Why are cigarettes legal, but marijuana illegal?

[RobH4413]

Originally Posted by GhettoDogAllStars

I've heard this type of thing many times before. But it will never happen. I'm pretty sure there's a federal law against pot, so the state laws don't supercede (correct me if I'm wrong).

However, it doesn't even matter if there is federal law prohibiting it. Can you imagine the extreme border control problems between NV and the bordering states which outlaw pot? The state and federal gov't would never allow that to happen. If it's not legal in the entire country, it'll never be legal anywhere inside it.

You can always hope for decriminalization though (no jail time -- just fines)

Pot is illegal on the federal level. No matter where you are in the United States, a federal agent can arrest you for possession. This however is rather difficult to do since there only 2000 or so DEA agents (correct me if I'm wrong) and Marijuana isn't really top priority.

States can have laws that protect you from local authorities, but no-one can protect you from the Federal Government. However it is pretty unlikely to be busted by the DEA for Marijuana.....

I think Denver has decrimilized pot, and many parts of the country are following suit. You'll start to see the more liberal areas of the country doing this more and more, and usually that's in the major cities.

In D.C. it's virtually impossible to get a conviction, I had a buddy at school charged with intent to distribute, and his case was thrown out of court. It helps the police focus on serious crime, which in my eyes is a more efficient policy.