Excellent article. I really enjoyed the long read that others couldn't make it through
. Anyways, there is some very valuable information near the top of the article that I would like to point out.
In the 2nd paragraph, there is a quote by Daniel that says "Everything in America is controlled by big corporations now." Daniel hit the nail on the head with this one. For people who don't understand or question as to why marijuana is still illegal in eyes of the federal government, it all comes down to cash (which is pretty much the motive for so many things in our society today).
There is a stigma, a stereotype if you will, that people that smoke marijuana are anti productive lazy bums (thank you Cheech and Chong). While I love Cheech and Chong movies and find them to be very entertaining, they don't do anything to help, only hurt the case that marijuana should be legalized. Now for those of us that smoke marijuana (most of us here on the forums), we know that this stigma is total bullshit. Many of you hold jobs where you are lucky enough to not have to be drug tested, and you perform those jobs every day, sometimes better than your non-marijuana using co-workers.
Bottom Line: Corporations don't want marijuana legalized because they believe it will hurt their precious profit margins and bottom lines with decreased productivity. They control the government with their massive donations and overwhelming amount of lobyists. The corporations that are really at the forefront of anti-marijuana policy are the pharmaceutical corporations. Any company that has a FDA approved drug that treats depression, anxiety, or sleep problems feels threatened by the legalization of marijuana. There is no doubt that their bottom lines would suffer if marijuana was legalized. It's going to be a difficult fight for us pro-marijuana reformers to win, but I think California is a great start. Keep doing what you guys are doing out there in California. I believe I speak for many when I say that we are proud and happy to see the changes that are starting to take place.