Everyone's heard it, marijuana is a "gate-way" drug that leads to harder drugs. Us as community activists for the legalization of marijuana, know this is not true, and for people like me have never known how to counteract this argument or put it down without any facts or logic. But today as i was strolling through the Medical Marijuana Section i came across this video of a doctor speaking about its medical purposes and also spoke of its legalization. He said something to the effect of " Many users of marijuana see all the negative input from anti drug supporters and how they put its effects and negativity up there with harder drugs like LSD and Cocaine. This leads the user of marijuana upon the realization of its safety to also find it within themselves the ease to use these drugs because of the distortion of truth on marijuana" Then it hit me.... Government lies to us about pot and say its horrible for you, you find out its a lie. Then you in your mind the government no longer has credibility upon the subject of drugs and then you try harder drugs because of the cloud of lies surrounding marijuana. I really think you could use that argument with alittle bit of refinement to counter act the gate-way drug theory. Any thoughts/suggestions/comments?
Well, to be totally honest, the main issue I see with ANY drug use, legal or illegal, is education first. Of course, as you state, it doesn't help matters much when that "education" is bullshit propaganda and lies purported by not only the Government, but those who profit or benefit the most from all illegal drugs staying illegal (Big Pharma, paper industry, DEA, etc.), which of course includes our good buddy MJ. I've become educated enough about MJ to realize that given a choice, I would choose it over any other drug and use it exclusively, mainly because it has been proven to be safer than damn near any other drug out there for long-term use. Nothing against those who use other drugs (in moderation of course), but after really listening and educating myself, I know what my drug of choice is and more importantly, why. I honestly have ZERO interest in trying anything else. The other problem is the age that most get involved with drugs. It's doubtful that anyone here refused that first joint handed to them and said "woah, hang on, let me go do a shit-ton of research about this and educate myself first". Hell no, you just wanna get hiiiigh at the time. I think with the advantages of the Internet, we are seeing far more people become far more educated at a much younger age, which is why we are seeing the wall of Government lies crumbling. As far as counter-acting the gateway argument directly with someone, I think The Union said it best. There are some great analogies in there that address this very argument.
Yes, there are often people who know some drugs aren't bad and people who believe everything the gov. says. The people who can think for their self can make an educated decision to try other drugs that may be harder but not necessarily harmful. The whole theory is like saying drinking milk leads to drinking alcohol because all alcoholics started with milk. The fact is, marijuana does not physically or mentally encourage you to want other drugs.
Its not so much as to why , how, or even if it actually happens. This thread was an idea of mine to find a way to tell people who believe in the gate-way drug theory, to disprove them, or even bring an end to that phrase...
Its actually much simpler than that. Prohibition makes marijuana a gateway drug because it forces people to be in contact with dealers and people who have and do other drugs.
Why not? MJ being a gateway drug BECAUSE of prohibition. Seems logical to me that without prohibition, it would no longer be a gateway drug. With marijuana legal, their argument is that since it's a gateway drug, people will try marijuana and then want to go try cocaine or heroine or whatever. They fail to realize that it is a gateway drug, and unfortunately, with prohibition it is, but the reason behind that is prohibition in the first place. But I do like the original argument as well. The fact that people do not believe that our laws against marijuana are moral in the first place, and the realization of the government lies about it, leads to disrespect for the government and law enforcement. This disrespect and distrust that we have for our government will cause us to call bullshit on other aspects of what they are trying to tell us. This can actually be dangerous if they are actually telling the truth.
Yeah that has been a theory for awhile, basically they lie to us then we assume the rest of what they said was lies although it actually was true.
