Why is Marijuana Illegal?

[renohol]

In all fairness, the millions spent on the drug war, along with the thousands of harmless prisoners in federal and state prisons is hardly non-consequential.

Tabasco, u have sum very good points and would u hold it against me for snacking on Cheez_It brand crackers flavored with Tabasco?.. they r very good!

 

[renohol]

I pose another question, is it worth it to illegalize something that at its worst is the equivalent to a cigarette(it isn't, but what the hell)? Please, tell me if it is worth the millions and millions of dollars and human suffering caused by the war on MJ.

as i said earlier im my posts just trace the money trail and u shall find your answers my son

just look to Bush's war on cutting off the supply of oil and see all the suffering it causes while the rest of us giggle like school girls as the price of oil reaches record peaks.

 

[BasketCase]

And what studies prove that MJ causes cancer?

Studies by the fire department.

Burning anything produces a vile cocktail of dangerous chemicals, from plain old carbon dioxide (which IS toxic at concentrations above 5% by volume!) to carbon monoxide (poisonous), benzene (carcinogen) and cyanide products (no explanation needed there). There are many different carcinogens that come from burning objects. The dirtier the burn, the more carcinogens. And a cigarette (or a blunt) is a dirty burn.

By the way--if you'll check a few medical web sites, you'll discover that the number one cause of fire-related deaths is smoke inhalation. Not burns to the skin, and not burns inside the lungs from inhaling superheated air. The lung damage comes from inhaling 23 different poisons at once.

Something else I found out while reading up on the fire department: ganja cigarettes can also kill you the same way normal cigarettes kill. Turns out the number one cause of smoking-related deaths is when your cigarette sets your HOUSE on fire.

 

[BasketCase]

I pose another question, is it worth it to illegalize something that at its worst is the equivalent to a cigarette(it isn't, but what the hell)? Please, tell me if it is worth the millions and millions of dollars and human suffering caused by the war on MJ.

Compared to billions of dollars spent every year by state and local fire and medical personnel due to deaths from A and T.

 

[Adamb0mb]

its ok, i know little about economics too!..but the reason marijuana or cannibus is illegal still is because its worth so much..if suddenly everyone could grow and pocess it what would happen to the billons of $s it geneerates by being illegal go? and what would happen to all the people who depend apon those dollars do to pay the rent?

Yeah LightFang, think of all the poor drug dealers that would be put out of business by legalization. Or the cops who would have to bust real criminals instead of potheads/dealers to earn their stripes. And what about Joe Camel... will his humps still be glossy if people put down his cigarettes to pick up a joint (actually I bet Camel would start selling joints if they became legal).

Burning anything produces a vile cocktail of dangerous chemicals, from plain old carbon dioxide (which IS toxic at concentrations above 5% by volume!) to carbon monoxide (poisonous), benzene (carcinogen) and cyanide products (no explanation needed there). There are many different carcinogens that come from burning objects. The dirtier the burn, the more carcinogens. And a cigarette (or a blunt) is a dirty burn.

So what do you propose... we outlaw fire?

We burn many things for many reasons, such as entertainment/enjoyment (birthday candles and cigarettes), transportation (fuel), and warmth (camp fires and central heating).

All of these have their risks and rewards and in the case of marijuana many people are saying the reward of legalization (money saved on law enforcement as well as user enjoyment) is worth the risk (some chance of cancer akin to but less than cigarettes and completely avoidable with vaporizers and brownies).

In my opinion the default stance on an issue should be legal and if you want to make it illegal you should have a damn good reason.

 

[Berzerker]

here's some proof about cannibus and cancer

That link says pot reduces tumors

wow, good news actually...

 

[Tabasco Sauce]

Compared to billions of dollars spent every year by state and local fire and medical personnel due to deaths from A and T.

Christ, you are a good at sophistry... anyway, 42 billion per year on the war on pot, plus the amount spent to house non-violent prisoners. We are getting pretty close to a trillion dollars in inflation adjusted dollars on his war. Not worth it. And again, you assume everyone smokes pot, it can be eaten. That gets rid of the fire risk.

 

[Berzerker]

BC, all the studies on rats in the world that claim pot causes cancer lack one thing - an epidemic of human beings with cancer from pot. That tells me there's something more going on in the smoke from tobacco and pot (and the hazards of breeding rats prone to cancer for studies). Another factor is the soil the plants are grown in, banning pot reduces quality control and efforts to evade detection include growing plants in toxic areas with high levels of heavy metals.


I suggest everyone read Sharwood's contribution about pot's legislative history. It shows how fascistic this country was (and is), not surprisingly Hearst was a fan of Mussolini.

 

[BasketCase]

BC, all the studies on rats in the world that claim pot causes cancer lack one thing - an epidemic of human beings with cancer from pot.

Absolutely--no such epidemic has occurred.

The question is, why? Why is there an epidemic of (human) deaths from tobacco but not from pot? There must be something significant that's different between the two. Here are all the differences I can think of: different plant leaves inside the rolled-up paper (unimportant by itself). Presence of THC in one, and nicotine in the other (also insignificant). Different smoke when burned (different poisons, same effects--you may find burning cannibis is MORE toxic than burning tobacco, but I see no reason to consider them significantly different because smoke is always full of poisons and carcinogens during a dirty burn). And then there are the only two significant differences I can come up with: one of them is a lot more expensive, and you can get arrested for using that one.

