Why is Marijuana Illegal?
[By Jon Walker]
I ran into another person today that thinks marijuana is illegal because the government claims it's harmful. At one time I would have simply argued that it is no more harmful that alcohol and run through the usual litany of reasons it should be decriminalized. This time, I decided to take a different approach.
“They have to make it illegal”, I said, “because it threatens their existence.” This rather far-fetched statement had the desired effect of causing the other person to explain myself. I first started out with basic facts.
Marijuana is less addictive than beer. Marijuana is safer (I've never heard of anyone who went out to a party and smoked themselves to death). So why is it illegal?
Then I asked them to think why the government would not want people to smoke marijuana. After a moment I asked if they knew what it takes to create usable tobacco. Basically tobacco requires a specific climate and then it needs to cure for several months. Then I went to alcohol and of course that requires some form of fermentation and possibly distillation. These processes require days, weeks or months of preparation after harvesting the plants used in the process. Some forms of alcohol are quite frankly more trouble than they are worth unless done in large quantities with expensive equipment. Hobbyists may take the time to produce tobacco or alcohol but it is “inconveniently out of reach” for most people. I then pointed that marijuana can be grown on a window sill with adequate sunlight. Once picked, it is easily dried and you can begin using it hours after harvest. With such a simple growth/harvest/processing chain, a single person easily could grow enough product to keep themselves along with their neighbors, friends and relatives supplied.
“So why does this threaten the government”, I prodded.
The answer of course is the same as most “why does the government do this” questions. If a you do not rely upon a company or controlled distribution chain for a product, the government can't produce a choke point that allows them to tax the product and create revenue. Further, I asked, what would happen if people began using easily grown and hard to control marijuana in favor of alcohol or tobacco? Obviously many would at least consider the easily grown and produced vice over the taxed and regulated ones thus threatening the government's supply of taxes.
Tax revenue control is one of the leading causes of most of the sins visited on the citizens by a government.
Sadly, this very line of reasoning can be used in many places because it is easily demonstrated that government does not “care” about the health and safety of its citizens unless it threatens the tax revenue stream or the positions of elected officials. For examples, you can cite automobiles, alcohol, tobacco, trans-fatty acids and I suspect at least 20 other examples as proof. Government is not about protecting anything but revenue and power. The more we can drive that home in a real manner to people, the more likely we are to make people aware of the dangers of uncontrolled government.