Weed, is it really a "gateway" drug?

[Hyorinmaru]

I know people who do the 'hard' drugs usually start with weed, but says they wouldn't have done those 'hard' drugs first if they had the chance? Most people get weed in their hands before any other illegal drug and I personally smoke weed and I enjoy it. I like the mellow feeling I get when I'm high. I have no intention of ever doing any other drugI know this because I've been offered pills, X and cocaine and I've said no every single time. So like I said earlier the people who stat with weed and move on to the other stuff would have done the other stuff anyway.

 

[Spaceman Spif]

I personally don't feel it is a gatewat drug either, when I smoked weed, that's all I did, I had no need or want to try anything else, all I needed was some weed. However there are some out there, who well smoke weed, then figure what the hell, I might as well try something else. To me that's not a gateway drug, that's just each individual's own personal choice.

 

[X]

Marijuana is only considered a gateway drug because of how readily available it is. It has NOTHING to do with the chemcial THC itself or the faulty idea that someone smokes a joint and than thinks "Hmm, I'd like to smoke some crack!". People only refer to marijuana as a gateway drug because it's the most plentiful and easily accessed illicit drug on the planet. If say, LSD were the most readily available and used illicit drug ont he planet, people would call LSD a gateway drug instead.

If anything I'd call alcohol the real "gateway" drug if any drug could be considered one. The majority of young people try alcohol first, not marijuana, and alcohol remains the number one abused drug among teenagers and young adults.

But the idea that any drug is a "gateway" to another is absolutely laughable at best. Marijuana doesn't cause people to want to try harder drugs; they seek those drugs out for their own personal reasons that have little to do with marijuana. Marijuana never led me to try a harder drug, I sought them out on my accord because there was an emptiness inside of me that I had to try and fill. It had nothing to do with marijuana.

So no Milenko, marijuana is not a gateway drug. No drug is, the "gateway drug" theory is one of the most misinformed and faulty lines that have been used in the anti-drug campaign business's history.

 

[FromTheSouth]

Pot is only a gateway drug in that your dealer can probably get you some other drugs too. It is also a gateway to Big Macs.

The chemical properties of marijuana do not inspire you to try anything else. If nothing else, the body's tolerance can grow, and make one feel as if he needs another drug to get that same high, but that would exist with any drug, not just pot.

The gateway statement is nothing more that some of the propaganda against marijuana, who, if we all remember early in the year from my debate with Rusty, is only illegal because white daddies in the 20's didn't like their daughters getting high and sleeping with black jazz musicians.

 

[JenovasWitness]

I have no personal experience to go on as I have never partaken. But I do know several people that smoke pot on a regular basis and the results are startlingly wide in variance.

I have one friend's brother who smokes pot daily and he is a giant mess. He can't hold a conversation and he is generally very sickly at all times. I do not know if he is much of a drinker or what his general diet is like, but his consumption of pot is quite high and getting higher all the time.

My other friend also smokes pot quite regularly and is the most intelligent and engaging person that I know. She can carry a conversation intelligently in nearly any subject that I can think of, has a killer body and is very active in the outdoors.

My OTHER friend smokes pot, drinks a hardcore amount of alchohol, loves X and can usually be found past out after a party that probably lasted for about 3 - 4 days. The dude who he buys from supplies him with both pot and X.

So, is pot a "gateway" drug? I don't think so. Maybe in SOME instances, but I would not say that it is a rule that can be proven with any concrete evidence. I see people who have adverse effects to marijuana and people who live happy and fruitful lives while enjoying marijuana, so for people to label marijuana as a negative substance at ALL times are judging falsely.

If marijuana was so bad, why would doctors prescribe it? The logic just is not there...

 

[Dexter]

The only way pot can be said to be a gateway is as it pertains to the psychological aspect of how far one is willing to go beyond the bounds of what's typically "acceptable".

What I mean by that is, say... you're a high school kid and you smoke a cigarette. Big deal. I'd venture to guess more of us did that in high school than did not. The same kid drinks a beer. Also, big deal. No one is going to take much notice of either of those acts.

The reason is that they're both perfectly legal drugs. Granted, they're not legal at that age but really, the consumption age of those drugs is a bit of a legal grey area. The sale to minors is a big nono, but a minor consuming those drugs, while still illegal in most places, results in little more than a ride home to your parents in the back of a squad car.

