Who is ignoring it? Marijuana is illegal because its potential for harm outweighs it benefits. Every "benefit" you cite can be provided by other means.

Because the Government hasn't figured out how to tax something that can be grown ANYWHERE, very cheaply.

"Marijuana" cannot provide paper, food, clothing etc. HEMP (from which marijuana is derived) can. Marijauna can get you high, and MAY be helpful in the medical field.

They probably all know the truth, but tried it once , and forgot, ya know?

"420" ROLLLLLLL ANOTHER ONE

it's a great stress reliever.

oh hell.... why dont they just legalize all of it. PCP, cocaine, heroine, LSD, etc... we should give it to babies in the hospital at birth. Yeah.... Oh wait.. I forgot about meth! Yeah lets legalize that too. Yeah Right! So people can have a legal way of getting stoned, getting behind the wheel of a car and killing a minivan filled with soccer kids. Get real Man!!

the goverment dissaproves because they wouldnt havea way to make profit from it,and there not goin to contradict themselves by legalizing it. of course this whole world has been founded on say one thing and do something different,double standards i believe they call it. point is the system sucks!

They won't legalize it because they can't make a profit from it. Plus its been illegal for so long most people don't even remember why. Personally I think if alcohol and tobacco is legal so should marijuana. "So people can have a legal way of getting stoned, getting behind the wheel of a car and killing a minivan filled with soccer kids. Get real Man!!" --Well hey can't people get drunk and go behind the wheel of a minivan full of soccer kids? oh wait it does happen. Not to mention studies have shown that some people are actually better more focused driver when stoned, not that I am saying everyone should go drive stoned, I did say only 'some' people. Also I find it quite offensive that you compare Marijuana to hard drugs such as cocaine PCP heroin and all that crap, those can cause serious harm to your body and mind, in ways marijuana would never dream of. I won't say marijuana can't cause harm to anyone but there is nothing that is not harmful in one way or another. There are no recorded deaths in history directly related to the use of marijuana. Which means more people would die from the food poisoning of a potato per year than anyone ever would from using marijuana. Personally i use Marijuana as antidepressant cause it works, but wait what about all the prescription anti depressants? those are legal and better for you? right? WRONG. I have tried several types of these and they cause more harm than good, one caused me to have frequent anxiety attacks, one made it near impossible to eat for 2 weeks, while another had me failing school cause I couldn't keep focus, along with many other negative effects. Basically back in the day when they decided to make it illegal mostly because it was competition for the cotton farmers they spread out so much false propaganda that it was severely implanted in society that Marijuana is bad when really, its not.

I'm aware that there is good use for it, and I believe it's perfectly fine to use it for those good uses, but alot of people really don't use it for that...not everyone who smokes pot is bad or will fail at life or anything, but it does do some damage to motor skills and memory. I personally don't smoke it because with it being a depressant, and my moods already unstable, it would mess with me more on those grounds.