OK, here's a sneak preview of my July 2010 "Granny's list". You may find a few things of interest in these- GATEWAY THEORY The Myth of Marijuana's Gateway Effect (news - no date) The Myth of Marijuana's Gateway Effect Marijuana And The Gateway Theory (full - 1996) Marijuana And The Gateway Theory Cannabis Use- A Gateway to other Drugs? The Case of Amsterdam (full - 1997) http://www.cedro-uva.org/lib/cohen.cannabis.pdf Does cannabis lead to taking other drugs? (faq - 1998) Does cannabis lead to taking other drugs? Reassessing the gateway effect (full - 2002) http://www.ukcia.org/research/ReassessingGatewayEffect.pdf Twin study fails to prove 'gateway' hypothesis (letter - 2003) http://www.ukcia.org/research/EscalationOfDrugUse/TwinStudyFailsToProveGateway.html Endogenous cannabinoids are not involved in cocaine reinforcement (abst - 2004) ScienceDirect - European Neuropsychopharmacology : Endogenous cannabinoids are not involved in cocaine reinforcement and development of cocaine-induced behavioural sensitization Cannabis use when it's legal (abst - 2006) ScienceDirect - Addictive Behaviors : Cannabis use when it's legal Study Questions Marijuana As Gateway Drug (news - 2006) Study Questions Marijuana As Gateway Drug No 'Smoking' Gun: Research Indicates Teen Marijuana Use Does Not Predict Drug, Alcohol Abuse (news - 2006) No 'Smoking' Gun: Research Indicates Teen Marijuana Use Does Not Predict Drug, Alcohol Abuse Gateway To Nowhere? The Evidence That Pot Doesn't Lead To Heroin (news - 2006) Gateway To Nowhere? The Evidence That Pot Doesn't Lead To Heroin: The Hempire - [cannabis, hemp] Cannabidiol, a Nonpsychotropic Component of Cannabis, Inhibits Cue-Induced Heroin Seeking and Normalizes Discrete Mesolimbic Neuronal Disturbances (full - 2009) Cannabidiol, a nonpsychotropic component of cannabis, inhibits cue-induced heroin-seeking and normalizes discrete mesolimbic neuronal disturbances Adolescent Exposure to Chronic Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol Blocks Opiate Dependence in Maternally Deprived Rats (abst - 2009) Neuropsychopharmacology - Abstract of article: Adolescent Exposure to Chronic Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol Blocks Opiate Dependence in Maternally Deprived Rats CLAIM #13:MARIJUANA IS A "GATEWAY" TO THE USE OF OTHER DRUGS (news - 2009) Erowid Cannabis Vault : Exposing Marijuana Myths The Surprising Effect Of Marijuana On Morphine Dependence (news - 2009) The surprising effect of cannabis on morphine dependence Active Ingredient In Cannabis Eliminates Morphine Dependence In Rats (news - 2009) Active Ingredient In Cannabis Eliminates Morphine Dependence In Rats Evaluating the drug use "gateway" theory using cross-national data: Consistency and associations of the order of initiation of drug use among participants in the WHO World Mental Health Surveys. (abst - 2010) Evaluating the drug use "gateway" theory using cro... [Drug Alcohol Depend. 2010] - PubMed result And a new one from "Quitting Other Drugs"- Marijuana could be an “exit drug†(news - 2010) Marijuana could be an “exit drug” My new list comes out in August. (420 pages like that!) Granny
We've been lied to about a lot of things. Santa Clause isn't real. Tooth Fairy isn't real. Great Pumpkin isn't real. Eventually parents are forced to explain that the entire system of beliefs that their children have held are fabricated in order to control them. That creates an inherent nature of distrust. Propaganda has told us that when you smoke cannabis you'll become apathetic, you're friends will leave you, your brother will get left at the park, you won't remember tuesday from a two dollar bill, and your life will end. Kids try marijuana anyway... ...and none of that happens. They just get stoned. Three hours later things are back to normal. A week later, everything was just the same as when they took the hit. So the nature of distrust continues. Clearly the adults are trying to control me. What else have they lied about? What other drugs don't do what they say they do. Marijuana is not a gateway drug. Lies and propaganda are the gateway drug. By being open and honest with our children about everything from sex, violence, and drugs, we create trust. If your children trust you, then you've protected them with far greater effectiveness that draconian rules and regulations. And that's how you counteract the title.
