Why Is Marijuana Still Illegal?

Cannabis is not a bad plant, despite what the many propaganda videos and articles that were published in the 1930s may have said. It's a harmless herb that has way lower cancer risk than regular cigarettes do.

In fact, it's better than just being harmless; it's beneficial. Studies have shown that medical marijuana offers a wide array of benefits for people who suffer muscle pain, anxiety, anorexia, stomach issues, as well as cancer.

Right now, we know that medical marijuana is a good thing. However, marijuana is still illegal and is considered to be a Schedule I drug by the DEA. Clearly, this doesn't make sense.

If you're like many cannabis activists, you might be wondering why is marijuana still illegal despite all the evidence of its benefits. Wonder no more; we narrowed down the answer to a number of different issues.

Prison Kickbacks And Slave Labor

Most Americans don't really know much about the US prison system, but they should. It may make them rethink the way that the American justice system behaves, and it can tell you the financial answer to why is marijuana still illegal.

Many prisons and jails are private prisons. So, they are owned by companies — and they are there to make a profit. They make a profit by forcing prisoners to work at wages that are far below minimum wage, often for shifts of 10 hours or more at a time.

If this sounds like slave labor, that's because it is.

With cheaper labor as a product, private prisons are able to make contracts with major names who want to cut costs but "keep jobs in America." Companies that support this form of modern slavery include Whole Foods, Victoria's Secret, McDonald's, AT&T, and Nintendo.

Private prisons also profit from commissary sales inside of a prison, as well as from fees taken from financial transactions done via Jpay. In other words, private prisons are a very profitable racket.

The private prison industry can't continue to rake in profits if the number of inmates goes down. So, they offer kickbacks to officials and "donations" to countries that arrest and sentence offenders to prison for long terms.

Legalizing marijuana poses a threat to these companies, primarily because the majority of nonviolent offenders who end up in jail are there due to drug charges. For people who profit off prisons, it doesn't make sense to legalize the herb.

Moreover, racist police officers who want to flex their power on minorities can do so fairly easily by throwing the book at people who end up in custody due to drug charges.

So, why is marijuana still illegal? Greed, with a side of racism, explains much of it.

Ignorance

Not all states profit very heavily from private prisons. So, why is marijuana still illegal in other areas, too?

Part of the other reason why this drug stays banned is because of the propaganda of the 1930s through the 1960s. Marijuana was a victim of a smear campaign that left people clamoring for its ban — despite it being used by whites and minorities alike for centuries before.

One film in particular seemed to have a big impact on public opinion: Reefer Madness. When the movie Reefer Madness debuted discussing the alleged evils of cannabis, a lot of people bought it hook, line, and sinker.

As years progressed, the government kept its official stance that marijuana is a harmful and addictive drug. The strong stance against drugs also was part of Nancy Reagan's First Lady cause.

Younger generations got to hear the message that "drugs = death" from a number of different government- and school-sponsored groups, including the DARE program, a Looney Tunes special, and even a Tiny Toons episode.

If you hear something frequently enough, it will become truth to you. So, to a point, it's also brainwashing. One need not wonder why is marijuana still illegal when half the population has been intimidated into believing it's a deadly drug.

Marijuana's illegal status is a reflection of the problems our society has — and refuses to admit to.

If you really look at all the real reasons to why marijuana is still illegal, it doesn't paint a good picture of America. Sadly, legalizing marijuana means that we will, to a point, have to address these issues in order to become better.

• Marijuana is illegal because we still have slave labor and care more about profit than we do about doing the right thing. We have an underclass that we are keeping as slave labor for major corporations. We have a judicial and law enforcement branch that is being swayed by money to keep that slave class growing.
• Marijuana is illegal because people don't care enough about the underclass to do anything about this. Most people don't care what happens to felons, because "it's them and they deserve it." No one deserves to be a slave, but our society doesn't seem to agree with that statement. So, we watch as injustice happens because it's not happening to us.
• Marijuana is still illegal because a huge portion of our country is brainwashed. People trusted a government that lied to them and voted the way that politicians wanted them to vote. Unfortunately, this means that they created a government that enacts laws that go against their best interest.

Why is marijuana still illegal? It's because our society is sick.