Why Is Marijuana Illegal?

sativa92

I would love to know where some of the people who have posted got there information first of all google doctor Donald Tashkin and you will find that marijuana actually has a negative effect on cancer.
i saw some post with a bull**** connection about smoking weed and schizophrenia posted here with a very high percentile being blamed on teens smoking weed well the facts are this 1 in 1 million people will develop schizophrenia from smoking dope, if they smoke every day for about 40 years and there is already a history of mental illness in the family which means more than likely they would have developed the mental illness anyway without smoking.
i also read a post where a person said that if it becomes legal it should not be allowed to smoke dope in public or be high in public/smoke on the streets as the person who wrote the post said they do not want to smell the marijuana when walking the streets well smoking in general is prohibited in public buildings so why would smoking weed be allowed and its not like your gonna smell it while walking up the street also how is being high in public any different to bein drunk except when your high you wont be tryin to fight or start arguments you keep to yourself you may laugh loudly and a lot but you are well within your rights to do so
any government study on marijuana will be bull**** because they want people to believe in it as a dangerous drug the only trust worthy studies are independent studies. everything i have said in the first two paragraphs i have researched and is widely believed to be 100 % accurate.:eek::D:cool::pac:

DepecheHead101

sativa92 wrote: »

I would love to know where some of the people who have posted got there information first of all google doctor Donald Tashkin and you will find that marijuana actually has a negative effect on cancer.
i saw some post with a bull**** connection about smoking weed and schizophrenia posted here with a very high percentile being blamed on teens smoking weed well the facts are this 1 in 1 million people will develop schizophrenia from smoking dope, if they smoke every day for about 40 years and there is already a history of mental illness in the family which means more than likely they would have developed the mental illness anyway without smoking.
i also read a post where a person said that if it becomes legal it should not be allowed to smoke dope in public or be high in public/smoke on the streets as the person who wrote the post said they do not want to smell the marijuana when walking the streets well smoking in general is prohibited in public buildings so why would smoking weed be allowed and its not like your gonna smell it while walking up the street also how is being high in public any different to bein drunk except when your high you wont be tryin to fight or start arguments you keep to yourself you may laugh loudly and a lot but you are well within your rights to do so
any government study on marijuana will be bull**** because they want people to believe in it as a dangerous drug the only trust worthy studies are independent studies. everything i have said in the first two paragraphs i have researched and is widely believed to be 100 % accurate.:eek::D:cool::pac:

Badly worded, poorly punctuated posts aren't going to do us any good. Nor is signing up with a cute weed name just for the thread. No offence.

sativa92

DepecheHead101 wrote: »

Badly worded, poorly punctuated posts aren't going to do us any good. Nor is signing up with a cute weed name just for the thread. No offence.

i didnt realise this was also an english class where everything had to be spelled correctly my bad!!! now that said i am pretty sure most people dont give a **** about spelling and punctuation they came here for info on the subject not an english lesson and you can say whatever you like about the name i used it was just a quick sign up so i could post i didnt realise my user name was important and im guessin you didnt put much thought into yours either because its no better but as i said the name makes no difference what so ever i was under the impression it was the message that was important not the name. no offence

Laika1986

sativa92 wrote: »

i didnt realise this was also an english class where everything had to be spelled correctly my bad!!! now that said i am pretty sure most people dont give a **** about spelling and punctuation they came here for info on the subject not an english lesson and you can say whatever you like about the name i used it was just a quick sign up so i could post i didnt realise my user name was important and im guessin you didnt put much thought into yours either because its no better but as i said the name makes no difference what so ever i was under the impression it was the message that was important not the name. no offence

There is also a maximum three smiley system in place too

sativa92

Laika1986 wrote: »

There is also a maximum three smiley system in place too

just curious what was the point of that reply???:cool::mad::):D:pac::P:(:rolleyes:;):p:o:eek:

Laika1986

sativa92 wrote: »

just curious what was the point of that reply???:cool::mad::):D:pac::P:(:rolleyes:;):p:o:eek:

To amuse myself of course. I thought that would have been obvious. I read your post and i agree with some of your points but the previous poster was correct. You could make more of an impact with your statement if it was structured better!Anyway if Amsterdam shuts it's doors to tourists that could be a potential cout for us.

hatrickpatrick

I_AmThe_Walrus wrote: »

Firstly, I want to express the fact that I am not a regular user of the drug itself, nor am I condoning it - I am just interested how society has labeled it negatively when they are unwilling to educate the ill-informed about the benefits.

