The biggest crime on Earth.

The biggest crime on Earth is when the 'ruling class' forbid other people from growing plants and call them criminals for doing so.

As we know, it's all about money and that's why growing plants is illegal. Sad, really.

Here's my take on it:
Alcohol can be home brewed, although it takes time and effort and for most people isn't cost worthy. The solution is to allow it to be distributed and taxed. A mostly lazy population will happily pay for their drinks and pay their taxes.

Cigarettes/Tobacco can be home grown and produced, with time and effort. Again, for most people this isn't cost effective. The solution is to allow them to be distributed and taxed. A mostly lazy population will happily pay for their smokes and pay their taxes.

Marijuana can grow almost anywhere with very little attention other than sun and water. Even lazy people can achieve a harvest in their own backyards. There is no way that the government can ever try to produce it and sell it to gain taxes from it, so the solution is to ban it.

All drugs should be legal. Drugs are a health problem, not a criminal problem.

No one should be sitting in jail cells for growing plants. It's all about the money, nothing more. What a con job.

reply to post by tezzajw


Dear tezzajw

Not sure that it is the biggest crime on earth but I do totally agree with the rest of your statement.

Hey it is about the money and sure they would find it very hard to collect the tax.

But what you left out is the bit about the control.

Drugs are illegal so they can spend all the cash on the agencies that fight the crime so that the said agencies are in place to protect them from you.

1 it is about the loss of tax

2 its about there control of the populace.

Originally posted by tezzajw
All drugs should be legal. Drugs are a health problem, not a criminal problem.

No one should be sitting in jail cells for growing plants. It's all about the money, nothing more. What a con job.

It's about money and control.

reply to post by tezzajw


Well people that are arrested and given stiff penalties are growing for illegal sale and ditribution, not growing a few plants for personal use.
www.keyt.com...
www.deseretnews.com...

With alcohol (in the US) you can only brew 200 gallons a year and it is illegal to sell what you brew at home without setting up a buisness as a brewery. But even then you would no longer be able to brew at home due to most state's zoning restrictions and firecodes so you would have to brew it elsewhere like all the other breweries.
With tobacco the story is the same you can grow but cannot be selling your plant.



[edit on 6-12-2009 by zaiger]

Originally posted by zaiger
Well people that are arrested and given stiff penalties are growing for illegal sale and ditribution, not growing a few plants for personal use.

You might have missed the whole point of my post.

People would not be able to grow and sell large quantities of marijuana if it were legal. All commercial marijuana growers and dealers would be out of business, nearly overnight, if it was legal to grow.

In my suburb, I bet that every second house would have a couple of plants in their garden. The big time dealers would have no market to sell to.

Marijuana is the easiest stuff to grow - anyone can do it. There is no way to control its widespread growth, other than to define it as being 'illegal'.

If pot is the cure-all it's said to be, I'd argue it IS the biggest crime on Earth.

reply to post by tezzajw


I did not miss the point of your post you said.

No one should be sitting in jail cells for growing plants. It's all about the money, nothing more. What a con job.

That is why i posted what I did.

People would not be able to grow and sell large quantities of marijuana if it were legal. All commercial marijuana growers and dealers would be out of business, nearly overnight, if it was legal to grow.

Not true at all.
Corn,wheat,cows(meat/milk),chicken,soy,potatoes and the examples you gave alcohol and tobacco are all perfectly legal to grow and have at home but they are a huge source of income for farmers and comercial growers. They have not disappeared in the past 50 years let alone overnight.

What if they were growing a plant that had the potential to kill people, such as a plant that could be used to create a poison, and was routinely grown in order to create such a poison?

Not saying that drugs do that. Only that I can think of situations where perhaps plant growing should be regulated.

There is no way that the government can ever try to produce it and sell it to gain taxes from it, so the solution is to ban it.

Again not true.
Alcohol and tobacco are both legal AND taxed, they are not produced nor distributed by the government.

Originally posted by zaiger

There is no way that the government can ever try to produce it and sell it to gain taxes from it, so the solution is to ban it.

