I am for the legalization and taxation of marijuana since there are many unjustified reasons as to why it's illegal, and there are many reasons that it is illegal about which many people do not know.



Marijuana was used in the early 1900s for medicinal purposes in America throughout the country, but until World War I, it was just that. Many mexican immigrants came to the country during World War I to provide labor for the American economy since most of the American men were off at war. They brought with them their cultural differences including the idea of smoking marijuana recreationally. Although smoking marijuana recreationally wasn't a new idea, it certainly was to a mainly conservative American era.

Then the Great Depression stuck and the fast life of the roaring twenties came to an end. Americans looked for a scapegoat, as commonly done by man, and they blamed the minorities and their practices, including the idea of smoking marijuana in a recreational manner. Southwestern U.S. wanted to deport mexican immigrants because of their race and culture. To deport the immigrants, they had to make marijuana ,commmonly used by mexicans, illegal.

William Randolph Hearst did just that. He lead a government supplied and funded organization which spread lies to the American people about marijuana. He exaggerated the effects of the drug and created movies such as Reefer Madness, which frightened the American public. He also participated with Henry J. Anslinger in creating false propaganda and writing false stories, which affected newspapers, movies, comics, and everyday American life. This type of false information lasted for years until today.

In fact, the self-incrminatory Marijuana Tax Stamp Act of 1937 that Hearst persuaded congress to pass didn't even make it illegal. Contrary to popular opinion, marijuana wasn't made illegal until 1970.

Why is marijuana categorized in schedule 1 along with other drugs such as heroine and crack/cocaine yet its main ingredient (THC) is legal in pill form called Marinol. Marijuana has been proven to not even be nearly close in addiction, lethality, toxicity, etc. compared to the other drugs in Scheule 1. (Schedule 1 being worst and schedule 5 being least harmful).

Why do we prescribe morphine, oxycodon, methadone, and other murderous amphetamines,which take lives everyday, yet the govternment can actually deny terminally ill patients and arrest them for using the medicinal form of marijuana.

The fact is every abovetheinfluence commercials you see is paid by the government since they aren't making a profit off of marijuana. You'll never see the government paying for an anti-alcohol or anti-cigarretes commercial since they are raking in money for it.

The govt. tried to criminalize alcohol in the 20s, and it didn't work. Why are we wasting around 10.4 billion dollars in arresting people with possession of marijuana when we should worry about our failing economy. As you can see, criminalizing marijuana hasn't stopped the use of it. All we did was create more problems in the criminal system and make the Black Market richer.

Why not tax marijuana just like alcohol and cigarettes, which has proven to be more harmful than marijuana?

The Gateway Drug Theory, which is the government's best argument, is a theory. This is all circumstantial and there is no evidence saying that every marijuana smoker will lead to other drugs. The only reason a marijuana smoker would lead into harder drugs is if his "dealer" would introduce him to harder drugs. If marijuana was legal, the common man would go to the convenient store and not be subjected to harder drugs.

We are so worried about marijuana that we forget the harm that's been caused by alcohol, nicotine, and even caffeine addictions. But then again, the government makes money off of these items so why make them illegal? They don't care whether or not it's dangerous. As long as the government makes a profit, it is all dandy for them.

The government has played on your psychi for too many years now, and it's time we challenge their hypocritcal laws.

Sir, you are not going to change the laws. Marijuana is illegal.. Pure and simple. Next thing you will be saying murder is legal.

see above

Soooo proud to see someone speaking up regarding the legal issue of marijuana. I know many people that are incarcerated because of these silly laws. Alcohol is way more dangerous in many ways. Stick with it man, there are alot of people out in the world that feels the same way you do.

see obove

sorry. i meant see above. i promise im not high.....yet