1) It is not in any way, shape or form, addictive, mentally or physically.
2) It has unlimited and legitimate medical uses.
3) It is not a "gateway" drug.
4) If it was legal, organised crime would fall.
5) Government can tax it and give tourism a boost.

The funny thing about this whole farce is, Marijuana has been legal in the Netherlands since the 30's and according to the consumption stats, the Dutch use the recreational drug the least. Not one recorded fatality has occurred from the use of marijuana, yet alcohol and tobacco are severe killers and they're still available.

What are you thoughts? Should it be available for purchase, legally?

All of those points are irrelevant. Even if it was addictive, was a gateway drug and had no medical benefits, victimless crime is not crime and should never be illegal. My body - I should be allowed to put whatever I want into it.

Mickeroo

Portugal has decriminalised(not made legal mind) all drugs hasn't it?

Medicinal marijuana is now legal in a lot of US states, its more or less legal in CAnada too. The world is slowly coming round to it.

The fact of the matter is, like any other drug is has its bad points and good points(really good points ). Its not as damaging as alcohol or tobacco, but speaking as someone who has some from time to time it sure as hell aint good for you! It should not be considered a crime to use it though and the same goes for every drug, what a person does to their own body is their business and no-one elses.

sativa92

Laika1986 wrote: »

To amuse myself of course. I thought that would have been obvious. I read your post and i agree with some of your points but the previous poster was correct. You could make more of an impact with your statement if it was structured better!Anyway if Amsterdam shuts it's doors to tourists that could be a potential cout for us.

well that may be your opinion but i dont see the significance of structure i am a toker have been for almost 7 years i want it legalized as much as any stoner now i have never read a pro-legalizing statment and thought well that would be better if he put in a full stop here and there or used capital letters where they should have been my aim was not to write an A worthy english essay it was to educate the people who were posting information which was bull**** about marijuana i dont like when people write stuff which is untrue because its what they think is true or because someone told them its true if you dont have the facts dont post i have checked most major studies that have been compiled on marijuana the most notable being by doctor donald tashkin.
as for amusing yourself nice i prob woulda done the same :P

Laika1986

sativa92 wrote: »

well that may be your opinion but i dont see the significance of structure i am a toker have been for almost 7 years i want it legalized as much as any stoner now i have never read a pro-legalizing statment and thought well that would be better if he put in a full stop here and there or used capital letters where they should have been my aim was not to write an A worthy english essay it was to educate the people who were posting information which was bull**** about marijuana i dont like when people write stuff which is untrue because its what they think is true or because someone told them its true if you dont have the facts dont post i have checked most major studies that have been compiled on marijuana the most notable being by doctor donald tashkin.
as for amusing yourself nice i prob woulda done the same :P

Wow, long sentence.

Laisurg

Laika1986 wrote: »

Wow, long sentence.

Lose the H'attitude

sativa92

Laika1986 wrote: »

Wow, long sentence.

its intentional since what was posted in reply to my first comment

Corkfeen

sativa92 wrote: »

its intentional since what was posted in reply to my first comment

I agree that it should be legalised. However we don't ask of you to write an A grade essay. We purely want to be able to read something that is clear which will not give us headaches.... It's just a basic grasp of forming a sentence.

sativa92

Corkfeen wrote: »

I agree that it should be legalised. However we don't ask of you to write an A grade essay. We purely want to be able to read something that is clear which will not give us headaches.... It's just a basic grasp of forming a sentence.

well if you read my original post you will see the was use of full stops and paragraphs.
if you get a headache from reading any of the posts then and i genuinely mean no offence by this but you must have the mental capacity of a spoon.
also cheers but i know how to form a sentence i got an A1 in english in the leaving cert it was in ordinary level but still an A1. so i think i have the ability to form a sentence if i choose to however while writing the original post it was like 4ish in the morning so i was in a very tired mental state so i didnt care about structure or sentence forming, posts there after i chose not to write in perfect english due to the response i got.. all that said this is very off topic as this is a forum about why marijuana is not legal not an english lesson also most stoners i know care more about the sape of clouds than they do about grammar and spelling

sativa92

Laisurg wrote: »

Lose the H'attitude

thank you

Belfast

Why Is Cannabis Illegal?

All counties who are member of the UN must make Cannabis illegal.
United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Convention_Against_Illicit_Traffic_in_Narcotic_Drugs_and_Psychotropic_Substances

We gave up our sovereignty on that one when we joined the UN along with lows on copy right and patents etc.

we are not allowed to make it legal but we can set the penalty to zero. "decriminalise"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decriminalization

The laws against Cannabis were part of a change in Philosophy in what the role of government in shaping society form the 1870 on wards.

