Why not regulate marijuana like alcohol?

The reasons marijuana and in turn hemp are prohibited are simple, but not at all what anyone has told you.

First, it is not addictive ENOUGH! Look at all the synthesized, engineered, and highly addictive substances that are regulated and still available under Federal and State law: Caffeine, Alcohol, Nicotine, and any number of physically addictive chemicals like Oxycontin (a synthesized opiate for christ's sake!). These are all legal because they are cash cows. In time they drive a dependency of the substance into your body. Appreciate the fact that the best selling systems to quit smoking cigarettes are just a different way to introduce the drug into your system. In fact all the Stop Smoking initiatives are driven and funded by Big Tobacco. You will never see anything like this for marijuana because it will never be necessary.

Secondly, marijuana is far too useful. Not even as a drug! Not even as a medicine! I'm speaking of the plant's usefulness as a textile! With just one acre of hemp you can yield 1200 gallons of gasoline fuel. Marijuana can essentially replace our reliance on Big Oil. It can be used to create any number of consumer goods: paper, plastics, oils, clothing, particle board, rubber. Many large corporations cannot afford it to be legal, so they lobby the CRAP out of our legislative branch and ram anti-drug "Above the Influence" ad campaigns down our throats.

Thanks for your intelligent response cochrane...

If anyone really knows the powerful effect of cannabis, there is no way that it can be legally unleashed into the public without some control, some regulation... and if anyone thinks that otherwise it means support of organized crime is absurd! This is an ultra-powerful body and mind "medication"... and it needs to be controlled if it will be used for the benefit of human-kind.

Controlled and licensed availability is the only sensible way forward — anyone with any knowledge of this are knows that.

We went through this once already with prohibition. We have the perfect historical example as to why it should be legalized. Write your legislative representatives and make it a reality sooner than later.

If you're against legalization you support organized crime....pat yourself on the back, you ARE part of the problem.

I grew up in western PA, and all we did was fight. Sharon and Farrell kids hated each other. It was bad then along came Mary-Jane (Marijuana) and the fighting stopped. New friendships where made. Nobody was interested in fighting anymore. Marijuana does not lead you on to do other drugs that is a bold faced lie.
Is our government afraid let we all might just start getting along together?

The plant itself is beautiful to look at and to smell... but in reality, I don't know anyone who is a regular smoker who is not addicted. The potency of each strain is unregulated and unpredictable... so what happens after a "patient" medicates is really a crap-shoot. Cannabis is a moderate hallucinogenic which can cause a multitude of psychological problems for many people. This plant has massively major therapeutic potential in the world, more so now than ever, but abusing it is like abusing any other drug. Long-term users are often a mess... not the rule, but a real issue... this is not an irresponsible judgement, but a valid reality.

we would be a happier country less crime and murder no one will want to go out and kill people.. coke, crack, speed, booze... does that to people

The industrial benefits of grass are unmatched by any other form of alternative energy we've come up with. Legalize industrial hemp. Decriminalize marijuana.

Getting high is bad,bad,bad but growing hemp for use in products from everything from biofuel to paper to solvents,paint,clothing,etc,etc.Also great inexpensive source of omega 3s. Really a no brainer,even a short term memory deprived stoner should be able to figure that out.
This must be your government on drugs. Any question?

Well, what would you rather have Universal Health Care or Legal Pot?

Because Alcohol is deeply ingrained within western culture while Marijuana has only been with us for +/- 400 years, and only in mainstream use for the last 100 or so. Society can cope with Alcohol use, thats what pubs and bars are designed for but it doesn't have a clue how to deal with Marijuana use yet.

screw legalization.

DECRIMINALIZE! i'm not trying to be taxed for anything. i just don't want to be a criminal for smoking or growing it either.

nicotine is a drug that is worse than herion and has addicted and killing more ppl than probably all the other drugs combined but our government has no problem letting tobaco companys make mega millions of dollars from it cause they get their cut and don't even have to fight or enforce nothing, except maybe underage sales, woo hoo. I don't see why we can't just all get a bong!!!

legalize it already! wtf

Why?Because the dinosaurs are still in charge!

I would like to see the FDA rule that it's safe, somehow I don't think so:)

you know what would happen if pot were legalized ? you'd have an obesity epidemic which'd make the present one look like a fad - americans are not suitable material for enjoying legal pot .

As soon as it becomes legal it will be taxed like tobacco. The government is missing out on a big stack of cash!

