Looking to see if anyone has an opinion on the matter. Take a quick look at the following observations and conclusions, thanks.
Ever wonder why marijuana is illegal? Some yes, some no, but let me assure you it isn鈥檛 why the government says it is.
Addiction rates:
Nicotine - 35%
Cocaine - 19%
Marijuana - 9%
Death rates:
Tobacco - 435,000 /yr
Alcohol - 85,000 /yr
All illicit drugs - 17,000/yr
Marijuana - 0, in all of history
* center for disease control
Effects:
*Tobacco
Yellow teeth/nails/skin, emphysema, lung cancer, etc.
*Marijuana
Obvious acute effects, bronchitis (long term) -- notice I did NOT list cancer.
** A california study observing heavy marijuana users over the course of 8 years found that marijuana smokers were no more prone to cancer than non-smokers.
Nicotine withdraw symptoms:
-Physical
* Tingling in the hands and feet
* Sweating
* Intestinal disorders (cramps, nausea)
* Headache
* Cold symptoms as the lungs begin to clear (sore throats, coughing, and other signs of colds and respiratory problem)
-Mental/emotional
* Feelings of being an infant: temper tantrums, intense needs, feelings of dependency, a state of near paralysis.
* Insomnia
* Mental confusion
* Vagueness
* Irritability
* Anxiety
* Depression is common in the short and long term. In the short term it may mimic the feelings of grief felt when a loved one is lost. As foolish as it sounds, a smoker should plan on a period of actual mourning in order to get through the early withdrawal depression.
Marijuana withdraw symptoms:
*** Scientists disagree whether there is significant withdrawal symptoms or not. A 1997 report by the Institute of Medicine stated that average users, due to the long half-life of marijuana, experience little or no withdrawal symptoms. However, they can include any/all of the following:
irritability
anxiety
physical tension
decreases in appetite and mood
stomach pain
physical tension
restlessness
anorexia
insomnia
increased aggression / anger
strange dreams
Other reasons why marijuana is still illegal:
** Police make ENORMOUS amounts of money from drug busts. If they can prove that the money was tied to criminal activity they are allowed to confiscate it. Legalization of marijuana would mean huge losses for:
Police
Courts (from fines)
** Tobacco lobbyists obviously oppose the legalization of marijuana. This would introduce competition into the market, or allow current tobacco smokers to quit and replace their habit with marijuana. Either way, the tobacco industry loses, meaning a big "hell no" from them.
** The drug industry would be absolutely crushed by the legalization of marijuana. Currently, the only way to obtain substances legally is by visiting a doctor (paying a fee), getting a FDA-approved prescription, and getting a couple more to counteract the side-effects of the first drug. Marijuana is used worldwide as an alternative medicine for many health issues.
** International treaties make it difficult for individual countries to change their laws. If they were to legalize marijuana, they would violate the treaty, and that would cost them certain benefits.
** Consumer items would see a drop in demand, as the necessity to have more and more entertainment would decline with the introduction of marijuana. With a reduction in demand, that would mean one of two things:
-- Production would have to slow down, meaning less profits since less volume is moved through the stores.
-- Reduction in sale price, as the supply will be the same (for a while) and the demand will decrease.
It may seem ridiculous, but trust me many consumer items would see a decrease in sales.
** Pacifism would overtake america, at least in the smoking body, and would make it much more difficult to engage in conflicts with other countries, on any scale. War is the single most lucrative engagement, and a loss of money would certainly be against the interests of those currently benefiting. Not only that, but it will become much more difficult to get the american people rallied behind government-driven bills and actions. Keeping the american people gun-ho and ignorant is key for them to get their desired results. Pacifism would help reduce the "gun-ho" aspect of their success formula, and the resulting tact in their approach to political issues would likely result in many becoming educated with the fine-details of the matter. Educated decisions will collapse government corruption, which is very lucrative itself.
