Why are so many people so against weed when they don't know squat about it?

I used to smoke, don't anymore. I smoked my freshman year of college almost everyday and made a perfect 4.0 gpa. In other words, it never really affected me in any bad ways yet I hear all this propaganda from commercials and people (ie: my dad and people on yahoo answers) about how marijuana will ruin your life. Also, we're talking about WEED so please don't categorize and say DRUGS. All drugs are different. Anyway, I quit because I got bored of it and decided I like to think with a clear head, although getting high was once a lot of fun it lost its sacredness.





My dad smoked once and said all he got was a headache. Well, damn I sure as hell don't know what he smoked, but it was probably schwag or grass or something not weed. Anyway, tell me what's bad about it? I don't believe it causes cancer, maybe if you show me studies that say it does I'll believe it but so far studies show otherwise. I can see how it makes some people lazy and stupid but others like myself handle it just fine.

Why are so many people so against weed when they don't know squat about it?
The most common answer we're getting as to why people are so against cannabis is that it's illegal and makes people do bad things. But what disturbs me the most about that answer is that no one seems to be questioning WHY it is illegal. Slavery was legal in my states for decades, but did that make it right? So just because something is legal, doesn't mean it's morally right. And on the flip side, just because something is illegal, doesn't mean it's morally wrong. We should not simply accept whatever propaganda and statistics the government and groups with their own agendas spoon-fed to us. We need to do our own investigation, of the history that's not taught in school. I hope to shed some light on that with this essay I will be composing. I will be updating it as I go along. So here I begin with a current history of cannabis in the US (1900-current).





The Hearst family was very successful in their initial campaign against marijuana and hemp (which began early in the last century). They were so opposed to it because it would threaten the cotton industry, in which they were very heavily invested. This would influence the future of "pot" in America as we know it. So would the ambitions of a young man named Harry J. Anslinger. It also has a lot to do with how the government doesn't stand to profit from it. Pharmaceutical companies would also lose billions of dollars per year from the loss of sales in antidepressants (as marijuana has been known to help cure depression in some patients), anti-anxiety medications (cannabis is certainly an anxiolytic that relaxes the nerves and mind and eases worry, muscle relaxers (cannabis is one of the best muscle relaxers I use, if not THE best), painkillers (marijuana is quite effective in helping with pain, especially neuropathy, cancer pain, arthritis and allover muscular pain).





I will have to finish this tomorrow. I am falling asleep. You'll learn lots more about cannabis and it's magic then. :)
Reply:because its illegal, plain and simple, people reject what they fear and it can get you into legal trouble, so yeah
Reply:to me the majority of people in this country agree with you however the majority of people who agree do not vote and make the rules





the drug free america campaign is funded by tobacco and alcohol companies. If you do the research you will clearly find this out. They do not want you to use a drug that you can grow in a pot in your window for free. They want you to consume alcohol and tobacco and make them rich.





Also it is the people in charge who run prisons for profits. So they need to keep putting harmless people in jail to fund their private prisons. They get money from the government for each prisoner that they keep in their prison. If the prison was empty they do not get the money.





Then they make their prsoners do work for companies. Say fixing a road or making office equipment. SInce these prisoners do not work under minimum wage rules they can make wages of like 20 cents an hour and its all legal and the corporations that hire the prisoners are basically hiring cheap labor.
Reply:Yes, I agree, walking around all the time not thinking with a clear head (your own words by the way) is not a bad effect?!?! Cmon man, listen to yourself!! The reason it is so bad is the same reason alcohol and any other drugs are. Because people like you think they can "handle" it, so they get high, get in a car and end up killing some innocent soul!! I could care less if you stay at home and drink, smoke, snort, or shoot yourself into complete oblivion, but once you step out that door, you endanger others!! Ok, so you got away with it, good for you and thank God!! Just because you did though, doesn't make it right, or ok. I know people who were meth addicts who succeeded in many ways, doesn't make it good, or right. I know people who are prominent people in their communities and have great jobs that have shoplifted and stolen from people their whole lives without ever being caught. Doesn't make it right, or ok. Not to mention that it's illegal, not to mention that people get killed in the "dealings" of it everyday. I have a brother who smokes pot and he went to college, obtained his masters in education and his PHD in counseling. He spent 10 years and hundreds of thousands of dollars to do this and 5 months into his career, he got busted for possession because he just couldn't quit doing it. Now, with this on his record, he will never be able to councel or teach children ever again. Like I said before, good for you for being one of the lucky ones and getting away with it. Unfortunately, you are in the huge minority when it comes down to it. Besides, if it's so fun and so uneffective on peoples lives than why would you ever quit doing it? You know your life is better off without it, otherwise you would've never stopped smoking it. Your reasoning would be like saying you quit having sex because you got bored of it. It makes absolutely no sense!! People just don't stop doing things that are enjoyable, healthy and good for them. It just doesn't happen!!
Reply:I, like you, used to smoke it, (for about 6 years!). Got bored and just plain tired of it. Also, the people I hung around with during that time were "going-nowhere" types and I eventually figured out I didn't want to follow that route! I kept my head, but they weren't interested in getting ahead in life. Smoking that stuff promoted nothing of interest to me, and finally... I HAD to move on and up! Pot won't take you up... anywhere!!! Plus, especially now, it's waaaaaay too expensive! What a waste of both money and life!
Reply:because they've seen the effects
Reply:I've been smoking for pot for 28 years and I have never had an issue with it but on the other hand some people who have an unidentified mental condition/ genetic or other wise it can cause grief to some.
Reply:You just answered your own question. It's because they don't know squat about it.
Reply:i am against weed. 100%. and yes i know all about it.