Both of those last two differences stem from the (il)legal status of cannibis. I call that a probable cause-and-effect relationship. Though not proven, because cannibis users are rarely honest about their usage and we're missing essential statistical data in several areas.

 

[BasketCase]

Christ, you are a good at sophistry

Okay, that was insulting. I am NOT a sophist. I'm overly logical, arrogant, cynical, condescending, bitter, mildly bipolar, antisocial, and lazy.

But I am definitely not sophisticated.



Wait a second. What was that word again???

... anyway, 42 billion per year on the war on pot, plus the amount spent to house non-violent prisoners. We are getting pretty close to a trillion dollars in inflation adjusted dollars on his war.

A trillion dollars over how many years? And over those same years, how much was spent to deal with the damage from A and T? (Individually, not combined)

I'm good at sophistry? You're good at lying with statistics. Your latest offense being a nasty little felony called the semi-attached figure, if anybody gives a crap about fancy names for a number that doesn't mean anything by itself. So what if it's a huge and impressive number? You gave us no scale or any other meaning to attach to it.

Not worth it. And again, you assume everyone smokes pot, it can be eaten. That gets rid of the fire risk.

I only make assumptions when there's a damn good reason.

People could use patches or Nicorette to get their nicotine fix without the risk of setting their houses on fire. Guess what, Sherlock, they go right on buying the cigarettes. I see no reason why ganja should get special treatment--unless the person providing the special treatment has a dishonest agenda.


Oh, and aside from my other personal problems--I'm also prone to uncalled-for and impolite zingers like that last one.

 

[Sharwood]

Basketcase, I have a rock here I'd like to sell you. It keeps tigers away.

Thanks Berzerker. It's nice to know that someone actually read the two giant damn articles I searched for and posted.

 

[BasketCase]

Thank you, Sharwood, but this is a really vicious tiger, and there's only two ways to keep her happy--chocolate and stuffed animals.

Edit: Errrrr......actually three ways......but there's children in here, and I can't mention the third one.

 

[Sharwood]

Thank you, Sharwood, but this is a really vicious tiger, and there's only two ways to keep her happy--chocolate and stuffed animals.

Edit: Errrrr......actually three ways......but there's children in here, and I can't mention the third one.

That was surprising, but hilarious. I'm assuming she doesn't read this?

 

[BasketCase]

......uhhhhh.......

I dunno if she has a CFC membership or not.....

 

[BasketCase]

Tell ya what, folks, here's an attached figure:

Cost of Smoking in Florida

The Florida Institute for Smoking Cessation (FISC), a new statewide coalition committed to reducing smoking rates in Florida, today released an economic study indicating that smoking costs the state economy more than $20 billion per year.

Note how you are actually given a lot more than just "X dollars spent on the problem". You get the spending rate: $20 billion per year. And you get a scale on which to measure that number: the Florida state economy.

Advance warning: this number was published by a group that has an agenda--getting people to Butt Out. So the number could be a flat-out lie, but it's an example of a good statistic. You get context. You get the environment surrounding the number.

What if that number is true.....? That's $20 billion a year in one state. Multiply it by fifty, and you get what?

You get the following number: "smoking costs the United States a trillion dollars a year".

 

[Truronian]

To give teens something relatively non-consequential spend all their political energy on so that they don't get involved with the many far more important issues and causes important today?

Ha! I like that answer.

 

[Narz]

Studies by the fire department.

Burning anything produces a vile cocktail of dangerous chemicals, from plain old carbon dioxide (which IS toxic at concentrations above 5% by volume!) to carbon monoxide (poisonous), benzene (carcinogen) and cyanide products (no explanation needed there). There are many different carcinogens that come from burning objects. The dirtier the burn, the more carcinogens. And a cigarette (or a blunt) is a dirty burn.

By the way--if you'll check a few medical web sites, you'll discover that the number one cause of fire-related deaths is smoke inhalation. Not burns to the skin, and not burns inside the lungs from inhaling superheated air. The lung damage comes from inhaling 23 different poisons at once.

Something else I found out while reading up on the fire department: ganja cigarettes can also kill you the same way normal cigarettes kill. Turns out the number one cause of smoking-related deaths is when your cigarette sets your HOUSE on fire.

So you're not against marijuana in general, just the smoking of it?

That's good to know. Vaporizers FTW!

 

[Narz]

To give teens something relatively non-consequential spend all their political energy on so that they don't get involved with the many far more important issues and causes important today?

Ha! I like that answer.

Heh, me too, I missed that one (probably a grain of truth in there too).

 

[Mirc]

To answer the OP, the initial illegalization probably began as an excuse to hassle minorities and other undesirables and to quell the threat that industrial hemp was posing to the cotton industry (among other reasons).

I saw a documentary on this a couple months ago, forgot the name.

Okay... then why is it illegal everywhere in the world? Even in places where minorities were not hassled and cotton was not produced?

 

[Narz]

Okay... then why is it illegal everywhere in the world?

It isn't.

xcl