Why are alcohol and cigarettes legal but pot isn't?

[nicesinging1]

Based on numerous conversations I have had with people, they all think marijuana a.k.a. pot is less harmful than alcohol and cigarettes. But in U.S., pot is illegal while alcohol and cigarettes are legal. I always wondered why such is the case.
I of course believe pot should be illegal. After all, we should trust our gov. cuz they are experts and are looking out for our best interests.
The Fed. gov must think pot should be illegal after numerous medical tests. But yet, I still encounter so many people who think pot is less harmful and kill far less people than alcohol or cigarette. One friend even boasted about knowing one professor who smokes pot.
I need you guys' insights.
1. Why are alcohol and cigarettes legal but pot isn't?
2. Do you believe pot is more harmful than alcohol or cigs. hence illegal?

 

[Ziggy]

"we should trust our gov. cuz they are experts and are looking out for our best interests."

You are joking right? Please, please, please tell me you are joking.

 

[MrDepressed]

I would say that the people who are telling you that cigarettes and alcohol are worse than pot are very deluded and possibly unwilling to look at the facts... I can say through experience that a cigarette has never made me forget things, but pot has... a cigarette has made me sick before, but pot has made me terribly ill... not to mention that there is scientific proof that there is more toxic substances in pot than cigarretes and or alcohol..
I do not necessarily think that pot should be illegal or legal, but decriminalised would be best.. people should not be allowed to consume it publicly and drive wial under the influence, neither should it be legal or decriminalised to do it around children in any case.

 

[dropmealine]

Two of the best arguments I have heard for pot being illegal:

1 - Look at all of the problems that alcohol and cigarettes cause. If there was another legal intoxicant then there would be more problems. maybe alcohol and cigs are more harmful, but it will be next to impossible to criminalize them successfully, and the govt doesn't want more problems. Also, pot is very easy to conceal and transport, and harder to control. I can fit a 40 in my jacket pocket. It's anough to get me kinda drunk. Yet I can fit SO MUCH POT in the same space and this would be enough to get 100 people high, and nobody would be able to tell like they would if there was a big bottle in my pocket.

2 - Pot kinda equals hemp, and once that's legal powerful lobbies for industries that compete with hemp will lose out, and so these lobbies (lumber for paper, fabrics that compete with hemp, etc.) make darn sure that the gov't doesn't let hem or pot be legal, because they'll lose out bigtime.

 

[MrDepressed]

for one thing hemp is legal... how come there are so many 'hemp' shops if that were not true..

 

[Just_visiting]

Lots of people have said to me to that cannabis is alot less dangerous than alcohol in particular. However i find that it is usually people who use cannabis, or have used cannabis, that say this. Out of all the illegal drugs i do agree that pot is the least dangerous, and i am not denying the fact that alcohol and cigerettes are also dangerous.

Pot shares alot of the same dangers as ciggerettes because it has alot of chemicals and things that can cause cancers and other diseases. Also the other problem with Pot is what is mixed with it, particularly in the case of resin. All equally as dangerous as the chemicals found in cigerettes.

There is also increased research to suggest that Cannabis is linked to increased mental health problems. Paranoia and anxiety are common known side effects to pot, however if u use it regularly or for a long period of time it can actually cause ALOT of problems (sometimes permanant) to your mental health. The chances of developing Schizophrenia, for example, are increased if u smoke pot regularly.

Along with all the health risks, there is also the social risks. As dropmealine said, look at all the trouble alcohol and cigerettes cause and then add another drug. Also where does the government stop? if they were to legalise cannabis then people would soon be calling for the next "least dangerous" drug to be legalised.

Finally why aren't alcohol and cigerettes illegal? That is simple... Think about how much Tax the government adds on to cigerettes and alcohol. If we were to make them illegal obviously they wouldn't be sold anymore, and then no more tax for the government. It would be a huge source of loss for the government.... so they aint gonna do it are they?!

Anyway thats just my POV
Take care
L1
xxx

 

[LeaveMeAlone]

pot was originally made illegal, i believe(in the US at least) because it presented as being a very big income to communist cuba. since then i think hemp as been made legal tho.

personally i think all drugs should be made legal, I don't see what right the goverment has to tell us what we can and can't put into our bodies, i mean anything irrisponsible that you can do while on drugs is already illegal, so why can't we take drugs responsibly?

oh and both cigarettes and alcohol are much more dangerous than pot, infact a pot cigarette is only really dangerous if you're smoking the resin with regular tobacco, something which most people do because the leaf is hard to smuggle.

oh and this is coming from someone who doesn't use canabis.

another thing, caffine is like 1000 times more addictive.

there is an episode of penn and teller bs about it which is really good.

 

[MrDepressed]

I heavily used cannabis for years and still think that cannabis is far worse than tobacco (not neccesarily alcohol.. I dont know yet)... I can say it is worse first off by the first hand experience I often had ( everyday for years upon years ), it is harsher in all respects, if I smoked as many joints a day as I did cigarettes I would allready be dead, that I know.. and than there is the research on it... if your intrested look around some at medical sites and the such, there is scientific proof that cannabis is worse for the body than cigarrettes...
As much as I love Penn and Teller BS, I would never take there 'facts' as gospel, and caution anyone against that.. these guys are comedians and have no clue when it comes to peer reviewed journals and the such..

 

[LeaveMeAlone]

They have quite a good team of investigators and researchers but that said, yes i guess if you did smoke like 20 joints a day it wouldn't be very good for you, but i don't think you really need to smoke that much, even if you wanted to stay high all day.