I'm not sure that equating santa clause to the propaganda spread about weed is really the best course of action. I'm all for honesty with children, but at the same time, let them be children. Not to jump in with my own parenting philosophy (I'm not a parent for the record). I think honesty with children as far as drugs goes is absolutely essential. Part of that is making sure they understand that these things are first and foremost for adults
I've said this very thing hundreds of times. I was saying it long before I ever became a daily user. Hell, I was saying that shit in high school, and that was back in the late 80's and early 90's. And I'm just a country bumpkin from Kentucky. It's nice to see the rest of the world is finally catching up. I have always said, the truth shall set us free. Until they relinquish the lie, kids are going to continue to seek their own truths. Then we have to pay the consequences of their misinformed mistakes. By then it's too late.
No doubt empirical evidence is a stronger argument but I was merely commenting on the environment of distrust between parents and children. I don't disagree with letting kids be kids but IMO the manner in which many parents use concepts such as santa is nothing more than an attempt at control. You better be good or santa won't give you toys. Santa's watching. Etc... Obviously I have no data to back this up, it's only my opinion but I truly think it contributes to the teenage need to rebel. It just creates an environment of distrust that grows like a cancer. "Why should I listen to you about drugs and alcohol? You lied about Santa/Easter Bunny/Etc." This isn't explicably stated by teens but I certainly believe that its the message being sent out to parents.
You have GOT to watch Julia Sweeney's stand ups, God Said Ha, and Letting Go of God. In the beginning of Letting Go of God, Julia speaks about how her parents used Santa Claus to control her and her brothers and sister. Besides that, it is ALL hilarious. You should check it out.
Yeah I understand what you mean given how many parents use santa and company. I was just thinking more of the happy santa, the one who gives presents, not the one who gives coals lol. That's more in line with the version of santa I got growing up I guess. I dont really remember hearing santa as a threat (be good or santa wont give you anything). He was always bringing presents lol. At the same time though, parents do need to be able to control their kids. Using lies to do so, in my opinion, will definitely create an environment of distrust that will create problems between a parent and a teenager. Especially once the teenager comes to relative intelligence. If only the eventual explanation of these childhood figures will be because of the maturation of the child and not simply because the parent can't use it anymore as a tool to control. As a side note, sitting here thinking about this, I've come to the conclusion that I don't think I ever believed in santa clause. Similarly I've always had a skeptical approach to God, but that's neither here nor there. Not to say I didn't enjoy christmas and the idea of santa clause, but we always did christmas with the entire extended family and when it came time to pass out the dozens and dozens of presents under the tree I put on a santa hat and passed them out. I got to be santa myself, so maybe I always realized he was more an idea than a reality.
Marijuana is no gateway drug. The first "drug" I tried was alcohol, after that I started to abuse a sleep medicine , lastly discovering marijuana, and sticking soley with that. Does that mean alcohol is the gateway drug in my case? Strong sleeping medication was more gateway than marijuana too! So that's my defense, blame it on the alcohol! Which was *my* gateway drug.
My parents gave me the happy santa as well for the most part but I remember them saying things like "clean your room or santa will think he already came", "santa knows when you're naughty so you better be nice (lol, just like the song)", "if you don't share with your brothers then santa won't come this year." When they finally told me there was no santa I just about died. I can remember it like it was yesterday. I remember staring in the mirror and telling myself its about the spirit of christmas but wondering why my parents would lie to me like that. From that moment on I tried my hardest to prove my dad wrong about everything he said. I'd research things just so I could tell him how stupid he was for not knowing. I thought everything he said was a lie up until about a year ago (I'm about be 25).
I feel that the Gateway theory is true, but not for the reasons that the government provides. I feel that when people try MJ for the first time, and learn that it isnt harmful for you or any of the other BS that the gov. says, they think "well what other drugs has the gov lied about?" and move on to try other things.
That's probably true. And when they see their friends smoking pot without any problems they logically think "well, what other Schedule I drugs are there?". Prohibitionists rave on about "the message they're sending the kids", well how about that message that they're sending the kids?!!