\t"Marijuana a gateway to heroin?" \t "By James Niedzinski | Staff writer <div style="margin:0px;"><div style="font-size:15px;margin:0px;"><span style="margin:0px;">Whether marijuana is a “gateway†to the use of harder, deadlier drugs such as heroin is a matter of debate in the medical community.</span> “They've only begun to really study it,†says Pam Santa Fe of the Greater Derry Regional Public Health Network. Anecdotal evidence, Santa Fe said, shows many heroin users have smoked marijuana beforehand. But that's not to say everyone who smokes marijuana will end up using heroin or opiates, she said. Others have found the same result. “Qualitatively, many of the people that we treat for opiate addiction have used marijuana previously,†said Patti Shea, the director of medical operations at Hampstead hospital, a private facility specializing in chemical dependency and psychiatric issues. There are many other factors to consider. If someone smokes marijuana or drinks alcohol, the ability to reason and make healthy choices is impaired, Bureau of Drug and Alcohol services director Joseph Harding said. That “may result in them being more likely of trying other drugs - often prescription opioids - at the time,†Harding said in an email. There is also the likelihood of relapsing, Shea said. Many patients report it's easier to relapse on opioids if someone starts smoking marijuana first, she said. In addition, if a person is around marijuana, their exposure to other drugs goes up, Shea said. However, she said, it's still not fair to say marijuana will definitely lead to other drugs. <div style="margin:0px;text-align:center;"><div style="margin:0px;"><div style="margin:0px;"><div style="margin:0px;"> </div></div>“It depends on the situation,†Shea said. People can also build up a tolerance to marijuana, Santa Fe said, and may move on to other drugs. “Others, they dabble in it,†Santa Fe said, “and that's it.†Some go beyond dabbling, she said. Marijuana now has a much higher concentration of THC, the drug that causes marijuana's effects. Nowadays, Santa Fe said, THC concentration can be anywhere from 13 percent to 95 percent, compared to 3 percent to 5 percent in the 1970s. Marijuana remains one route to other addicting drugs, she said. “It's a possible path for some to engage in other risky drugs,†Santa Fe said." </div></div></div></div>Direct link: http://www.eagletribune.com/heroin_epidemic/marijuana-a-gateway-to-heroin/article_ca5523be-1331-11e5-8f11-9f98c9f655b1.html
Marijuana isn't the cause of these teens doing heroin, just because many opiate users started with pot, doesn't mean theres scientific proof to show the cannabis was the cause. Makes me wonder, did they take those pills while on alcohol? Looks like they never mentioned any other possible impairments. The fact is, if someone has an addictive personality, they are more likely to try other drugs. I myself have an addictive personality, but i've learned to control my cravings for other substances. I love sniffing good ol nose candy, every day I want to buy some,but I purposely distance myself from where I know i can get it for long periods of time. If i do it lets say right now in june, I wait til august before I'd try it again. But cannabis seems to help with controlling this. Along with using it medicinally for insomnia,anxiety and depression, it helps with nicotine and other cravings. Haven't smoked in almost 8 months.