Again not true.
Alcohol and tobacco are both legal AND taxed, they are not produced nor distributed by the government.

Fair point. I typed that post quickly, leaving out a couple of words that make an important difference.

There is no way that the government can ever try to regulate the production or sales to gain taxes from it (marijuana). Therefore, the solution is to ban it.

Originally posted by ravenshadow13
What if they were growing a plant that had the potential to kill people, such as a plant that could be used to create a poison, and was routinely grown in order to create such a poison?

Well, which plant is it?

If you can't name it, then it probably doesn't exist, or no one gives a damn enough to grow it for evil purposes!

reply to post by tezzajw

There is no way that the government can ever try to regulate the production or sales to gain taxes from it (marijuana). Therefore, the solution is to ban it.

Well this is still not true. The tax laws themselves are the way they would regulate the sales of it.
It is perfectly legal to make your own music, but if you were to start selling your music that is income and you have to pay taxes on it. So if you were growing and selling you would have to pay taxes on it.

Originally posted by zaiger
So if you were growing and selling you would have to pay taxes on it.

Right... so the government would monitor every cash transaction ever made?

Again, you probably miss the point with how easy this stuff is to grow, neagting the need to ever buy or sell it.

Do you know the only thing stopping me from growing them all around my yard? It's illegal to do so. It's the same reason stopping nearly every person I know from growing them too. If it was legal to grow them, I'd have a dozen along each fence line and give them away upon harvest time. The weed would have no currency value if it was legal.

The government can't stop this stuff from being grown and spread, so they make it illegal to do so. It creats a black market economy in which 'criminals' reap the profit.

reply to post by tezzajw

Right... so the government would monitor every cash transaction ever made?

No but it would still be against the law and it would be seen as being on the black market because you would be opperating a buisness without paying taxes.

Again, you probably miss the point with how easy this stuff is to grow, neagting the need to ever buy or sell it.

You miss the point. Just because it is easy to grow does not mean that everyone would grow their own. Above i listed numerous thing that are easy to grow and take care of but people still choose to buy them.

The weed would have no currency value if it was legal.

Not the case at all. As long as there is any demand for it there will always be a market.

The government can't stop this stuff from being grown and spread, so they make it illegal to do so.

ummmm..... Tobacco????
It is legal and many people smoke but people continue to buy it from stores.
They could legalize and tax it but it create more problems than it would solve.

[edit on 8-12-2009 by zaiger]

Originally posted by zaiger
Corn,wheat,cows(meat/milk),chicken,soy,potatoes ... are all perfectly legal to grow and have at home but they are a huge source of income for farmers and comercial growers. They have not disappeared in the past 50 years let alone overnight.

I skipped over this, so I'll get to it now.

These are pointless, irrelevant examples.

How many people have the land available to grow their own corn, wheat, soy and potatoes? Sure, some people might have a hobby-garden in their yard, but they need to tend it, care for it and manage their crops to sustain them. For most people, it is easier to pay farmers to grow their staple vegies.

Cows: How many people keep cows in their yard? It is not reasonable for the majority of the population to keep their own cow. Besides, local government council regulations forbid people, in my council, from keeping a cow in their yard. Most people are forced to buy milk, as they can't produce their own.

Chickens: Chickens are easier to keep and I know some people with coops in their yard. They still require care and management which is not practical for most people.

Weed: Requires nothing but water and sunlight. The only initial cost outline is to acquire some seeds. I'm sure that lots of people would be willing to share them. Plant lots of seeds and give occasional watering. Watch those weeds grow! No effort. No cost. No time. No taxes. Easy. That's why it's illegal.

Originally posted by zaiger
You miss the point. Just because it is easy to grow does not mean that everyone would grow their own. Above i listed numerous thing that are easy to grow and take care of but people still choose to buy them.

We typed our post at the same time...

I've addressed those things that you list as easy to grow. They're not easy to grow - for most people.

For most people, weed is bloody easy to grow. There would be very few people on Earth who would buy weed if they were allowed to grow their own.

