Interesting read. It seems as though nicotine may actually be a true gateway drug as a result of real physical changes within the brain. I might end up citing this article in my paper to help explain why cannabis is not actually a gateway drug.
There is no Gateway Effect. Saying that one drug causes you to use another drug is like saying one fattening food caused you to eat another more fattening food. It's utterly ridiculous. As with self-medicating vs causation, the Gateway Effect makes much more sense when posed in reverse: Medical Marijuana - Treating Addiction Marijuana therapy to treat drug and alcohol addiction « Patients for Medical Cannabis There is much more evidence of marijuana helping to treat addiction than there ever will be of marijuana leading to addiction of harder drugs.
My buddy went to rehab for his marijuana addiction, serious stuff bro. He was addicted to being carless and got caught, so in leiu of possesion charges out the ass he was offered to go to rehab, so now he is a statistic of being a "marijuana addict". Addicting plant is surely addicting.
Some of you guys are such hypocrites; when someone says weeds a gateway drug you all say 'ohhhh the gateway theories crap' but when someone says tobacco is a gateway drug suddenly you all agree with it...
Tobacco is highly radioactive and addictive, and we smoke marijuana and believe its good while tobacco is generally viewed as bad, so of course we are quick to believe it.
It's not hypocricy. Marijuana gateway theory = empty drug war rhetoric Cigarette gateway theory = based on hard scientific evidence
[quote name='"Messiah Decoy"'] It's not hypocricy. Marijuana gateway theory = empty drug war rhetoric Cigarette gateway theory = based on hard scientific evidence[/quote] Not at all
Where's the scientific evidence that proves weed is a gateway drug? The article in the OP has scientific proof that cigarettes are a gateway drug.
I've been sayin this for almost 2 decades! I've seen EVERYONE in school smoke cigs WAAAAAAY before bud. When I talk to people and they mention weed being the gateway drug, I literally walk away.
Did any of you guys even read the damn article? They're talking about REAL physical changes within the brain that may predispose one to be addicted to other substances. Marijuana doesn't do this. The article isn't saying that tobacco makes you snort coke, its just saying that it may cause one to get addicted easier.
Most people who smoke cigarettes don't try coke but those who do are more likely to get hooked than those who don't smoke ciggs.
First and foremost, there is no proof here of anything other than that a study was conducted. There is no "hard scientific evidence" in this article, merely a reference to a study that I could not find a source to. This is just more conjecture. It was a good read, nothing more. That being said, the Gateway Effect is completely a political tool intended to make patents think that their children will be "possessed" by drug addiction. It is used to make us perceive "addicts" as people who have had their freewill subverted by a drug. I'm sorry to say, this is not how it works. The Gateway Effect draws almost all of its conclusions on classical faulty generalizations. A person with poor dental hygiene is more likely to suffer from heart disease. This is a fact. Poor dental hygiene causes heart disease. This is a faulty correlation. In this particular reference, it was discovered that people who don't care enough about themselves to care for their teeth, usually don't care enough to have a healthy diet. The end. The Gateway Effect is not different. In this particular study, it strongly appears as if the researchers drew their conclusions and THEN sought to prove their conclusions scientifically, which in my mind is flawed science to begin with. I digress. The arguments for the Gateway Effect that I find to be the most compelling are the ones that juggle nature vs nurture. A persons upbringing and the aspects of drug use that they were exposed to in their childhood lend much stronger evidence for a predisposition for anything mind altering. That's why, to this day, the Gateway Effect only statistically appears to be relevant in children and teens, as they are the easiest to influence having limited personal experience to draw upon. I still don't subscribe. People do drugs because they choose to. No amount of cigarette smoke will compel someone against their will to snort a line. A person has to chose to snort a line. Once that choice has been made, the whys and wheres matter little. It's all a big mind fuck to make non-users fear the use of drugs. Personal responsibility is the key issue here. I will not subscribe to a theory that eliminates personal responsibility to advance a political agenda. People who willing and habitually smoke toxic death into their lungs have much deeper issues which, upon closer examination, would likely account for their willingness to do harder drugs. Gateway Effect my hairy white ass.
You are completely missing the point of the article. They did not say that smoking cigarettes will cause you to snort coke. They simply said that smoking cigarettes may (key word: may) make it more likely that someone will get addicted to coke if they ever try it. Obviously, more studies need to be conducted before this is considered fact, but you can't already write this off as complete nonsense. These researchers might actually be on to something. EDIT - And here's a link to the actual study - http://stm.sciencemag.org/content/3/107/107ra109.full.pdf?sid=51b43778-4238-412a-9199-e3038a7f56bd
Again, an interesting read. Regardless, I bet I could find a study the indicates that people who smoke cigarettes are more likely to engage in a multitude of other dangerous behaviors. Nicotine is a stimulant. Cocaine is a stimulant. This study, when taken at face value, show me clearly that people who like stimulants also like.... other stimulants. Brilliant. I suppose some people need studies to reaffirm common sense. I just hope they didn't spend too much money doing so.
Millions of dollars worth of funding is thrown down the drain daily in worthless studies searching for a reason why people should fear drugs in general . Like you put so well its simply user choice above all that results in drug use . If only we would put the money being wasted to use ...