Why are cigarettes legal and marijuana illegal? So stupid...?

I agree. I don't smoke either anymore, but soooo many people die from cigarette smoking each year. And uh.....how many people actually die from MJ smoking? Exactly! Oh by the way has anyone seen the movie Thank you for smoking? Great movie!

Marijuana is illegal primarily because of propaganda and racism. It has remained illegal because of money, and the government's inability to tax it thus far. The government refuses to admit that marijuana is not anywhere near as dangerous as they say, or even that's its less dangerous than cigarettes. Tobacco has remained legal because of money, the government makes huge profits off of the taxes from tobacco, and if it were to push to make it illegal the tobacco industry would make a huge fuss, which would cost the government even more money. Interestingly, tobacco isn't as bad for you as you think. What's really bad for you is all the chemicals they put in the cigarettes, but the government can't even get tobacco companies to admit what they put in their cigarettes. Natural tobacco is not only safer, but without the ammonia in the reconstituted tobacco its also LESS ADDICTIVE. On top of that, studies done on second hand smoke has proven that it's harmless, yet the government has insisted that its a public safety hazard. Almost as if the government wants you to think that smoking anything is going to lead to the deaths of thousands of people, yet they won't admit that they have mishandled the tobacco industry and that its this poor management of a company that they can no longer control that leads to thousands of preventable deaths a year.

The reason marijuana is illegal is because of the dangers involve with driving and the unpredictablitiy of marijuana on individuals.

Do you really want stoners swerving all over the road? How certain are you that the car in front of you won't stop to stare at a billboard for an hour? Or that SUV driver won't throw his vehicle into reverse to try and help that dead raccoon that you just passed? "Impossible" you say? Would you really bet against it though?

DUI is illegal and covers more than just alcohol. However, legalizing marijuana is a nightmare. How are you going to establish limits on the THC? Who will be allowed to sell it? Who will be allowed to grow it? What about contraband from other countries? Taxation is only a minor problem compared to those of controlling the product. Don't believe me? Just look at the regulations on alcohol and tobacco.

Then you have the problems of restricted use. Will you let airline pilots smoke a joint before take-off? What about truck drivers and railroad engineers? The police? What about medical personel? I am positive that certain people in these groups do use marijuana; but I am saying that allowing them to do so without punishment would be a bad idea.

When was the last time someone smoked 3 or 4 cigarettes then when out & drove smashing into another vehicle because their driving was impaired?????

Marijuana alters the BRAIN!!! just like other drugs & alcohol do... That is why drinking & driving are also ILLEGAL!!!!!

I would rather work around a cigarette smoker than a pot head. At least it would be safer. How would you like it if your doctor or surgeon were smoking pot right before a surgery or if the emergency room doctor just came in from outside high & you needed him to save your life or the life of a loved one & he was so high he killed them???

In the USA weed was made illegal (actually classified as a narcotic) to be able to charge Mexicans as a means of controlling them. Cigarettes would never be legal if they came about today. While it is true tobacco creates money for certain corporations the health costs far outweigh the benefits to society. But those corporations contribute alot of money to congress while the marijuana lobby contributes very little...the US Congress - the best group of politicians money can buy....

I think you are correct, it's all about the money and definitely not about public safety. If it were then alchohol would be illegal as well as tobacco. But we tried to do that in the 1920's and it didn't work. So I believe that one day pot will be legal as well and taxed and regulated by the federal government.

It's a matter of doing what is sort of possible and not trying to do what is totally impossible. Even though the ban on marijuana does not work perfectly, it works imperfectly. A ban on cigarettes would be even more futile than Prohibition was.

I know why.

Because even though cigs are much worse for you in the long run then marijuana, they do not mess you up in the short run.

No one crashes a car because they are smoking a cig, but crashes are much more common when someone is driving and smoking weed.

The pharmaceutcal companies line the pockets of the elected polititians to keep it that way. There is no money in it for them in marijuana.Even whith the good that it has been proven to do for pain , there is no profit in any cure. The profit comes from treating the symptoms.

Why is alcohol legal? It leads to a heck of a lot more driving fatalities than pot. Did you know that r.j.reynolds hold the patent on Maui Gold if pot should become legal in the U.S.? I have 2 words: LEGALIZE IT