Governments began so see their role to promote morale improvement provide pension, social welfare and and stop people.

Governments started to behave as if they are our parents and that we we not to be trusted to take responsibility for our own decisions.

The Harrison Narcotics Tax Act was part of this process.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrison_Narcotics_Tax_Act 1914
Part of the reasons given at the time for these laws are quite racist.

"At the beginning of the 20th century, cocaine began to be linked to crime. In 1900, the Journal of the American Medical Association published an editorial stating, "Negroes in the South are reported as being addicted to a new form of vice – that of 'cocaine sniffing' or the 'coke habit.'" Some newspapers later claimed cocaine use caused blacks to rape white women and was improving their pistol marksmanship. Chinese immigrants were blamed for importing the opium-smoking habit to the U.S. The 1903 blue-ribbon citizens' panel, the Committee on the Acquirement of the Drug Habit concluded, "If the Chinaman cannot get along without his dope we can get along without him."



followed by the Volstead Act banning alchool 1919.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volstead_Act

Cannabis was not included in these laws as it was a major crop at the time and was an important source of industrial fibre for textiles, ropes and paper etc. There were no synthetic alternatives at the time.

by the later 1930 cannabis was in major decline as crop in American due to cheap import in cannabis fibre for abroad and the lack of mechinisation in the processing of the fibre.

with Alcohol being made legal in the December 5, 1933 at a Federal level.

this left a lot of police looking at possible unemployment during the depression.

Paper for woods pulp was becoming a growing business in America.

Cannabis paper was in competition for this market.

Again there was a moral panic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_panic
was promoted by the press.
"Regulations and restrictions on the sale of Cannabis sativa as a drug began as early as 1860, see Legal history of cannabis in the United States. The head of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN), Harry J. Anslinger, argued that (FBN) in the 1930s had noticed an increase of reports of people smoking marijuana.[2] He had also, in 1935, received support from president Franklin D. Roosevelt for adoption of the Uniform State Narcotic Act, state laws that included regulations of cannabis.[3]

The total production of hemp fiber in the United States had in 1933 decreased to around 500 tons/year, then cultivation of hemp began to increase 1934-1935 but still at very low volume compared with other fibers.[4][5][6]
Hemp, bast with fibers. The stem, that can become hemp hurds, in the middle.

Some parties have argued that the aim of the Act was to reduce the size of the hemp industry[7][8][9] largely as an effort of businessmen Andrew Mellon, Randolph Hearst, and the Du Pont family.[7][9] The same parties have argued that with the invention of the decorticator, hemp had became a very cheap substitute for the paper pulp that was used in the newspaper industry.[7][10] These parties argue that Hearst felt that this was a threat to his extensive timber holdings. Mellon, Secretary of the Treasury and the wealthiest man in America, had invested heavily in the Du Pont families new synthetic fiber, nylon, a fiber that was competing with hemp.[7]

Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 was brought in that did not ban Cannabis. As they issued almost no stamps, it stop most Legal cannabis growing in America.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marihuana_Tax_Act_of_1937

The Name marijuana was used in the act to make it sound like some thing new or strange.

American were used to being prescribed Cannabis by doctors at the time.

The word marijuana is a slang term for Mexico.
the Spanish word for Cannabis is El cannabis.

Also Cannabis was seen a competing product to "Patented medicine".

The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 was found unconstitutionality in 1969.
but Cannabis was again banned in 1970 by the Controlled Substances Act.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controlled_Substances_Act


So why is it still illegal?
1. UN treaties.
2. Moral panic.
3. Lobby groups for Pharmaceutical industry and moral outrage groups have a lot of influence.
4. Civil asset forfeiture
"A form of asset forfeiture is roadside forfeiture during a vehicle stop. Usually enforcing State policies by Highway police, local law enforcement have built up seized funds and spent them with oversight only from local judges who sometimes benefit from the expenditures of such funds. The presumption is that travelers hiding large amounts of cash are transporting drug money. Often, the vehicle occupants are required to simply sign a waiver that they will leave the State and not return, thus also not attempt to retrieve their funds. Some complain that this is law enforcement action requires more oversight in order to minimize the impact on travelers who are not involved in drug money but who simply wish to avoid further involvement with law enforcement agents and sign the waiver anyway. Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, chair of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee is investigating the Tenaha, Texas Police seizures scandal."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asset_forfeiture#Asset_forfeiture_in_the_United_States
some police unit in america are funded only by Civil asset forfeiture not by taxes.

