It's all thanks to the tobacco lobby.

^^I forget who told me about that, but yeah, I wasn't surprised when I heard that weed was illegal because of the people who worked for the tobacco companies pushed against it so much. Figures...

And that example of the tobacco lobbyists is yet another reason why I find myself more and more in agreement with the recently coined term of "corporatocracy" to describe the direction this nation is headed. There seems to be a lot of legislation that is corporation-driven. Not to mention the assertion that "corporations are people."

To quote an Occupy Wall Street protest sign: "I will believe corporations are people when Texas executes one.”

-- Nephele

In this country, drug laws are so harsh, that merely speaking of weed brings dead silences within a room...... I can't imagine what their reactions to coke or smack would be, but I can guess that stuff's so far beyond most people that it's treated as an urban legend that's not real.

However, due to the copious amounts of liquor and tobacco already consumed here by our stress-driven, corporate owned, maximum materialist society known as modern Japan, I can only imagine legalizing drugs would be like giving an extreme schizophrenic an automatic weapon.

And the hentai would end up causing armageddon..... 0_0

I'm thinking Sony, Toyota, Panasonic, etc. would have dead bosses overnight from ODing......
Most of my co-workers would also either be cokeheads or junkies.....

Don't worry, we'll get around to it. It's right on our list of stuff to execute.

Sorry to butt in so late, but I couldn't agree more with you, maybe not as strict as prohibition, but how marijuana's still illegal. Alcohol makes certain people aggressive and violent, while pot makes everybody relaxed and docile.

Not necessarily docile. Remember:

A.) Some people have the opposite reaction to certain drugs. It's one of those weird physiological things; not everyone's internal workings are the same, so not everyone reacts exactly the same to certain drugs.

B.) Additionally, marijuana has been known to make people open to suggestion. When you combine it with other drugs, you have a deadly mixture on your hands. For example: as the old stories go (told via the writings of Marco Polo, though some of his conclusions are disputed and the authenticity of the texts have been called into question), Hassan I Sabah - "the old man of the mountain", the leader of the Hashashin ("Assassins"; you know, from Assassin's Creed?) - would ply his followers with a mixture of hashish, opium and various other substances, show them a room rigged to look like the Islamic version of "Heaven" and tell them, "All the glories of Heaven will Allah give to you, if you kill whom I say! If you die in combat, Heaven is assured you!" His people, stoned out of their gourds and far more than merely "open" to what he was telling them, accepted the delusion. He would then send them to infiltrate other organizations (the Templars, various Muslim groups, etc.), where they would work their way as close to the top as they could get and await instruction. If one of those other organizations upset Hassan's concept of the "balance of power", he would instruct his assassin to either threaten them to back off, or (failing that) assassinate them. Allegedly, the Hashashin would be stoned on hashish (from whence they get their name) while committing their assassinations.

Granted, as I stated, that's marijuana mixed with other substances. On its own, however, it can still leave a person open to suggestion. According to John Marks' The Search for the Manchurian Candidate, marijuana was one of the drugs tested by the nascent CIA for use as either a mind control agent or a potential "truth serum" (this was during the 1950s, before the CIA stumbled upon the now-infamous barbituate sodium pentothal).

I'm not saying marijuana is bad, nor am I saying it should be banned - I think it should not only be legalized, but taxed in the same manner that we tax cigarettes and alcohol (that would definitely alleviate some of our economic woes by giving the government another guaranteed revenue stream) - I am merely saying that it doesn't make everyone "relaxed and docile", and that it can have other side effects as well that we have only begun to explore (and are still exploring via medical testing).

On a lighter note: during the Prohibition Era, marijuana users (when the drug was first being criminalized) were referred to as "muggles". Now you know where J.K. Rowling got that from.

^

That was really well written. Good point, I wont lie, its flooded my memories with times I was open to suggestion. Nothing too obnoxious, but not some of my finer moments.

If its controlled like in Holland, I think we could have something good going though. I think if you could get it, smoke it in a cafe and then go about your merry way, people would be more conscious about how they act on it. You still have to admit though, most pot smokers are pretty harmless.

Welp. That was far more effort than I would put into refuting the point. Well done Agent Bat.

Perhaps this is true. Or, they could be like my brother who became extremely abusive and often violent. Fun times to be alone with that guy, let me tell you.

Naturally I view the drug just as I view our favorite drug known as "Alcohol".

Don't get me wrong, I love such things as Rum or Absinthe and keep them both in the house. The problem is I know too many people who drink for the sake of getting drunk, you know what I mean? It's no place of mine to condemn someone for that I suppose. I merely feel like an alarming number of people cannot be trusted with alcohol, so they cannot be trusted with weed either.

The only way I would EVER be happy if it was made legal is if its penalties for abuse or misuse were just as high as alcohol's. Between at least four people I've lived with, I've become a little tired of substance abusers.

I'm down with that. Especially when it comes to people who drive while under the influence. Same deal for those careless idiots who text while driving, or put on make-up in their rear-view mirrors while driving, or play stupid road rage games.

I don't want them to go to jail – the jails are crowded enough already. I want their cars to be confiscated. They can take public transportation to work, or walk, for all I care.

Once you risk somebody else's life through your own foolishness, you get no sympathy from me.

-- Nephele

Hear hear. The prospect of walking everywhere would make people think twice here in America, I think.

Don't even get me started on people who play stupid road rage games. I know a friend of mine that is like that.

No that's okay, we'll drive ourselves. Wouldn't want to loose any teeth or body parts along the way, they're kind of hard to find

How is absinthe by the way? Is it anything special or is it just a drunken feeling?

As for people drinking for the sake of getting drunk, I sort of understand why they would, and how it could get so addicting. When I'm drunk, I find I'm more forgiving and happier seeming. It's a really powerful escape method if you don't feel like dealing with your problems or are under a lot of stress.