When will Marijuana be legal in the United States?

[TexasMexican]

What do you think the process will be and how will it be sold?

Personally I think Marijuana will be legal by 2010 if not sooner.

I think Canada's legalization of it will be a catalyst for us legalizing it.

IMO there is no reason not to legalize it, the law is just a hold over from back in the bad old days.

I think the tobacco companies will lobby to get it legalized so that they will have another revenue stream and so they wont loose out on money that they could be making from the increased smuggling of drugs from Canada into the US. It will also distract people from banning smoking tobacco.

I think eventually you will be able to go into a convinence store and buy it just like a pack of smokes now at days.

Current price of a pack of Marlboros at my store is $2.70 a pack, thats including tax (yeah I know thats cheap. :P ).

Anyways what do you think the average price of a legal pack of marijuana smokes will be?

[Lucky Luciano]

1. Not as easy as you seem to think, but I will not say never.

The trouble is that tobacco is difficult to grow and therefore easy to regulate and tax because the government generally knows where all of it is. However, marijuana is extremely easy to homegrow and easy to skip out on paying taxes....the government will want its cut and if it does not get it, then it will be very tough to make it legal.

[punpirate]

3. Well, the government could apply the same rules...

... as they do for the production of grain alcohol. Would be a lot more revenooers on the job, though....

And, then, there's all those federal employees and military personnel who would not be needed, and the approaching $30 billion of budget that would be lost in the drug war....

Besides, as long as the Repugs control the courts and the Congress, they can stymie all support for legalization. It's part of the Republican plan--the only people entitled to any fun are the rich....

Edit for sintax. *smile*

[amjsjc]

8. I disagree

First off if I were a tobacco exec I'd be drooling at the prospect of a multi-billion dollar pot market being legalized (and yes there will be a huge market-- even if pot is easy to grow, millions of people won't want to bother with the hassle.) Anyway, big business has a bit of clout in politics. Besides, the government could free up several billion dollars worth of funds simply by discontinuing the war on drugs...

[pezcore64]

13. well..

i dunno...
its pretty darn easy to grow!
id hardly call it a hassle!

i , for the heck of it, decided to throw some pot seeds in a flower pot in my back yard...and to my suprise, and without any care by me or tampering, i had 6 pot plants growing within a week or less. that was 6 plants from 8 seeds! no pre germination or any watering was done by me whatsoever!
i was suprised by the rate in which it grew! truely impressive!
obviously i destroyed them, id hate to get arrested for a few pot plants. eek!

i know if it were legal, id grow it in a heart beat. talk about a money saver. lol.

Ive known people to grow tobacco in their back yard tho, so i dont buy that the government knows about all the tobacco being grown in the country.
granted i live in a heavy tobacco state.

[amjsjc]

9. I disagree

First off if I were a tobacco exec I'd be drooling at the prospect of a multi-billion dollar pot market being legalized (and yes there will be a huge market-- even if pot is easy to grow, millions of people won't want to bother with the hassle.) Anyway, big business has a bit of clout in politics. Besides, the government could free up several billion dollars worth of funds simply by discontinuing the war on drugs...

[RebelOne]

11. Don't hold your breath, because I doubt it will be legalized

for a long, long time.

[Syrinx]

2. When Carter is elected in '76.

:P

Sucks.

[physioex]

4. What makes me sad...

Is to see the criminal justice system filled with nonviolent offenders from marijuana realted offenses....We are creating violent criminals and wasting tax dollars....Such a shame...

[amlouden]

6. not to mention

all the racial profiling, the drug laws after all were created to control minorities and immigrates

[TexasMexican]

10. Yep, Marijuana was made illegal back in the day because...

Mexicans used it.

[TheWizardOfMudd]

5. When the people stop allowing themselves to be divided . . .

. . . and start voting for candidates who have the people's interests at heart, like Dennis Kucinich.

Don't hold your breath. There is WAAAAAAAAAYYYYYY too much money to be made from illegal marijuana.

[amjsjc]

7. I'd expect it'll be relatively soon...

I think that the country is gradually coming to realize the inherent absurdity of outlawing pot (though my perception of this could be off, since I live in the Bay Area)... Once politicians come to realize that the people don't favor anti-pot laws anymore (and that it's not political suicide to be soft on this particular crime) they'll fall over themselves to legalize marijuana. I predict that when the end comes it'll be astonishingly rapid. I don't know if it'll be before 2010, but I tenatively predict that it'll be within 20 years. Of course this prediction is based on the common sense of the body politic at large, so I may be proven spectacularly wrong...

[Neoplatonist]

12. When minorities finally become the majority over whites...

and become a strong majority in congress. They will reverse the injustices to minorities, i.e., the conviction rates and incarceration percentages for minorities as compared with whites, by legalizing marijuana and other drugs. That will probably be over seventy-five years from now.

[JNelson6563]

14. When the liquor lobby runs out of $$

The 12th of Never of course.

Julie

[Vickers]

15. After the Rapture

:shrug:

[catmandu57]

16. That's just what I thought, after the rapture

and we're clear of all these godly folks, actually I believe we'll fall into some sort of detent on the usage of marijuana. We're almost there now, the local gendarmes turn a blind eye unless you rub it in their noses.
I'd love to be growing for my own consumption as well, I've got the perfect place for reefer to grow, unfortunately, the local dare officer lives in the house above ours.

[OneTwentyoNine]

17. When enough tax $$$$ aren't made on cancer sticks

When the tax money falls off enough on cigarettes then maybe marijuana might become legal.

[tom_paine]

18. If the Imperial Family retains power...NEVER.

The War on Drugs will provide them with a useful excuse and wedge to attack their enemies.

Using the Patriot Act, Caligula or Nero Bush (maybe even Jeb, though I think a couple more generations will have to pass away before we embrace this level of Soviet-ness) will merge it with the War on Drugs so that enemies might be rounded up or otherwise de-fanged.

Expect a lot of frame jobs in 20 years or so. As we all know, Corporate TV Pravda has not much farther to fall before they wouldn't even be a tiny factor in unjustly accused persons getting their story publicized.

"You know, Mr. TV Man, I hear you've got three kilos of coke stashed at your place? No you don't? Piss me off some more and just see what's waiting for you when you get home."

BUT THAT IS ONLY IF WE FAIL TO STOP THE IMPERIAL FAMILY! Kerry is November!

[Massacure]

19. I don't personally agree with people smoking weed

However I would like to see it legalized for other reasons (Ethanol, Clothing, Paper, Fiberboard, etc.).

[maxpower]

20. The drug companies

They don't want it to be legal. They would lose a lot of money, would you rather smoke a joint or pop a prozac?