I don't know why you would think that people would buy something that they can grow easily in their own yard.

Originally posted by zaiger
Not the case at all. As long as there is any demand for it there will always be a market.

I wish there was a way for ATS to have a poll. There would be next to no demand, literally overnight, if it was legal to grow.

Originally posted by zaiger
ummmm..... Tobacco????
It is legal and many people smoke but people continue to buy it from stores.

You miss my point. How easy is it for people to grow tobacco, then refine it and want to roll their own cigarettes? Most people are lazy enough and content enough to just buy the stuff rather than go to the effort of growing it on their own.

[edit on 8-12-2009 by tezzajw]

reply to post by tezzajw

These are pointless, irrelevant examples.

Not really all those plants would need is light and water too.

No effort. No cost. No time. No taxes. Easy. That's why it's illegal.

I do not think that is why it is illegal. You can brew your own alcohol at home and you do not have to do much to do that, you just mix and let it sit and that is legal to do.
For most people, it is easier to pay dealers to grow their drugs.

I don't know why you would think that people would buy something that they can grow easily in their own yard.

Not everyone has a yard, ever see an apartment building?

I wish there was a way for ATS to have a poll. There would be next to demand, overnight, if it was legal to grow.

what???????

How easy is it for people to grow tobacco, then refine it and want to roll their own cigarettes? Most people are lazy enough and content enough to just buy the stuff rather than go to the effort of growing it on their own.

Tobacco is just as east. Sunlight and water harvest it dry it smoke it.

Most people are lazy enough and content enough to just buy the stuff rather than go to the effort of growing it on their own.

Same thing for pot

[edit on 8-12-2009 by zaiger]

Originally posted by zaiger
Not really all those plants would need is light and water too.

You're showing your ignorance about the effort and time it would need for a person to manage their own vegetable garden, compared to growing weed.

zaiger, do some research. Figure out how many vegetables the average family consumes and the effort that it would take to cultivate that crop. It would be a logistical nightmare for most people - so they pay the supermarkets to do the work for them.

You're not really thinking logically if you compare a person's food requirements are as easy to grow as weed is.

Originally posted by zaiger
I do not think that is why it is illegal. You can brew your own alcohol at home and you do not have to do much to do that, you just mix and let it sit and that is legal to do.

Have you brewed your own alcohol? There's a lot more to it than that. It takes time and effort that most people can't be stuffed doing.

Originally posted by zaiger
For most people, it is easier to pay dealers to grow their drugs.

I seriously doubt it.

They don't grow it themselves because they don't want to be treated like a criminal for doing so.

Originally posted by zaiger
Not everyone has a yard, ever see an apartment building?

You're not really thinking outside the box, are you?

Pot plants much?
Ask a friend who has their own dozen plants for a little?

I don't know what kind of reality you live in, but you're using some fairly illogical arguments and doing your best to deny that most people would grow their own, if it was legal. Those that don't grow their own would most likely ask a friend for some.

You've never been to a heavy metal concert, have you? Some people pass it around to spread the mood.

reply to post by tezzajw

You're not really thinking logically if you compare a person's food requirements are as easy to grow as weed is.

I never said they could grow ALL of their food i was saying they could grow some but people choose to buy it because it is easy.

They don't grow it themselves because they don't want to be treated like a criminal for doing so.

Or maybe it is just easier to buy it off a grower?
It is illegal right now and people do keep smoking pot even though they be treated like a criminal for doing so.

I don't know what kind of reality you live in, but you're using some fairly illogical arguments and doing your best to deny that most people would grow their own, if it was legal. Those that don't grow their own would most likely ask a friend for some.

I have not posted any illogical arguments, but you have.

most people would grow their own, if it was legal.

Where do you get this info? I understand that this is what you believe and thay you would grow it if it were legal but you have no basis to judge what "most people" would do.

You're showing your ignorance about the effort and time it would need for a person to manage their own vegetable garden, compared to growing weed.

managing a small vegetable garden is not hard work at all.