dangerous chemical threats, of which Marijuana constitutes one of the lesser ones
Have you looked at the history behind the current stance on marijuana? Can you point to any studies showing the harmful effects of marijuana, or its active ingredients?
The original laws, before the Civil War, required labeling Cannabis as a "poison". Indeed, up to the 20th Century, the issue was about labeling, not prohibition.
Things didn't start to get tense until -- wait for it -- there were an influx of Mexicans. Reportedly, many Mexicans smoked marijuana to relax after working in the fields. Before the Great Depression, there still weren't any prohibitions. After the Great Depression, there was a slew of actions, including the establishment of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics in 1930. There were lots of claims by the head of the FBN, which resulted in the various States adopting laws to regulate Cannabis.
The Federal government used to look more kindly to Marijuana, with the passing of the Marijuana Tax Act in 1937. Further, The Department of Agriculture and the US Army encouraged farmers to cultivate hemp between 1942 and 1945 (not for smoking or THC extraction).
For further reading: the Lagurdia Commission of 1944.
Then SCOTUS lent its paw, declaring the Marijuana Tax Act to be unconstitutional, in 1969. Oops.
Bottom line: the eventual prohibition was based on questionable studies -- bad science. Not surprising, as most of the arguments against the weed were emotional, not considered thought.
(Disclosure: I am not a user of marijuana myself, and don't anticipate a need to become a user.)
Yes i've looked at the history. The D@Mn Libertarians will not *LET* you discuss this topic without going into an endless spiel about how RACISTS, ILLEGAL, and UNSCIENTIFIC was the original classification of the drug.
Libertarians are big on coloring or rewriting history to make their pursuit of Narcotic Utopia seem justifiable. The constant assertion that "Drugs were legal when the Nation was founded" is another one of these misleading claims that is intended to leave a deliberate false understanding of the History.
They simply ignore evidence that contradicts their agenda, and sometimes they simply make crap up. A month or so ago someone quoted me this line supposedly stated in congress to justify the inclusion of Marijuana in the list of banned substances.
Only problem was, it was a lie. Oh, the quote is widely spread all over the internet, but it does not exist in the actual congressional testimony that it supposedly came from. Come to find out, it was first noted in a book published by a long time dope advocate known as the "Emperor of Hemp", Jack Herer. It appears he just made it up.
Here's a picture of him.
Yeah, unbiased and Scholarly he is.