"Marijuana now has a much higher concentration of THC, the drug that causes marijuana's effects. Nowadays, Santa Fe said, THC concentration can be anywhere from 13 percent to 95 percent, compared to 3 percent to 5 percent in the 1970s." Tell me, has even ONE of you ever smoked buds that were 95% THC? Also, the cannabis of the 70s was quite different from today's. The 1970s cannabis had sticks, stems, seeds and leaves as well as some buds. They tested the whole thing- sticks, stems seeds and leaves and buds. Seeds do not contain THC but are heavy, sticks and stems have very little THC, and leaves are lower in THC than buds- so their weighed samples of 1970s pot were, naturally, of lower potency than the seedless, manicured buds of today! The true "gateway" is the multi-drug dealer, not cannabis! When you buy from a legal cannabis dispensary, there is no dealer saying "Hey, try this- it's even better!". There is only different cannabis strains to choose from- no "unmentionables", so no temptation! "If someone smokes marijuana or drinks alcohol, the ability to reason and make healthy choices is impaired, Bureau of Drug and Alcohol services director Joseph Harding said." Funny thing- Swiss Study Reveals Cannabis Users Are More Health Literate Than Non-Users (news – 2013) http://www.opposingviews.com/i/society/swiss-study-reveals-cannabis-users-are-more-health-literate-non-users Frequency Of Marijuana Use Associated With Lower Prevalence Of Obesity, Study Says (news – 2011) http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=8670 No detectable association between frequency of marijuana use and health or healthcare utilization (news – 2013) http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-09-association-frequency-marijuana-health-healthcare.html We are more health literate than the average person, are less likely to be obese and we need no extra medical care. So WHO is making the unhealthy choices? Cannabis users or the non-users? "Many patients report it's easier to relapse on opioids if someone starts smoking marijuana first, she said." Oh? Medical Cannabis Use Doesn't Adversely Impact Substance Abuse Treatment Outcomes, Study Says (news – 2010) http://norml.org/news/2010/03/19/medical-cannabis-use-doesn-t-adversely-impact-substance-abuse-treatment-outcomes-study-says Medical marijuana users in substance abuse treatment (full - 2010) http://www.harmreductionjournal.com/content/7/1/3 Is Marijuana an 'Exit Drug'? Study Suggests Some Are Taking It as a Substitute for Prescription Drugs and Alcohol (news – 2012) http://www.alternet.org/drugs/marijuana-exit-drug-study-suggests-some-are-taking-it-substitute-prescription-drugs-and Here, do some reading that does not come from SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana- a poorly named prohibitionist group) The first article is from today's news. Drug warriors are still crying 'reefer madness.' The facts don't support them (news - 2015) http://www.latimes.com/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-marijuana-laws-colorado-washington-blowback-20150615-story.html Setting The Record Straight On The Phrase “Gateway Drug†(news – 2015) http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=400658693 Marijuana as a Gateway Drug: The Myth That Will Not Die (news – 2010) http://healthland.time.com/2010/10/29/marijuna-as-a-gateway-drug-the-myth-that-will-not-die/#ixzz2s5nDwiDS Marijuana a "Gateway" Drug? Scientists Call Theory Half-Baked. (news – 2010) http://www.cbsnews.com/news/marijuana-a-gateway-drug-scientists-call-theory-half-baked/ Legalizing Medical Marijuana Doesn't Lead To More Teens Smoking Pot: Study (news – 2014) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/25/medical-marijuana-teens_n_5214875.html You want a gateway? Try Alcohol and cigarettes! Alcohol as a Gateway Drug: A Study of US 12th Graders (abst – 2012) http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1746-1561.2012.00712.x/abstract Patterns of use, sequence of onsets and correlates of tobacco and cannabis (abst – 2011) http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306460311002152 Where "most individuals initiate their use of tobacco prior to onset of cannabis use", to quote the second study. Cannabis is usually the third drug tried, after tobacco and alcohol! It is NOT the gateway to other drugs! Learn the facts about cannabis! Get yourself a free copy of "Granny Storm Crow's List"! Either PM me your email, or check out the bottom of my sig for mine! Granny
My front door is a gateway to living hell, but it can also be heaven on earth. I don't even have to open any doors to see results. Everything is a gateway to everything. When people start to conform to one sided perspectives shit hits the fan and sprays feces everywhere.
The "gateway theory" is ludicrous. It's just anther rat's way to persuade the public that Cannabis is evil. You can fool some people some times, but you can't fool all the people all the time.
True. When I first decided to experiment with drugs, I wanted to try them all. I never did get around to sticking a needle in my arm. I did try other drugs, but I could not handle them. They handled me. But I never ever had a problem with weed. So the result? I quit doing all other drugs including cigs and alcohol. I just smoke weed today. Been doing it for over forty years. All my weed smoking friends (and I have hundreds), do NOT do other drugs. Just weed. But I will not ever ever ever agree that pot is a gateway drug. It's peer pressure that is the gateway drug.
The gateway theory has its roots in prohibition. No prohibition, no gateway. Everything should be legal, then, if you actually have a reason to do a drug, great go ahead, rather than just doing it because its illegal. And yes, most people progress through the gateway situation not because they actually need to do the drug but because somebody told them they cant. Thank fuck for granny storm crow, actually providing some legitimate facts in this shit show of a thread.