However, that same high school kid smoking pot crosses a very thin, imaginary line. It's gone from a "kids will be kids" scenario, to something that has a real social stigma and legal ramifications. It's simply a bigger deal. Now granted that's becoming less and less the case these days (and personally, I think that's great), but it's still true to a certain extent.

The notion behind pot being a "gateway drug" is that, once that person has crossed that very thin, imaginary line, they're already over it... the damage is done. They're already in the realm of consumption of a controlled substance. That makes the leap from weed to pills just a little easier, and that in turn makes the jump from pills to coke that much easier... and so on and so forth.

That's the notion. Do I subscribe to that notion? ...I honestly don't know. To an extent, I think maybe I do. I can certainly see how having already taken that step over the line makes each subsequent step a little easier... like the "ripping off a band-aid" metaphor. However, ultimately, everyone is responsible for his or her own actions. So while I might agree somewhat that pot can be a gateway drug in the manner I described, I don't think that excuses anything at all.

 

[SK]

There's no such thing as a gateway drug really. Me and my friends have smoked marijuana a multitude of times, yet not one (out of 6 of us) has gone onto anything harder.

I think weed is considered a gateway drug because it's the most commonly used illegal drug and the majority of people who end up on heroin/ LSD/ ecstasy etc. have tried marijuana. There's no set plan to say that just because you smoke weed, you want to try stronger drugs.

I enjoy weed, but your not going to find me taking horse tranquillizers simply because I have one joint. The term gateway drug is used as a forefront by the government to try and portray weed as a bad drug, because they know that there's really nothing bad about it, so by using this term they are somehow validating it being illegal. If you want to try harder drugs, your going to because you want to, not because you've tried another drug.

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

If there was ever a drug that would be considered safe, it would be weed. I watched a movie that documented statistics and comparisons to the affects of marijuana versus other drugs and alcohol. NO deaths were related to marijuana use during that one year period. That tells me something. That tells me that not only does this stuff make you feel about 100 times better than you did before, but it makes you want to not do such stupid shit. If the worst thing you do is drive to get White Castles, then you're doing fine in my opinion. Trust me. Other things such as pills, heroin, cocaine, and other opiates are much worse and have a higher death rate and affect on life than marijuana does.

 

[Loveless]

What a load of pro-stoner biased bullshit this thread is.
To answer the question, yes. In that it lowers the likelihood of your resisting should you be offered something else, which is quite likely because y'know, drug dealers are always looking for new clients. I've seen enough first hand, now you try and find me a heroin addict who didn't smoke pot first.

 

[ipswichicon80]

What a load of pro-stoner biased bullshit this thread is.
To answer the question, yes. In that it lowers the likelihood of your resisting should you be offered something else, which is quite likely because y'know, drug dealers are always looking for new clients. I've seen enough first hand, now you try and find me a heroin addict who didn't smoke pot first.

And I'll show you hundreds of people who smoke weed and have never done anything else! It's no more a gateway drug than alcohol. The only reason that people who smoke weed will move on to other drugs is because you get it from a dealer who supplies said other drugs. If it was legal then this would not occur.But I'm guessing you don't want it to be legal as then the "gateway drug" arguement wouldn't be as strong. Where is your evidence that it lowers your ability to resist other drugs? I'm guessing you have nothing apart from your own narrow minded views. By the way,yes I am high as I write this,and you know what it feels good and I have no urge to shoot up with smack!

 

[Loveless]

And I'll show you hundreds of people who smoke weed and have never done anything else!

Yet, they haven't done anything else yet, you think. I'm not entirely trusting of your judgement.

It's no more a gateway drug than alcohol.

Thanks for that admission that it is infact a gateway drug.

The only reason that people who smoke weed will move on to other drugs is because you get it from a dealer who supplies said other drugs.

You're kind of making my argument for me here.

If it was legal then this would not occur.

So you're saying that if pot was legal, all other drugs would disappear?

But I'm guessing you don't want it to be legal as then the "gateway drug" arguement wouldn't be as strong.

I dont want it legal because I've seen it turn people I like into total ********s and/or coke addicts. Infact, my former best friend got into coke while he was stoned. Evidence enough?

Where is your evidence that it lowers your ability to resist other drugs?

See above

I'm guessing you have nothing apart from your own narrow minded views. By the way,yes I am high as I write this,and you know what it feels good and I have no urge to shoot up with smack!

I was wondering why you were making my case for me, now I know why. Fool

 

[ipswichicon80]

Yet, they haven't done anything else yet, you think. I'm not entirely trusting of your judgement.



Thanks for that admission that it is infact a gateway drug.



