I'm not calling you out on your beliefs Sully, but in all honesty weed isn't a big deal, that's why many countries have decriminalized it and even made smoking it legal. Health wise a cigarette or a beer is more harmful long term then a joint.
I have known a 1000 weed smokers and NONE of them have become hard drug users, any hard drug user I knew was a hard drug user from the get go. You're not gonna smoke a joint and then have a craving for LSD, it doesn't work that way.
I've smoked pot for years, so have MANY of my friends, none of have done hard drugs and all of us have successful careers and lives. I know there are a few special cases but in your most common cases I assure you it doesn't work that way.
If you don't smoke weed or do any drugs then my hat is tipped of to you but it's really not as bad as you think it is. I understand you can only go by what you are taught and that's fair enough, but it doesn't make it true.
Regardless of weed being a big deal or not, the person I quoted in my post said nothing about weed, they said "DRUGS", and drugs are a big deal. I was using weed as the first example coming into my head.