in your face.
Reply:Quite honestly weed an alcohol are merely different routes to same destination. Which is an escape from reality and ones problems.





What might set you apart from other people is you probably have a stronger will and/or drive to do things other than get high/drunk. Which is probably why you did so well in school.





My sister is an alcoholic and a pot head. She never graduated from high school and she now lives in Detriot and works 2 different waitressing jobs to get by and make ends meat. She told me she started experimenting with drugs when she was in her early teens and rather than deal with her problems that she was having at the time she chose to ran away from them by getting drunk and high and partying. Now i wouldn't go so far to say that her addiction is the root of all of her problems. but because she chose to ignore the problems in her life by getting high, she ended up in the position that she is in now which is living in relative poverty and scraping by to make ends meat.





What makes any drug usage a problem is that when people do them they sometimes forget to stop or they simply don't know how to stop. Not only does drug addiction add another problem it can soon grow to the point where it overshadows the root reason why you do drugs in the first place.
Reply:well other then taking years for the cumulative effect to hit you and actually modifying the genetic structure "screw up the dna of your sperm"





whats not to like? lite me up a bowl man!
Reply:weed does hurt you in th elong run. You become less effective(both mentally and physically) and have less money.
Reply:I never smoked pot once in my life (some allergic reaction or w/e to hemp (was tested as a baby for what my allergens were)), yet I still support it. Good luck with any fight you have about it
Reply:cause morons in today's society listens to everything their GOVERNMENT tells them.





like sheeps, nothing more different than sheeps really. government tells them this and they all believe, tells them that and they all believe.





typical dumb **** in today's society, abiding everything to the word "illegal", in their minds, if its illegal then it must be wrong. because the government would never harm you, the government is good, the government is right, and the government is honest.





dumb *****
Reply:Weed is a f#cking illegal drug and it can make you do bad things, now you do the math of why people are against it.





Weed can lead into even more Worse Drugs, my Brother started doing cocaine from weed and it landed him 15 years in prison. He was high when he shot and killed a guy..
Reply:i make a very good point but not everone is like you plus some is laced wit pcp witch can reallllyy make people go wack belive i have an aunt who smoked week and it was laced with it and she went to jail because of what she did alos when people dont handel it welllike my aunt its worse than alchol soo not everone is the same otherwise somek it uppp!
Reply:You are totally right but like you said it does make people lazy and stupid. Honestly it is just like cigarettes in my opinion. You smoke socially ar just to relax. I don't smoke myself but i used to. And the only reason it is so controversial is because certain people do have a problem with it and don't want to give it up and the people close to them are concerned. I am totally with you on the alcohol thing though. That screws up way more peoples lives than pot does. Hope my opinion was at least interesting.
Reply:It is illegal because it is easy to grow and obtain, The government wants their cut of everything because nothing is free.





I believe that some people need to do it and some don't because they can't handle it and act lame.





Like most thing their will always be people who abuse it, everything in moderation.





It can have bad effect on those who abuse it by robbing them of their ambitions and motivation but if you are an artist or musician then it can be very in lighting on a creativity level.
Reply:You basically said it, "ignorance".





It's the gov just trying to exercise its control, power, and morality on everyone.





What's even more ignorant is that people assume that all comes from the right-wing. It doesn't. Most of it is driven by the left-wing in actuality. (Try pushing legalization through the current Democrat majority in congress and see how far it gets.)





I say this because the only way it will ever be changed is to elect a Congress that embraces freedom and less government, and maybe the time for a real Libertarian movement is at hand (especially given the prospects this election cycle).
Reply:Well Xavier did make one valuable point, it does cost money. But that isn't the governments fault, that is because it is illegal and therefore more expensive. I have only smoked since I was 23 and am now 61. I am a self-employed contractor with nine different trades I market daily. Prior to smoking I worked in factories with dead end chances of improvement. So, to you that feel it is that bad,... you are misinformed. Question everything.
Reply:Weed can be addictive, and can cause depression if used for a long period of time. It also impairs judgment, and is, oh yea, illegal.