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<p>Respectfully, that is BS. The vast majority of pot smokers never do any other drugs. Many are now in their 40s,50s and even 60s and have lead totally normal lives, with good job, and you’d never know by looking at them.</p>
<p>The true gateway drug is alcohol. It is almost ALWAYS the first thing a person tries.</p>
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<p>I agree. And let’s not forget sugar and chocolate!</p>
<p>Aw, c’mon, spideygirl, please come back! I missed the namecalling, but can’t you guys make up and play nice? It was just getting interesting!</p>
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<p>If more people got high instead of drunk, the world would be a safer and less violent place. Not as many car accidents, crimes of passion, barroom brawls, college student deaths by alcohol poisoning, deaths from liver disease, abuse of families by alcoholics, etc.</p>
<p>Just think: we could have a major campaign to make drinking hard liquor and smoking cigarettes socially unacceptable, and natural highs like running could be the ideals, with smoking pot to be the socially acceptable but slightly frowned upon alternative for those too weak or lazy to take up running. ;-)</p>
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<p>You’re only seeing the people who come into your clinics because they have problems. You’re not seeing the many people who still get high in moderation and they live normal lives. It’s like saying no one should ever have a beer or glass of wine with dinner because you’ve seen the alcoholics at rehab centers.</p>
<p>Again, just for the record, I haven’t gotten high in over 25 years. But some of my old friends still do, and the worst I’ve observed is that some of them might sometimes use it to temporarily avoid dealing with personal problems. But lots of things can be used that way. Oh, and to be fair, I do believe it impairs long-term memory. Not sure if that’s been proven but that’s what I’ve observed. My stance is that college students should be careful with it, because I’ve also seen it affect motivation. Sure, it’s always best to live a totally clean lifestyle. Take up running and get a natural high. But let’s keep things in perspective! It’s best to get plenty of sleep and not need caffeine, too, but we don’t make coffee drinkers criminals.</p>
<p>It’s true that other countries in which it’s legal, they don’t have the problems we do. It’s so silly, really, for something so relatively benign to be illegal. People should spend more time on the really big problems, honestly.</p>
<p>The true gateway drug is alcohol. It is almost ALWAYS the first thing a person tries.</p>
<p>And puking the first time you drink hasn’t proved to be very much of a deterrent.</p>
<p>Yeah, unfortunately.</p>
<p>I find the ‘gateway drug’ idea to be flawed in its logic.</p>
<p>Just because most people who are addicted to harder drugs started with pot, does NOT mean that smoking pot will lead to harder drugs.</p>
<p>People who are inclined to use drugs tend to start with alcohol, cigarettes, and THEN maybe pot, because they are all readily available.</p>
<p>Do those people making the claim that pot is a gateway drug ask the drug addicts if they smoked cigarettes or drank alcohol, or are they just asking which ILLEGAL drug they started with?</p>
<p>See? Figures don’t lie but liars can figure.</p>
<p>To be fair, in mouse studies that gave mice a method to self-administer heroin, mice which were first exposed to THC administered higher doses of heroin more quickly. On the other hand, there are issues translating that study to a human model.</p>
<p>As for actual human studies, they’re conflicted - many show no particularly high correlation between pot use and higher drug use, and some do. One thing that they almost all show, though, is a correlation between alcohol/tobacco use and later hard drug use.</p>
<p>They got the mice stoned and then while they were stoned gave them the heroin? Well of course! But that’s not the same thing as saying if someone has been smoking pot on the weekends that a year later if s/he gets an opportunity to try heroin s/he would. It only means s/he would be more likely to say yes to heroin if the heroin was offered WHILE s/he was stoned!</p>
<p>Er, I think it would be safe to say that the same result would be found if the person were drunk. It’s well known that drunk people do all sorts of things they normally wouldn’t do.</p>
<p>Even so, correlation does not = cause.</p>
<p>I actually think it was something more like giving the rats THC for a period, then allowing it to leave their systems, and only then using the heroin self-administration system. I can’t say for sure exactly what the study methodology was, though, since I’m going on memory here. ;)</p>
<p>OK, then that would be interesting. It still doesn’t really mean anything unless the same study was done with alcohol and tobacco. A number of interpretations are possible. Even a high from video games could predispose someone to say yes to other highs, I would surmise.</p>
<p>And, I still think the logic is flawed, too. People who drive their cars too fast obviously started out driving at normal speeds, but we don’t outlaw driving at normal speeds. Prostitutes probably had sex the first time before they became prostitutes, and we don’t make sex illegal…And we certainly don’t make wine or beer illegal just because most alcoholics started with wine or beer.</p>
