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Question:

Why is marijuana illegal?



Answer:

Something is illegal when laws are passed prohibiting it. Marijuana is against the law because there are specific laws which make it illegal.

 

To understand why certain things are illegal, we should understand two basic principles: (1) where laws come from; (2) why one thing, rather than another, may have a law against it.

Laws are rules which are enforced by a controlling authority or Government. In the United States, we have a Constitution, which is considered the highest body of law, or rules, in the land. The US Constitution creates three areas of government: 1. a President to oversee the country; 2. a Legislature to enact and create rules of law; and 3. a Court system to test and enforce the rules and laws enacted by the legislature.

Laws are usually made with the idea of protecting people or things. For instance, laws against driving too fast are safety-oriented and are intended to protect people. Laws against chopping down native cactuses are intended to protect the desert plants, rather than protecting people.

Before a law on anything is created, people must agree that a law is necessary. For some things, most people agree there is no need for a rule or law to control it. On the other hand, when enough people agree that a law is needed, then one may be created by the legislature. Legislatures are made up of representatives elected by people.

If something is determined to be dangerous, and people are doing it in spite of its dangers, then the legislature may create a law to prevent people from doing it and the court system may punish people who break the law.

So, marijuana, like most things which are illegal, has been determined to be a danger to the people, and because some people use it, sell it or possess it in spite of its dangers, laws were created by the legislature to prevent people from using, selling or possessing it and to punish people who violate the law.


Comments
156 thru 160 of 791 comments
On 01/02/06
zack from GA said:
can anyone tell me exactly why marijuana is illegal. every time i look into it, it seems like the ones who think it is bad cant come up with a strait answer why it is bad.
On 12/19/05
Evelyn Ovalle from TX said:
Myth: Smoking marijuana can cause cancer and serious lung damage. Fact: There chance of contracting cancer from smoking marijuana is minuscule. Tobacco smokers typically smoke 20+ cigarettes every day for decades, but virtually nobody smokes marijuana in the quantity and frequency required to cause cancer. A 1997 UCLA study (see page 9) concluded that even prolonged and heavy marijuana smoking causes no serious lung damage. Cancer risks from common foods (meat, salt, dairy products) far exceed any cancer risk posed by smoking marijuana.
On 12/07/05
Kels from OH said:
ok...my grandmother believes that weed should be legalized...so if thats not saying something..i dunno what is. i don't smoke it...so thats not why i think it should be legalized...but...if we have ppl being released from jail after they raped or killed someone, but we still have ppl in jail for life because they smoked a little pot...shouldn't something be changed about that?
On 12/04/05
mike from CA said:
I have to say that i have never understood why hemp is illegal, so i started to research it thinking it killed people but i found that the real reason is money. the govt makes way to much on ciggs to make mary jane legal. if anyone disagrees or has more to add let me know.
On 12/01/05
doc from PA said:
many people think that it is the actual weed that gives cancer, but any kind of burnt carbon going into your lungs can give you cancer. 500 people die a year from asprin OD.. No one in recorded history has died from marijuaa you would have to smoke 40,000 times what it takes to get high
156 thru 160 of 791 comments



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