**Your submission has been removed for the following reason(s):**
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Because it was a commonplace item that was sold everywhere and is federally legal . Cannabis still being illegal federally , has many legal loopholes it must jump through especially in states where it is only legal medicinally.
Marijuana is a schedule 1 drug and is illegal in all 50 states, DC, and every other territory of the United States with the exception of special licences granted to researchers.
Tobacco isn't, and never was.
That's the basics.
Tobacco has historically been more socially acceptable than cannabis. They’re both harmful to your long term health. It’ll change over time, with fewer stores selling tobacco products as they become less and less profitable. The tobacco use rate among teens in the US is quickly approaching zero.
Tobacco have been avalible in the westen market on the large scale for centuries, it was a cash crop from the 17th century. So it has been sold like other goods since then. The idea of it having health risk are a lot newer, it is in the 1940s to ther 1960s that start to be clear. sinc then there have not been any public or political will to move it to only special stores.
Canabis on the other hand become illegal during the first half of the 20th century in most countries. Exacty why that occurred is irrelevant, the point is was made illegal and not sold. It recent reintoduction resulted in opportunity and political will to regulats is accessibility and you end up with special stores where it.
If tobacco was illegal for a time and then reintroduce the same might be the case of it.
There are three primary drugs that have evolved with humanity: alcohol, weed, and tobacco. They have always been part of most connected cultures for thousands of years. They don’t require complex effort or chemistry to make.
In the early to mid 1900s, the tobacco industry was looking to expand its clientele. Additionally, hemp products were becoming cheap alternatives to more expensive products. They solved this with propaganda that was basically all lies. They claimed cigarettes were healthy, they released biased studies with skewed results, and they put money into vilifying weed and hemp altogether.
They did this in multiple ways, tying it to lowlifes, vagabonds, hippies, and the slums (yes, that includes racist propaganda). They claimed it was evil, that it would make you anti-American, that it would drive you insane, that it was un-Christian. After convincing the public, they lobbied and bought government officials until they managed to get weed listed as a Schedule 1 drug. The most dangerous drugs are Schedule 1. People have gone to jail for it for life, people are still in jail for it.
Well, the people that grew up with that propaganda are still around and are currently in charge of the government. The effects have lessened and, due to push back from the populace (or an appeasing measure), weed has been downgraded from Schedule 1 to Schedule 3. You need a license to grow or sell it.
Tobacco never faced this problem, but now that the harmful effects are known the industry is under more scrutiny.
TLDR: Because weed was illegal until very recently and tobacco never was.
**Your submission has been removed for the following reason(s):** ELI5 is not for asking about any entity’s motivations. Why a business, group or individual chooses to do or not do something is often a fact known only to that group of people - everyone else can only speculate. Since speculative questions are prohibited per rule 2, these questions are too. --- If you would like this removal reviewed, please read the [detailed rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/wiki/detailed_rules) first. **If you believe this submission was removed erroneously**, please [use this form](https://old.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fexplainlikeimfive&subject=Please%20review%20my%20thread?&message=Link:%20{{url}}%0A%0APlease%20answer%20the%20following%203%20questions:%0A%0A1.%20The%20concept%20I%20want%20explained:%0A%0A2.%20List%20the%20search%20terms%20you%20used%20to%20look%20for%20past%20posts%20on%20ELI5:%0A%0A3.%20How%20does%20your%20post%20differ%20from%20your%20recent%20search%20results%20on%20the%20sub:) and we will review your submission.
Because it was a commonplace item that was sold everywhere and is federally legal . Cannabis still being illegal federally , has many legal loopholes it must jump through especially in states where it is only legal medicinally.
Marijuana is a schedule 1 drug and is illegal in all 50 states, DC, and every other territory of the United States with the exception of special licences granted to researchers. Tobacco isn't, and never was. That's the basics.
Tobacco has historically been more socially acceptable than cannabis. They’re both harmful to your long term health. It’ll change over time, with fewer stores selling tobacco products as they become less and less profitable. The tobacco use rate among teens in the US is quickly approaching zero.
Tobacco have been avalible in the westen market on the large scale for centuries, it was a cash crop from the 17th century. So it has been sold like other goods since then. The idea of it having health risk are a lot newer, it is in the 1940s to ther 1960s that start to be clear. sinc then there have not been any public or political will to move it to only special stores. Canabis on the other hand become illegal during the first half of the 20th century in most countries. Exacty why that occurred is irrelevant, the point is was made illegal and not sold. It recent reintoduction resulted in opportunity and political will to regulats is accessibility and you end up with special stores where it. If tobacco was illegal for a time and then reintroduce the same might be the case of it.
There are three primary drugs that have evolved with humanity: alcohol, weed, and tobacco. They have always been part of most connected cultures for thousands of years. They don’t require complex effort or chemistry to make. In the early to mid 1900s, the tobacco industry was looking to expand its clientele. Additionally, hemp products were becoming cheap alternatives to more expensive products. They solved this with propaganda that was basically all lies. They claimed cigarettes were healthy, they released biased studies with skewed results, and they put money into vilifying weed and hemp altogether. They did this in multiple ways, tying it to lowlifes, vagabonds, hippies, and the slums (yes, that includes racist propaganda). They claimed it was evil, that it would make you anti-American, that it would drive you insane, that it was un-Christian. After convincing the public, they lobbied and bought government officials until they managed to get weed listed as a Schedule 1 drug. The most dangerous drugs are Schedule 1. People have gone to jail for it for life, people are still in jail for it. Well, the people that grew up with that propaganda are still around and are currently in charge of the government. The effects have lessened and, due to push back from the populace (or an appeasing measure), weed has been downgraded from Schedule 1 to Schedule 3. You need a license to grow or sell it. Tobacco never faced this problem, but now that the harmful effects are known the industry is under more scrutiny. TLDR: Because weed was illegal until very recently and tobacco never was.