4. Prison–industrial complex
"The promotion of prison building as a job creator and the use of inmate labor are also cited as elements of the prison industrial complex. The term often implies a network of actors who are motivated by making profit rather than solely by punishing or rehabilitating criminals or reducing crime rates. Proponents of this view believe that the desire for monetary gain has led to the growth of the prison industry and the number of incarcerated individuals"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison%E2%80%93industrial_complex

A lot of small towns in American now want Prisons as a source of local jobs that cannot be outsource overseas.

5. A general distrust of herbal medicine by doctors and pharmacists.
herbal medicine often have many active ingredients. Patented medicine normally have only one active ingredient.
this means testing of herbal medicine is more complex that testing Patented medicine.
Tests in safety of medicines are designed for drugs with a single active ingredient.
Cannabis active ingredients are fat based. To the best of my knowledge most if not all Patented is water soluble.

These are all import reasons why Cannabis is still illegal and willl continue to be for the for foreseeable future.

The ultimate reason is in an age when Government control much of our lives, gun ownership, where we can build a house and what kind who is allowed to practise medicine etc..

They think we are too stupid to make important decisions for our selves.

We have lived so long with governments that have told us that we are to stupid to run our own lives that to live any another way seems insane today.

"Won't somebody please think of the children?"
the Simpsons

Cannabis Related Acquired Paranoia by Proxy. Or C.R.A.P.P. some times called ""CANNAPHOBIA""
A dangerous contagious condition spread by emotion and lack of logic or clear thinking and normally involves the use of urban myths and half truths (http://www.erowid.org/plants/cannabi...bis_myth.shtml) and wishfully thinking.
It is spread to gullible people, especially prone to the fear ( Example Fear of Drugs*)
spread by the sufferers of (C.R.A.P.P.) are parents or politicians who can be scared by the prospect of losing votes.
Only Vulcans seem to be immune. LOL
The basis of the condition (C.R.A.P.P.) seems to be a need to control the behaviour of others and is based on moral outrage or moral panic Moral panic and fear of loss of control.
The actions of other people even when they pose no possible threat to the sufferer, induce extreme fear and paranoia.

The sufferers of C.R.A.P.P. appear to be immune to the use of logic or reason.
Over time the control measures they advocate become more extreme as the present and past control measure always end in failure in the long term.
The condition would probably continue even if Cannabis ceased to exit, as the fear and paranoia would transfer to something else that other people were doing that they do not like.

Past and present examples of this related behaviour include,
Censorship of book paper magazine television, films plays on moral or religious grounds,
control over what clothing people ware especial women, example (Mary Whitehouse http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Whitehouse)
control of the consumption of tobacco or alcohol
Control over gambling or sex example (Sexualizing youth: morality campaigns and representations of youth in early 1960s Buenos Aires. http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2...6-18718131_ITM)


The condition (C.R.A.P.P.) may affect sufferers in the following ways.
An irrational fear induced by other people smoking or using Cannabis, leading to
1. Constant state of fear.

2. Misplaced trust in state institutions (police) to ability to stop people using cannabis.

3. Misplaced trust in drugs made by pharmaceutical industry as the only people who are to be trusted to produce safe drugs.

4.Joining with groups of fellow sufferers and trying to impose their strange moral views on others. http://www.eurad.net/Links.htm

5.Attempting to become consultants or advised to government the UN, parent groups and any one else they can spread the condition(C.R.A.P.P.) to.

6. In extreme cases the sufferers may suffer delusion of grandeur or an inflated scene of their own importance.

7.sufferers will use any and all opportunities of access the media to spread their condition (C.R.A.P.P.).

8.The individual may seek bogus awards to inflate their own scene of importance.

9. They may get trained as anti drug counsellor to help spread the condition.(C.R.A.P.P.)

10.sufferers loose any understand of civil liberties and advocate more power for the police to arrest people and confiscate property with conviction in the courts. http://www.isil.org/resources/lit/looting-of-america.html

11.sufferers in groups may advocate state funding for Rigged Scientific studies are used to back up this delusional thinking and to help spread the condition. (C.R.A.P.P.)

12.sufferers may loses touch with reality and confuse other plants with Cannabis. Example

13.sufferers from the condition (C.R.A.P.P.) seem to believe that business men like George Soros are providing massive funds for groups campaigning for the legalization of Cannabis.

14.sufferers may believe that doctor who think that Cannabis may be used for medical purposes should not be allows to practice medicine.

yupyup7up

When people smoke weed the whole time they become very annoying. The odd time is grand, but my god its annoying!

