There are many opponents to the medicinalization and legalization (we’ll call it generalization from here) of cannabis. Most if not all of the motives revolve around money. Here are some of the opponents and the possible threats that generalization poses to them.

Dealers

You may think generalization of cannabis would mean that those nasty drug dealers would be able to make a lot of money and the law would be somehow backing down to them.

But you would be wrong. Generalization would mean that there is no longer a black market for cannabis and thus the price would drop. It would no longer be economically feasible for a dealer to run an operation. The price of cannabis would drop, and all the dealers customers would have to a) grow it themselves or b) turn to a government taxed and regulated system of purchasing it, should one arise.

That is, if people even wanted to smoke weed anymore when it is generalized and boring. Prohibition more often than not encourages kids and even adults to try and use cannabis because of its illegality. To rebel against parents and the system.

So the dealers will lose money.

Gangs/Drug Cartels

You may have heard in the news about the Mexican drug cartels running the Mexican government and law enforcement, and of bloody gun battles. Because cannabis has a black market, there is much money to be made from exporting it to the USA, and the cartels can afford to corrupt officials.

Indeed, the easiest way to defeat these cartels would be to generalize cannabis. That would take all their power because the cannabis price would drop and the black market disappear.

So the cartels will lose money.

“I learned that not only did they not fear our war on drugs, they counted on it to increase the market price and to weed out the smaller, inefficient drug dealers. They found U.S. interdiction efforts laughable. The only U.S. action they feared was an effective demand reduction program. On one undercover tape-recorded conversation, a top cartel chief, Jorge Roman, expressed his gratitude for the drug war, calling it “a sham put on for the American taxpayer” that was actually “good for business”.”

- Michael Levine, Former Federal Narcotics Officer

Law Enforcement

One would assume law enforcement would be against generalization because they don’t want to look soft, and think that they are protecting the people. But when you create a black market, you create the danger that comes with people who want to circumvent the prohibition. Thereby putting law enforcement officers, who are just people, and innocent bystanders in harms way.

However without drug offenders to chase around the countryside the enforcement agencies would have less work to do. So generalization would mean less work and so less job security for people in agencies such the Police, DEA, FBI, and the CIA. Not to mention the Xe (Blackwater) mercenaries that are sometimes used to raid the dangerous (/sarcasm) medicinal cannabis dispensaries full of unarmed sick people.

This is without mentioning the court system that drug offenders must go through. For every court appearance there are lawyers, judges and many other legal staff to pay. These people are more often than not the most well paid individuals in the cycle.

So the Police, DEA, FBI, CIA, Xe (Blackwater mercenaries), lawyers, judges and legal staff all stand to lose money.

Prisons

This brings us to the prisons that are needed to lock up the drug offenders. In 1984 the US Government started outsourcing the prison system to private companies^[1]. However in order to make more money, the private companies need prisoners. The more prisoners they get the more money they get.

If cannabis is generalized the private prison companies will lose a source of prisoners, and money. Therefore it is in the prisons best interest for cannabis to remain illegal so they may get their prisoners. In fact, lobbyists for the prison companies, lobby the government for harsher sentences for all offenders.

This is how people have received life sentence for the simple possession of a natural plant, or its flowers, that was put on this earth by god himself (if you are religiously inclined).

So the prison companies stand to lose a lot of money.

Tobacco and Alcohol companies

The tobacco and alcohol companies have established a good market for their products, also known as drugs. These companies make a lot of money each year and yet their products kill millions of people worldwide each year.

Cannabis, a drug with no documented deaths, would provide competition to the tobacco and alcohol markets. In a veiled anti-competitive practice, these companies also lobby the government to keep cannabis illegal.

So the tobacco and alcohol companies stand to lose a lot of money.

Pharmaceutical companies

These companies stand to lose big time. With all the proven medical benefits that cannabis provides, how will the pharmaceutical companies make any money if people can grow their own medicine at home? Especially because a lot of people have bad reactions to conventional medicine – if they can even afford the expensive prescriptions.

Medical cannabis specialist Dr. Tod Mikuriya recorded over 250 indications for medical cannabis,[11] as classified by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-9).[12] These include Alcoholism, ADD, Arthritis, Asthma, Autism, Bipolar Disorder, Cancer, Depression, Epilepsy, Hepatitis C, Parkinsons, PTSD just to name a few. Many expensive and side effect ridden medications could be successfully replaced by cannabis.

So it is very likely that the pharmaceutical companies also lobby the government to stop cannabis becoming generalized.

So the pharmaceutical companies stand to lose a lot of money.

Cotton/Clothing companies

Hemp is thrown in the sack with cannabis even though it lacks the psychoactive chemicals. This is because it poses a threat to the cotton industry, and clothing companies that use the cotton. It is well known that hemp is a superior clothing material to cotton and should hemp clothing become mainstream these companies would stand to lose a lot of money. Another anti-competitive reason for prohibition.

So the cotton and clothing companies will lose out.

Forestry and paper industries

Here’s another surprise that most people wouldn’t have thought of. Hemp is more efficient at making paper, and requires less treatment to make paper than traditional forests. So should hemp become legal these companies will have to make changes that would cost them money, even though they would stand to make more in the future.

Not to mention human natures fear of change.

So the paper and forestry industries would have to make changes.

Corrupt Politicians

No government is free of corruption. Corrupt politicians could be paid off by any of the above parties to ensure that cannabis is never generalized. Unfortunately being in a place of power, they can speak to the people, misinform them, and downright lie to them to make sure that the general public never wants cannabis generalized. Even though it could help them.

So corrupt polititians stand to lose money.

Conclusion

So in conclusion, we have three groups of people that stand to lose money should cannabis be generalized.

• Criminals – gangs, dealers, cartels
• Law enforcement – Police, DEA, Xe (Blackwater mercenaries), FBI, CIA, Lawyers, Judges, Legal Staff
• Private Companies – Tobacco, Alcohol, Pharmaceuticals, Prisons, Clothing, Cotton, Paper

These are the opponents standing against cannabis generalization, and don’t be fooled; they are not doing it to protect your children, or to protect you from yourself, they are doing it for their own selfishness and greed.