Legalize drugs and prostitution. What a person ants to do with thier mind and body is thier own right and busniess. They need answer to themselves only. leagalize it and let people decide thier own right to do as they choose. We are born free die free and live free. No one has the right to deprive us of personal freedom.

because we can't be having half of our country with short term memory loss, they are already stupid enough. and yes, it is a gateway drug and we already have enough losers, i mean drug addicts, to deal with

regulating pot would be to much like right.

marijuana is illegal because the gov. cant tax it. people will just grow their own.. they make more money off it being illegal

Forget trying to legalize Marijuana based on it's drug uses, it should be legalized for its industrial uses. How much oil could we save by using hemp fibers in stead of synthetic materials like nylon. Hemp has a lot of uses that could ease the use of oil products.

Anyone can grow tomatoes but the government doesn't make them illegal. The only reason people grow it is because they can't pick it up at their local 7-11.

jabutle3, how many people do you think actually WILL grow it? very few. Think of the all the vegetables we could grow ourselves, but instead we buy them at the supermarket.

Guess why its illegal...Because anyone can grow it. If it's legal and anyone can grow it, the government has the potential of making no money.

There are people addicted to food, alcohol, tobacco, sex, painkillers and nall sorts of other legal vices, why not a little Mary Jane. Personally I don't smoke but I have had friends who did and I think it's a lot better than alcohol. When they were high we would play video games and laugh and eat taco bell. I still don't understand why they smoked cause I ate the Taco bell and laughed just as much as they did.

This is a really touchy subject. I can say I had friends who were addicted to marijuana. No they weren't shaking and shivering like a crack head, but whenever we would go out,for some reason they had to get high. We would be at the mall shopping and they would suddenly get the urge to want to get high. I dont want to sound like a "dont do drugs" campaign, but getting high to me is kinda useless. If legalizing marijuana will give the school systems more money and if it can definitly for sure cure any diseases, Im all for it. My concern is people underestimate marijuana like it's some happy drug that just makes you happy. There really are people who are addicted to it and that is what concerns me.

Oh thats it, Obabma supporting drugs... I dont dout it. All you drug addicted liberals think that this is a great idea. Well just smoke your pot, and stay stoned. Thath what makes liberals sooo stupit.. Because theyre all hopped up on drugs... Whats next Herion, crack meth

It dosent matter becaus aint no democart gonna win the election. Besides that if osamabama is elected (god forbid) he wouldnt be able to leaglise pot because thats political suicide. and his job is a politition.

Legalize it, I'll smoke it till I get sick, then I'll sue every company that sold it for millions. The American dream.

Weed is like alcohol with benefits ok people stop drinking alcohol start smoking grass. I'm not a little immature street punk but F*^& the government when it comes to marijuana.

Americans will never legalise marijuana because of one thing, taxes, you cannot tax marijuana. If were like tobacco where there are a limited number of supplier and grower, I sure the government would not have an issue legalising it because they will receive a cut of the sales. But anyone can grow marijuana, therefore you really cannot tax it.... unlike beer.

Legalize it. We need the revenue a LOT. Do you have any idea how good marijuana would be for the economy?
BTW jimmyp: I noticed you wrote "$7.7" instead of 7.7 million dollars. Kind of shows you how we think these days, eh?

You answered your own question...$7.7 is a lot of money. This is a profit center for the prison and weapons industries. The war on drugs is a valuable "client". Wakenhut, Bell Helicopter, Syscorski to name a few.

Any changes would need to consider the job losses and convincing the Pentagon, who probably don't mind having assets in S. America.

I think that it's time for the US goverment to take a serious look at regulation. Just think of how much money would make off of the tax alone.

The pharmaceutical industry and government are profiting too much off of it being illegal. Once it is is decriminalized or legalized, expect to see a huge loss in pharmaceuticals. Basically, they still want to profit off of sick and dying people... so no it won't be decriminalized without a huge fight from them.

It's time to legalize it! Obama has said he'll have more pressing issues to deal with when in office. But I think the increased revenue and alleviation of hundreds of inmates who've committed no heinous crime could only benefit those other issues.

This seems to be preaching to the choir of marijuana smokers. Fact is, people will not stop smoking grass. It is so prevalent, especially here on the west coast of the USA. It's often easier to come by than alcohol, and the 'War on Drugs' spends far too much money tracking down marijuana grow operations, rather than focusing on hard drugs like cocaine and heroin. Our prisons are overcrowded due to bullshit policies that put people in prison for years over pot arrests.

Correction to #1, it is not at ALL addictive. Marijuana leaves your system over a period of 30 days, which is why it sucks for drug testing. But that also means you don't have the hour long "crash" like you do with most drugs, so the drug makes a calm slow exit out of your system. Hence no addiction!

That only applies to physical addiction, you can obviously be mentally addicted to anything.