[philman_36]

Society looked down on those who "chased the dragon" and those who smoked marijuana.
Yeah, it was called bigotry then and it's called bigotry today. It seems it is still alive and well. You quip "Grow up and ask adult questions.", yet you're all too aware of why "society", as well as government, looked down on "those who "chased the dragon" and those who smoked marijuana." Bigotry and racial hatred. You can't seem to say it outright. You couch it in such polite expressions..."looked down on"...

Back then, those drugs were legal.
WOW, you stated the obvious! Go to the head of the class!
The government paid no attention.
Poppycock and balderdash! Even more evidence that you're talking out your nether regions. Just who established the FDA in 1930? Wasn't it the government? What about all of the U.S. food and drug laws? The government, at both the state and Federal level, paid lots of attention, with numerous laws passed concerning those drugs, despite your assertions and apparent attempt at ignorance.

And the government didn't "stigmatize" the drugs -- they banned them.
What a crock! Just who was Anslinger? Didn't he represent the government and didn't he start, with the government's blessing, and money, the Marijuana Madness which was the largest stigmatization program to date?

And you sit there wondering, why oh why won't robertpaulsen respond to my posts?
You've responded to my post, but, IMO you still haven't answered my questions. You've just bandied about the same placatory responses you already threw up and expect me to go away with satisfied with your "answers". You're simply repeating yourself and obfuscating, you're not "answering" anything.

[robertpaulsen]

"You couch it in such polite expressions..."looked down on"... "

Correct. That is the definition of "stigmatize".

We don't do that anymore (which was my point) because people, people like philman_36 for example, would call it "bigotry and racial hatred". Which it's not, but it nevertheless stops people from doing so.