Peace Not Greed

For the life of me, I do not understand why marijuana is still criminalized. I understand why it was ORIGINALLY outlawed in this country. Overall it was xenophobia. Mexican immigrants brought it with them and criminalizing it made it possible to arrest, detain, etc. immigrants.

But that alone wasn't enough to make it illegal. Fear had to be utilized more skillfully.

It was then decided that it was dangerous and would cause madness. But in addition to that, it also caused white women to loosen up and sleep with black men, or simillarly, it would cause black men to rape white women.

That bit of silliness held strong but it wasn't enough to convince people. So then it became the hand-in-hand partner of heavy drugs such as heroine.

As time has progressed, however, the relative masses of people have been smart enough to realize that all of these things are true... Or at least truly poppycock.
Unfortunately, to borrow and then contort a phrase of Nixon's, the ignorant masses still believe most of the things they have been falsely preached over the years and they believe them with a passion.

Go back and watch movies from the 1930's such as 'Reefer Madness'... Its a load of crap but many Americans still believe it.

I have to say, though, I do believe that due to the fear of persecution, many Americans who have tried Marijuana are afraid to admit to it due to stigma and the fact that that very stigma would be very likely social and career suicide.

Bill Clinton was almost a break-through case. He admitted to smoking marijuana but claimed he did not inhale... What small number of you folks actually believe that?
Newt Gingrich has even admitted to being a former marijuana user.

Did either of those men turn out to be Jell-O minded lazy zombies, herione addicts, or insane criminals? Well... Some may think so based on their own political views, but c'mon... Seriously.

I theorize that if 100 people read this post in the next 24 hours, at least 85 of them would have tried marijuana and another 10 would have been around it before or at least would support its legalization.

Jimmy Carter supported its decriminalization nationally. Nixon had a presidental commision to see if it would reccomend decriminalizing marijuana for personal use-- They did. Upon hearing this, Nixon threw the report in the garbage without even reading it.

I do not smoke marijuana. I'm willing to admit that I have in the past. But as of this post, it has been some time between 3-5 years since I have used it. If people were brave enough to admit it more often, it wouldn't be illegal right now.

Marijuana is not addictive. It does not always lead to heavier drugs. It is better for your health than tobacco or alcohol.

However, given its illegal status, it is very expensive to those who use it therefore giving millons of dollars to people who may or may not be using that money to contribute to more serious crimes. It is more dangerous due to its being unable to be regulated. I've talked to far too many people who have unknowingly used other drugs due to marijuana being laced. Someone who gets arrested for possession of small amounts will become ineligable for many things in their home state and the entire country due to that blemish on their possibly otherwise clean legal record.

BILLONS are spent in tax dollars on the 'war on marijuana' in the U.S. not including the millons spent to house inmates who thought they should have the right to grow a hemp plant in their own home or property.

Think of the tax dollars to be gained by taxing marijuana sells as heavily as alcohol!

Decriminalization would solve SOME of these problems. Many states have taken steps and decriminalized it.

LEGALIZATION would fix all of these problems. But I don't see that happening due to politicians who are more concerned about if they're going to get re-elected rather than politicians who actually give a damn about their constituates. It would almost certainly be political suicide to move to legalize marijuana, although it has came very close to becoming legal many times since its being outlawed by the bogus 'marijuana tax act'.

You would have to consume thousands of pounds of marijuana at one time to overdose.

There is no scientific evidence that marijuana is harmful to the human body. However, there is plenty known about its medical benefits... Not to mention its incrediblt industrial uses.

There are so many points I'm leaving out of this post without a doubt. I'm pressed for time and I do appologize. Depending on the response, I may do a continuation of this post in the near future.

I'll close with a request that you who read this post a comment saying if you've ever tried marijuana before. You don't have to post your name if you don't want to. I just want to see how many people will admit to it...

Thanks for reading!

-=The Prynce

"How would life be if the world smoked weed? Garunteed there'd be peace not greed."
~from 'Peace Not Greed' by Kottonmouth Kings

DISCLAIMER: I do not advocate breaking the law in any way. I only advocate the legalization or decriminalization of marijuana for personal use.