I just want to know why some people feel so threatened by other people smoking it if they want to. Why does society not want to let us have and keep these rights?
Some people feel like they need to controll others and that they should decided on whats good for and what you shouldnt do, be it for moral reasons, or they think they are just better than us. They were subjected to the usual old propoganda and never was told the difference, they believe the factless arguments that it kills, it makes you violent, makes you dumb, gives you cancer, makes you lazy and every other same old lie. This isnt what bothers me though, what bothers me is that they will refuse any fact any source and any sound peice of logic you can conjur simply based on the "this is what the govt says and they are right because they are the govt, and its illegal for a reason" this is pretty typical, they just think they know better than us who they consider subhuman anyways. those are the reasons why people wont let it be legal, it was made illegal for racist reasons. You can look up the actual dialouge when congress was discussing this in 1937 and there are various quotes along the lines of "mj makes black people feel that they are as good as white men, and the blacks will rape white women and give them syphillus" that and they wanted to keep mexicans out of the US during the deperession cause they were taking white peoples's old jobs. All in all if you were to some how get major news stations to report how it was made illegal for purely racist reasons it would come as a shock to most. Then there are economic reasons like the alcohol and tobacco lobbyists in Washington but thats a whole other deal. all of these things are only scratching surface, in my opinion or biggest opposition is the stigma attaches with weed, when you say mj the average person against it will think "DRUG DUG DRUG DRUG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, drugs are bad drugs kill, make you kill, make you crazy, poor, and addicted" and they cant get over the idea that they have been lied to and they refuse to be open to the truth
Very thoughtful post REdmist. I think you brought up some good points that should be acknowledged. I must agree I do sometimes feel like those in power want to say what people can or cannot do even if it is an inconsequential matter. I really still dont understand why marijuana doesn't have a better reputation by now, except because of all the misconceptions people have had about it over time. I can't really see anyone ever buying that people who use MJ are less than human, even though sometimes they can be treated that way. It would bother me as well if they refuse arguments that support our cause, but its not something that will ever go away so our voices WILL be heard eventually, one way or another. I would for once like to hear congress' and lawmakers' arguments as to why some of them are against it so we can have an opportunity to correct those all too common misconceptions and generalizations there are about weed and those who smoke it. Seems to me like their reasoning is more selfish than logical. I never really heard any explanation about why pot is illegal because of racism, but I might suppose it as a possibility considering what the times may have been like back then. Maybe the only way to educate people about this medicinal plant is to show them why its good and how it can help. If only the country would tolerate our desire to benefit from what this world creates then life could be that much better.
Well you both type in the same unformatted way. Either way, it is a good summary of points. The American (as well as other) government has been trying to blame many of their problems on drugs. Things like their rising crime rate, general unhappiness of its people and more. As long as they have marijuana as a scapegoat for the problems they can't solve, it will be illegal.
This is a great thread. We know why it bacame illegal: racisct propaganda, corporate interests and the fact that the white voters at the time had no idea what the fu@k cannabis was. Why does it continue to be illegal? I know the government has been pumping out rhetoric for generations and to turn their back on it now would be a major blow to their credibility. But what to they really get out of cannabis being illegal? Our elected officials have seen scientific studies over and over again that show everything we activists have been preaching about. On top of that the government has no illusions about the effects of pot on the individual and society as a whole. It is pretty damn obvious that drug related crime is the direct result of the artificially created black market and could be eliminated overnight. So what does big brother get out of marijuana prohibition?
It's also important to note that most the few people who don't want marijuana legalized, are actually the growers (some, not all). Once marajiuana becomes legal, it will become a million dollar industry, with companies investing huge amounts of money into cultivation. The people who make all their money by growing a couple hundred plants will be forced out of the market by companies who will industrialize the growing of marijuana.
Money. Too many Government ran endeavors and fueled by the money they get from marijuana: DEA, agriculture, parks etc, etc....
THe US government has declared war on marijuana smokers. We are 11 million strong and we will win this war if people wake up and become soldiers. Marijuana is a medicinal herb that has ben used for 1000's of years and its only ben the last 50 that it has become illegal. Any substance law is a violation of the Constitution of this great nation and this is clearly the most unjust! Rise UP! This is opnly the begining, i say throw off the imposters tring to call themselves your leaders completely! OBAMAS CHANGE IS A LIE!
The government does not make money directly from marijuana. DEA gets funded by taxpayers to enforce drug laws but its a net loss for the government. Unless there is some super secret conspiracy in which they control large scale production and are in effect drug dealers (not likely). The justice department however benefits in a massive way from cannabis prohibition. Many police are hired and kept employed just to enforce marijuana laws, everyone involved in the court system (judges, lawyers, secretaries) also makes more money from cannabis prohibition, then there are the prisons which is a growth industry in the US driven largely by over zealous marijuana sentences. All this adds up to a lot of money but it is money coming from the government not into it. Certain industries benefit as well. Any industry in direct competition to cannabis will do better under prohibition. These include fabrics, paper, and of course pharmaceuticals. It is well know that lobbying from these three industries was the driving force behind the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act. This is a major difference compared to tobacco or alcohol since they are strictly drugs and have no other use. At the time that marijuana was made illegal very few white people smoked so making criminals out of blacks and Mexicans was no big deal (these were very racist times). Today it would be a tougher bill to pass given how many people use marijuana. They manage to do it though. The budget for the war on drugs grows exponentially every year (total loss for the government). They must be getting more out of the deal. What else does the government get out of prohibition?
Watch the documentary 'The American Drug War' it explains some of why the govt keeps drugs illegal for money especially with the Rick Ross thing that happened which is disgusting. I think the politicians ignore the studies just like the ignorant poeple, they just dont want to know, its so ingrained in their mind they cant be convinced other wise. There is another documentary, forget what its called but it has this lobbyist from MPP going around Washington before a vote on a mmj bill asking different congressmen for their support and one of them when asked about the medical mj bill just keeps repeating "their is nothing such as medical marijuana" over and over not even letting the other guy say anything and he just walks off. Its the equivalent of them plugging their ears and just going la la la la la, so the politicians will ignore studies no matter what they say, even if Jesus himself where to tell the truth about mj they still wouldnt listen, because all they have heard since they were little kids is degenerates use it, it kills and all the rest, its just to big of a paradigm shift for them, they just cant handle the fact that all is not what it seems. thanks for the complements though, my style is not unformatted its just abstract modern.
The pigs in the white house have only one motivation, CONTROL. Throw them off once and forall. The government has long ago become to corrupt to properly serve the people!
When HEMP would of shut down the timber industry. When prescription drugs would be obsolete When they realized they couldn't tax it When they realized it was actually good for the people Because they wanted to So they can make many arrest and collect our money Put innocent people behind bars So they can fuck us
Hardnutcheck nice post. I don't know if you meant for it to be a poem but makes a good one. We are missing the mark here. Cannabis is prohibited worldwide. The prison-industrial complex only exists in the United States and so does the industrial benefit of prohibition. While it is extremely difficult to produce hemp legally in the US many other countries have strong hemp economies including Canada, France and Russia. While it was the US who argued to include marijuana in the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs the other countries still decided to sign. Why?
That pretty much sums it all up. and I agree that people will continue to believe that marijuana is bad, just because of the Govt saying so. Its pathetic
Marijuana is not legal because we live in a Land of Confusion, where the government is controlled by greed not the people. They lie to the people they swore to serve just so they pocket more money. The government is supposed to be by the people for the people. It changed to Fuck the people for money. But thats the world we live in. Where corrupt politicians are run by some unknown shadow figure who controls the world like his own little puppet show.