short-term memory
Reduced ability to perform tasks requiring concentration and coordination, such as driving a car
Increased heart rate
Potential cardiac dangers for those with preexisting heart disease
Bloodshot eyes
Dry mouth and throat
Decreased social inhibitions
Paranoia, hallucinations
Impaired or reduced short-term memory
Impaired or reduced comprehension
Altered motivation and cognition, making the acquisition of new information difficult
Paranoia
Psychological dependence
Impairments in learning, memory, perception, and judgment - difficulty speaking, listening effectively, thinking, retaining knowledge, problem solving, and forming concepts

I'd like to see a similiar list of effects for OTHER DRUGS too, including Cocaine, Meth, Heroin, Alcohol, etc... Don't tell me they don't have bad effects too.

Also paranoia, anxiety, etc... COMES from IT being ILLEGAL, not because the drug causes these things itself.

Difficulty keeping track of time, impaired or reduced short-term memory
Reduced ability to perform tasks requiring concentration and coordination, such as driving a car

These two are the most stupid things I've ever heard from an ignorant person who's NEVER even tried cannabis themselves. In fact I'd rather hear someone WITH experience speak against it than someone that's never tried it. I've smoked cannabis, it doesn't do these things, reduce ability to perform tasks requiring concentration... pure and utter nonsense, it makes you focus MORE on what you are doing, that's why the Jamaicans smoke it while they are working, it helps them concentrate on the task at hand. Reduced sense of time, well most hippies don't wear watches now do they?

I've had it up to HERE with people telling me that a PLANT should be illegal. A PLANT! Something that grows! In the ground! We don't make apples or banana's illegal. And WHY this particular plant? Because it makes YOU feel good! OMG! Heaven forbid that we relax once in awhile.

lol bun that

all good if it makes you happy

like everything - in moderation. can be the tricky bit

mj might make you look dumb physically but instead you are mentally enlightened. it makes your worries go away. and who cares what others think of you. most people are frightened away from it by the media. if one believes it is good then it will be good(satisfying( not talking about health issues)). most(not all) people who badmouthing reefer probably never tried it. do these people even think about why they havent tried it? is it a social taboo?

Long story short: the government ruins everything!!!

Hi GirlFromGA,

You can check when and why marijuana or hemp became illegal, after centuries of legality. For instance, check out the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1937_Marihuana_Tax_Act

Also, alcohol is legal, even though it kills many people a year, while marijuana has never been known to kill anyone. And even though alcohol is legal, it is restricted to people over a certain age. The same should be true for marijuana.

And when there are too many trivial laws, the people stop respecting the law itself. And that is a very dangerous trade off, for making a plant illegal to own or grow.

Hi GirlFromGA,

You can check when and why marijuana or hemp became illegal, after centuries of legality. For instance, check out the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1937_Marihuana_Tax_Act

Also, alcohol is legal, even though it kills many people a year, while marijuana has never been known to kill anyone. And even though alcohol is legal, it is restricted to people over a certain age. The same should be true for marijuana.

And when there are too many trivial laws, the people stop respecting the law itself. And that is a very dangerous trade off, for making a plant illegal to own or grow.

just like chris rock said. It's all right, because it's all white cigarretes kill many people and it was discovered by a white boy. if cigs were discovered by two black brothas you'd get 25 to life for walkin down 25th ave with a pack of marlboro in your hands.

Dear Hears an idea, either get on the web and buy salvia, while you still can, they say it has potential to be the next marijuana. Its not the effects of the herb, which is still legal besides for in 4 states, but the way that it is sweeping the nation. There are still other herbs you can buy, that act as marijuana, and the difference can not be seen even to the everyday pothead. Many websites sell salvia, and kronic, along with krapton which are herb shrooms, all high potential right now for being illegal soon because the effects are equivalant. Think of marijuana, it was an herb, people heard about it, smoked it liked it, try salvia and kronic. The Sh*t made the news paper, salvia, so if it made the paper, shits decent, I started by buying a gram. Thank u, and have a nice day!

It stays in your system for 30 days and has lingering effects well after its usage. That was what supposedly declared it a dangerous drug, but the elites are the reason it was declared as that. It really is about the paper industry and the US controls who gets rich, who gets college educated, and etc. etc.. Just try any of it without being an elite. You will have a hard disappointing life ahead of you.

What about all that ridlin people cram down the kids throat killing their livers and brain cells because you are too lazy to people won't them out to play?

What about those psychotic drugs that is a fad to take that also kills the liver and brain cells, plus intervenes in decision making while driving? Not to mention makes you unable to function without the pills because you forgot how to think for yourselves?

A nation so hell bent on medicating everyone should back off stupid small problems like marijauna. There is so much more pushing through the courts systems and wasting tax payers money than prosecuting a dope smoker. Now cigarettes are the new marijuana. They are going to arrest them too, plus illegalize liquor, but will they ever illegalize that whiny housewife that over dramatizes everything to get her way through the justice system hoping make her man stay at home with her/ his whiny self costing them to make stupid rules and ignore the real priorities of where the judicial system shoud be aware of?

No, they won't. If you fear marijuana smokers you are already brainwashed. If you take a chance at psychotic pills you are taking more of a chance at hurting your body than marijuana.