You're kind of making my argument for me here.



So you're saying that if pot was legal, all other drugs would disappear?



I dont want it legal because I've seen it turn people I like into total ********s and/or coke addicts. Infact, my former best friend got into coke while he was stoned. Evidence enough?



See above



I was wondering why you were making my case for me, now I know why. Fool

Hey fool! So your mate smoked pot and moved on to harder stuff? My friend has smoked pot for ten years and has never done anything else,shall we bat anncodotes back and forth all day? No all drugs won't disappear if you make weed legal,when did I say that?I simply stated If weed was legal then people could buy it from shops,which wouldn't also deal in X or cocaine so therefore the "gateway effect" is no longer there.I notice you see alcohol as a gateway drug,do you drink. Because if you do then surely you'll get into coke and other stuff won't you?You don't trust my judgement? Why should I trust yours? The person I choose to be friends with is not "a ********" The people you choose to be friends with,according to you,are.So how sound is your judgement?

 

[Blade]

For some people it is a gateway drug. But that's because of people, not because of the drug itself.
I know a fair amount of people who smoke weed regularly, and about a tenth of them have tried harder drugs, usually cocaine. A small minority of regular weed users either get bored of weed after a while or simply don't care what they put in their body. The latter people are usually the kinds of people who become a complete mess because they do nothing but smoke weed all the time.
But it really has nothing to do with the drug itself, that's like saying smoking cigarettes will make you start smoking weed which is bullshit. No drug actually makes you want to try a harder drug, fact. There's just no logical way that would make sense.
It's just those thrill seekers out there, it's their nature. When they're young they try weed, eventually weed stops being a thrill so they go onto something that's more dangerous.
People, not the drug itself.

 

[X]

What a load of pro-stoner biased bullshit this thread is.

What an intelligent statement. Surely that's the statement from someone looking at this objectively, yes sir.

I could say your post is a bunch of anti-drug propaganda bullshit, but that wouldn't really accomplish anything would it?

To answer the question, yes. In that it lowers the likelihood of your resisting should you be offered something else, which is quite likely because y'know, drug dealers are always looking for new clients. I've seen enough first hand, now you try and find me a heroin addict who didn't smoke pot first.

Hilarious. You call this thread a bunch of pro-stoner bullshit, and then completely fail to even read my post. Simply hilarious.

Marijuana is the most readily available and easily accessed illicit drug on the face of the planet. This is why most people start off using pot. If they go on to try other drugs though, that has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that they smoked pot. This would be akin to someone killing someone with their car while driving drunk, and you blaming the car instead of the actual underlying reason (getting behind the wheel while drunk). People don't try heroin because they smoked a joint and say "Hey! This marywanna is delicious! Let's go get some smack guys!", and if you think that marijuana or THC itself leads one to harder drugs, simply put, you're a fucking moron.

Congratulations at completely failing to read the posts that you've criticized.

 

[Dexter]

I dont want it legal because I've seen it turn people I like into total ********s and/or coke addicts. Infact, my former best friend got into coke while he was stoned. Evidence enough?

Yup. Totally works for me. You've got a single friend who made a stupid decision and that means pot is totally a gateway drug that ruins lives and destroys friendships in all cases across the planet without exception, forever and ever amen.

Dude, you just totally OWNED this thread. We were all flailing around in here talking out of our asses and you just swept right in with this little nugget of knowledge and put us ALL in our places. You are so, so right. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for taking time to right our wrongs and show us the error of our ways.

 

[G3]

I try to smoke daily but usually doesn't work out because of money.

I've thought about doing hard drugs, but only when I haven't smoked any pot in 5-10 days. I always choose not do any hard drugs because I remember my brothers habits when he was addicted to drugs like percocet. I believe weed can and cannot be referred to as a "gateway" drug. Really it depends on the person. My friends are always trying to get the most intense highs because they build up a tolerance to pot. I simply don't smoke for three or so days lose the tolerance and then have happy blazing once again.

 

[Monkey_Mania]

In agreement with Xfear on this one. I have been on and off of marijuana for the last 6 years. In no way shape or form has it made me want to snort cocaine off of a hookers ass. In fact, the only thing weed makes me want to do is pop in a movie, and eat until I shit my pants. The only reason why I used other drugs was because I myself wanted to. I got into spurts of depression, and like X said, you try to fill that hole inside of you. Weed isnt a gateway drug, neither is anything else, the gateway to a drug addiction is letting yourself get addicted in the first place.