At least most drinking is at night, at the weekends. Whereas people being stoned could be at anytime, and its headwrecking. My experience of both anyway.

Yakult

yupyup7up wrote: »

When people smoke weed the whole time they become very annoying. The odd time is grand, but my god its annoying!

At least most drinking is at night, at the weekends. Whereas people being stoned could be at anytime, and its headwrecking. My experience of both anyway.

Head wrecking how?

mikom

yupyup7up wrote: »

When people smoke weed the whole time they become very annoying.

When people drink beer the whole time they become very annoying.

yupyup7up wrote: »

At least most drinking is at night, at the weekends.

La la land

yupyup7up wrote: »

Whereas people being stoned could be at anytime, and its headwrecking.

Same could be said for prescription meds.

Belfast

yupyup7up wrote: »

When people smoke weed the whole time they become very annoying. The odd time is grand, but my god its annoying!

At least most drinking is at night, at the weekends. Whereas people being stoned could be at anytime, and its headwrecking. My experience of both anyway.

I find people using mobile phones annoying.

EddyC15

folan wrote: »

George Washington grew it on his plantation.

Wasn't that hemp? I'm sure that's legal here.

There's very little THC in that but it is one of the most useful plants out there. Paper, rope, fuel, medicine, "hempcrete" blocks, it's been used in car panels and it's also good for purifying soil.

The only thing that'll happen if you try to smoke this is you'll get sick. You may as well wrap rubber bands in A4 paper and smoke that.

kleefarr

ScumLord wrote: »

I was watching one of the cannabis documentaries that said the cannabinoid receptors have been with us since we where fish.

I saw that as well! It also mentioned that there were healing powers related to cannabinoids didn't they?

saa

I would be in favour for cafes at first, It is addictive and can mess up some peoples heads if they are susceptible to the dark side of marijuana use but in the majourity of cases in moderation like many things it is fine for most, but not everyone and that's something people who are completely for or completely against seem to overlook.

Naomi00

I_AmThe_Walrus wrote: »

Firstly, I want to express the fact that I am not a regular user of the drug itself, nor am I condoning it - I am just interested how society has labeled it negatively when they are unwilling to educate the ill-informed about the benefits.

1) It is not in any way, shape or form, addictive, mentally or physically.
2) It has unlimited and legitimate medical uses.
3) It is not a "gateway" drug.
4) If it was legal, organised crime would fall.
5) Government can tax it and give tourism a boost.

The funny thing about this whole farce is, Marijuana has been legal in the Netherlands since the 30's and according to the consumption stats, the Dutch use the recreational drug the least. Not one recorded fatality has occurred from the use of marijuana, yet alcohol and tobacco are severe killers and they're still available.

What are you thoughts? Should it be available for purchase, legally?

Total myth.
There was a 13 year old kid on BBC3 before who was completely addicted to weed.

gsxr1

Naomi00 wrote: »

Total myth.
There was a 13 year old kid on BBC3 before who was completely addicted to weed.

I also found it quite addictive. To the point where I could not sleep at night without being a bit stoned.

Leo Dowling

Naomi00 wrote: »

Total myth.
There was a 13 year old kid on BBC3 before who was completely addicted to weed.

A 13 year old on BBC3 eh? Sounds legit. This changes everything.

nacimroc

I was addicted to it for years! It completely Kills all ambition, mental ability dies, and it causes mental issues such as panic attacks! This is blatently obvious from anyone who knows a few stoners. After a few years, they will get mad chest pains, or start getting panic attacks. Thats the point when most people give it up which is why you don't see too many long term users (10+ years)!

As regards the netherlands, well ask anyone from there and they will explain how the whole thing was a complete disaster other than a bit of tourism.

Oh, and some people call it "dope" for a reason!

Mike 1972

Naomi00 wrote: »

Total myth.
There was a 13 year old kid on BBC3 before who was completely addicted to weed.

It is addictive (just like coffee, sugar and junkfood)

Its not VERY addictive but it IS (for some people) addictive.

Just like any other substance one can put into their body it also has potential negative effects and can affect different people in different ways (not always beneficially) although in the overall scheme of things its one of the less harmful substances one can put into their body.

Im very much for legalisation but those who dismiss the potential downsides of cannabis are just as much in denial as the most hysterical of the probhibition lobby.

Ferris_Bueller

Whenever I see activity in this thread I always imagine the OP to be like this.

frozenfrozen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnNPm5cG85c

I'm totally for the legalization, but this video does challenge a lot of the generic 'weed is good for you' arguments.