<p>I think they should be more concerned about what drives some people to have addictive tendencies. People with addictive tendencies often become addicted to whatever is available, and in some cases have multiple addictions. They get off one and replace it with another. I would think it’d be more useful to study addictive personalities than mild substances, that addicts tend to indulge in, but don’t cause too much problem with non-addicts.</p>
<p>Yeah, for sure. The difference in this case is that supposedly when the mice were later examined, it was surmised that their cannabinoid receptors had somehow changed as a result of the THC, and this somehow predisposed them to other opiate abuse. Doing the same thing with alcohol and tobacco would definitely be interesting, though.</p>
<p>They injected the THC directly? I wonder if the same thing happens when it’s smoked.</p>
<p>It’s interesting. At any rate, I haven’t gotten high for 25 years for a reason. I like being clear-headed, not fogged up. So it’s not like I think pot is 100% benign. Just relatively benign compared to other drugs & stimulants, and I don’t like the double standard. I just still champion the right of people to smoke a little weed if they want to.</p>
<p>If it turns out that pot does in fact make one more susceptible to harder drug use, then legalize it and put a warning on the box, the way cigarettes have warnings. It’s not a reason to not legalize it.</p>
<p>Agreed. On a lighter note, I’m pleased to hail from one of the only jurisdictions in the world where marijuana possession is currently legal (in Ontario a recent court challenge resulted in possession laws being struck down as unconstitutional because they didn’t contain exemptions for medical marijuana). So until that changes, I’m sitting pretty. ;)</p>
<p>Great to hear it! I hope Ron Paul gets elected…and our country follows suit.</p>
<p>There have been some interesting studies of late on why people cling ever tighter to false notions when presented with facts that contradict those ideas. How the human mind works is just fascinating.</p>
<p>Can you provide some links to those studies? I am very interested in understanding that because I’ve encountered it with other issues. Thanks</p>
<p>Marijuana remains illegal for any and all of the various opinions, competing medical theories etc. put forth on the past 11 pages. But, the question why is it illegal (why was it first made illegal) has its historic “roots” completely in issues of racism and immigration concerns of the depression era.</p>
<p>At the time of the depression one of the government’s fears was that cheap “mexican” labor coming into the US was going to further destroy the economy (sound familiar) and so them darn mexicans had to be kept out. To fan that flame higher the government concluded that them same darn mexicans were bringing that killer weed marijuana in to the US, all the more reason that immigration threat had to be stopped.</p>
<p>So to put a seal on the deal, they declared the evils of marijuana, made it illegal and gave themselves more ammo to stop immigration, deport folks and have other cause to harass and arrest other minorities in the drug “war” that goes on to this day.</p>
<p>An enlightening read:</p>
<p>The Emperor Wears No Clothes: The Authoritative Historical Record of Cannabis and the Conspiracy Against Marijuana</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Emperor-Wears-Clothes-Authoritative-Historical/dp/1878125028/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-6846947-2959221?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1192743400&sr=1-1[/url]”>http://www.amazon.com/Emperor-Wears-Clothes-Authoritative-Historical/dp/1878125028/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-6846947-2959221?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1192743400&sr=1-1</a></p>
<p>just to add a little more historical (hysterical) perspective, the original federal ban of marijuana was passed in 1937 and was spearheaded by Harry J. Anslinger who was the head of the newly formed Bureau of Narcotics (old Harry held the post until 1962). </p>
<p>Mr. Anslinger lead the charge to ban pot and the congressional vote at the time was hardly based upon ANY facts, but instead on issues of racism and immigaration (as i mentioned in an earlier post) and upon the rhetoric and lobbying of Anslinger who was attempting to make a name for himself and his newly founded departement. Here are some quotes from the “enlightened” Mr. Anslinger and which helped form the basis to ban the evil weed:</p>
<p>“There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos, and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz, and swing, result from marijuana use. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers, and any others.” </p>
<p>“…the primary reason to outlaw marijuana is its effect on the degenerate races.” </p>
<p>“Marijuana is an addictive drug which produces in its users insanity, criminality, and death.” </p>
<p>“Reefer makes darkies think they’re as good as white men.” </p>
<p>“Marihuana leads to pacifism and communist brainwashing” </p>
<p>“You smoke a joint and you’re likely to kill your brother.” </p>
<p>“Marijuana is the most violence-causing drug in the history of mankind.”</p>