LEGALIZATIONOFMARIJUANA.COM US Policy on Drugs Driven by the Drug War, the U.S. prison population is six to ten times as high as most Western European nations. The United States is a close second only to Russia in its rate of incarceration per 100,000 people. In 2000, more than 734,000 people were arrested in this country for marijuana-related offenses alone. The US war on drugs places great emphasis on arresting people for smoking marijuana. Since 1990, nearly 5.9 million Americans have been arrested on marijuana charges, a greater number than the entire populations of Alaska, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming combined. In 2000, state and local law enforcement arrested 734,498 people for marijuana violations. This is an increase of 800 percent since 1980, and is the highest ever recorded by the FBI. As has been the case throughout the 1990s, the overwhelming majority of those charged with marijuana violations in 2000-- 646,042 Americans (88 %) -- were for simple possession. The remaining 12% (88,456 Americans) were for "sale/manufacture", an FBI category which includes marijuana grown for personal use or purely medical purposes. These new FBI statistics indicate that one marijuana smoker is arrested every 45 seconds in America. Taken together, the total number of marijuana arrests for 2000 far exceeded the combined number of arrests for violent crimes, including murder, manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault. Like most Americans, people who smoke marijuana also pay taxes, love and support their families, and work hard to make a better life for their children. Suddenly they are arrested, jailed and treated like criminals solely because of their recreational drug of choice. State agencies frequently step in and declare children of marijuana smokers to be "in danger", and many children are placed into foster homes as a result. This causes enormous pain, suffering and financial hardship for millions of American families. It also engenders distrust and disrespect for the law and for the criminal justice system overall. Responsible marijuana smokers present no threat or danger to America or its children, and there is no reason to treat them as criminals, or to take their children away. As a society we need to find ways to discourage personal conduct of all kinds that is abusive or harmful to others. Responsible marijuana smokers are not the problem and it is time to stop arresting them. Once all the facts are known, it becomes clear that America's marijuana laws need reform. This issue must be openly debated using only the facts. Groundless claims, meaningless statistics, and exaggerated scare stories that have been peddled by politicians and prohibitionists for the last 60 years must be rejected. ANNUAL AMERICAN DEATHS CAUSED BY DRUGS TOBACCO ........................ 400,000 ALCOHOL ........................ 100,000 ALL LEGAL DRUGS .............20,000 ALL ILLEGAL DRUGS ..........15,000 CAFFEINE .........................2,000 ASPIRIN ...........................500 MARIJUANA ...................... 0 ---------------------------------------- Source: United States government... National Institute on Drug Abuse, Bureau of Mortality Statistics Like any substance, marijuana can be abused. The most common problem attributed to marijuana is frequent overuse, which can induce lethargic behaviour, but does not cause serious health problems. Marijuana can cause short-term memory loss, but only while under the influence. Marijuana does not impair long-term memory. Marijuana does not lead to harder drugs. Marijuana does not cause brain damage, genetic damage, or damage the immune system. Unlike alcohol, marijuana does not kill brain cells or induce violent behaviour. Continuous long-term smoking of marijuana can cause bronchitis, but the chance of contracting bronchitis from casual marijuana smoking is minuscule. Respiratory health hazards can be totally eliminated by consuming marijuana via non-smoking methods, i.e., ingesting marijuana via baked foods, tincture, or vaporizer. A 1997 UCLA School of Medicine study (Volume 155 of the American Journal of Respiratory & Critical Care Medicine) conducted on 243 marijuana smokers over an 8-year period reported the following: "Findings from the long-term study of heavy, habitual marijuana smokers argue against the concept that continuing heavy use of marijuana is a significant risk factor for the development of chronic lung disease." "Neither the continuing nor the intermittent marijuana smokers exhibited any significantly different rates of decline in lung function as compared with those individuals who never smoked marijuana." The study concluded: "No differences were noted between even quite heavy marijuana smoking and non-smoking of marijuana." Marijuana does not cause serious health problems like those caused by tobacco or alcohol (e.g., strong addiction, cancer, heart problems, birth defects, emphysema, liver damage, etc.). Death from a marijuana overdose is impossible. In all of world history, there has never been a single human death attributed to a health problem caused by marijuana. Legalize marijuana and life would be better for most people.

because getting high is there first concern... and we got trees for paper... why waste the plant when you can get high off of it

There are a few major problems with your argument. First, hemp can be used to make all of those things, and industrial hemp cannot get you high. Thus, why should we legalize marijuana? Second, how is the fact that you can provide four times as much paper than trees a benefit? We have more trees and better air quality in North America today (as opposed to 60 years ago) for the sole reason that we grow trees for paper.

I hope you are not aiming that comment at me, Tappy.

It's called ignorance.

I am not in favor of putting smokers in prison for possessing or using...a fine is enough for me. I am in favor of putting dealers in prison at hard labor for their offenses, though.

Guns are used for hunting and self defense, knives are used for cooking, carving, etcetera and yet if you told someone someone else had a gun/knife they immediately think of a weapon. It's just a psychological thing. If I say I drive a hummer, I bet most people think "that guy has a nice vehicle!" but very few would think of the pollution it causes. It's just a psychological thing. Personally I think Marijuana should be decriminalized, not legalized but decriminalized at least. That means that if you were caught with it you'd recieve "a slap on the wrist and a wag of the finger"

Copied and pasted from an earlier comment, dipstick. "Actually, I'm all in favor of immigration as long as the immigrants are people who work and don't commit felonious offenses." Oh shit, you better look out, the DEA task force is outside your window.

You are obviously confusing Marijuana with Hemp. And Hemp can be used for all of these things and more, the problem is that all the chemical companies have too much lobbying power. And then there's the evil twin thing ( Marijuana ) too. The big Pharmacy corps. have way too much at stake and money to lose to let it become legal. Even though some states have already allowed medicinal purposes.

If someone commits a felony, that means they did it, tappy. I'm tired of arguing this point. Drugs are bad, bottom line, you belong in prison for selling them, and I don't care what you or any other idiot who smokes weed thinks, it is horrible for your body and mind.