** Right-wing conservatives, armed with bible-in-hand (though from personal experience I can assure you they do not read, or at least interpret without distortion), will down-right refuse the legalization of marijauna.
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Final notes:
Now, for my personal opinion on the matter (drum roll ... )....
Despite whatever the health effects may be, it is my belief that it is the constitutional right of o It does not matter what it does or does not do to your body friends, it only matters what rights are unwillingly be taken away from you. It is your right to choose for yourself, is it not? Doctors have the right to recommend what you should do, but not legislate it. I'm not convincing you of safety, just trying to open your eyes to reality. Americans today give too much choice to the government, as if they are scared to choose for themselves. I pity you, I really do, and it breaks my heart.
I understand a huge drop in consumer demand is relative to it's total consumer base, but they WILL see a large drop in business. When I started smoking I spent more time with the people I cared about instead of working to buy big televisions and expensive cars. It is the memories I have with other people that keep me going, televisions will eventually break down and need to be replaced.
Big tobacco will not start growing and selling. Why? Well obviously EVERYONE ELSE WOULD TOO. Awwww I think I love you for posting this. 1997 13 million arrest for "illegal" narcotics in the US
10 million of those for Marijuana
does this help.
Edit: You are also forgetting the impact on industry
cotton
paper
lumber(wood pulp)
just to name a few.
sorry to also give some knowledge the democrats on a whole have sponsered and passed more anti-drug legislation than anyother party. Weed should be legalized. To know more about
bronchitis
Please feel free to visit http://learnmoreon.com/bronchitis/
HOLY CHIT !!!! YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT POT IS ILLEGAL ????? uh-ohhhhhh wow you have done your reashearch As a smoker I agree it should be legal but many of your conclusions are just not true.
You don't think "big tabacoo" wouldn't start growing and selling pot? umm YES!
Marijuana would not replace pharmaceuticals,maybe in only a very very few cases.
Consumer items would drop in demand??? You think everyone is going to start smoking pot? Hardly the typical rate of Pot smokers before and even after it was illegal has been almost the same around 10-15 precent of the population Good post and i agree on all but 2 points
1) law enforcement does NOT make huge amounts of money compared to how much it SPENDS to confiscate it. It seizes millions every year, that sounds like alot of money, but it spends BILLIONS to seize it!!! Not a very good return
2) You CANNOT say cannabis has cause 0 deaths in all of time. MANY fatal car accidents are documented every year from cannabis intoxication. Overdose is not a problem, impaired reflexes are.
Legalize it
Regulate it
Tax it
Our drug policy is a failure and needs to be fixed. Take the money and power Out of the hands of the criminals and treat it as a social-health problem NOT a criminal one if Bush was a hip peace loving guy not a raving lunitic war criminal that thinks God told him to be an alcholic and murder people in foreign lands then we could all get stoned and love each other
a d*amn you got it together... applause! I totally understand exactly what you are saying. well I think america is messed up as far as a lot of things our schools are messed up in certain areas. they are moving people out of they're homes to build more expensive ones and other things we dont even know about. I personally think they need to legalize marijuana. However, I dont think they will ever legalize it tho. Like you said it is a lot of money to be lost. it's all a game about money and its sad. I think marijuana would make a lot of people calm down and think about things a lot more. the one thing i noticed is that they said they're side effects when you are withdrawing from marijuana but when a friend of mine quit, she didn't suffer from anything and she has been smoking for some years, everyday. everything was still the same. So, basically at the end of the day, it's all about money. Marijuana will never be legal because the government will never be able to tax it. Marijuana can grow almost anywhere and very easy to grow. Not like alcohol or tobacco, which needs a lot more work to manufacturer. The only way really around this is to tax everyone, that would not go well with the non marijuana smokers. it's illegal because of what it does for your body!
and plus, if it does become illegal, other drug users will want their drug to be legal, and plus, cops bust all drugs, not just marijuana, and lastly, isn't Crystal meth most addictive? |
