Over the years I've done many speeches and written many pro marijuana papers for various classes. I've always believed that marijuana was not a gateway drug. My view was, whether a person does or does not smoke marijuana has no influence on whether or not the person will do other various drugs. Well, I've been cruising these forums for over 2 years now and the amount of different types of drugs that get talked about on here really makes me think. Ecstasy, crack, meth, prescription pills etc etc, you name it, it's been talked about. It appears to me that the majority of people who started with marijuana go on to more dangerous and serious drugs like heroine, meth, angel dust etc. Also, I don't really agree with the comeback, "well, alcohol and cigarettes are really gateway drugs." Sure, they are drugs, but they are also legal. Once you start doing illegal drugs the boundary between them begins to dissipate. What does everyone think? This just came to my mind a few minutes ago.
No. nononononono. I know loads of people who smoke weed. I also know loads of people who take other drugs who do not smoke weed. IMO I don't think its a gateway drug, atleast its not shown to be from my own experiences. The only sense of it being a gateway drug is that it puts you into the 'people-that-are-alright-with-drugs sphere'. Beyond that the decision is 100% up to the person.
If anything I say pot elightens you to realize that most drugs aren't that bad for you and in moderation and with will power most drugs aren't. I say it's the person who determines whether they allow pot to be a gateway drug or not. I personally think Alcohol is a gateway drug. I know plenty of people who don't smoke cigarettes but only do it when they are drunk/drinking. But no scietentists try to prove alcohol being a gateway drug because pot has bad propoganda to it.
Statistically marijuana is always a gateway drug no matter what, because it is the safest and most prevalent drug to buy in America. Most pot smokers use only marijuana, but most hard drug users have also used marijuana. If it weren't black market kids would never be introduced to drug dealers, thus the criminalization is the only reason it is a gateway drug.
The reason that people go on to heroin, crack or meth after using Marijuana is simple. Firstly, no one is going to start their drug experiences on a hard drug, so they start safe and go upwards. But for every person that moves on to hard drugs, there are a 1000 who don't. Second, I believe that marijuana is a gateway drug in the sense that when you do it, it opens your eyes to the lies you have been told about drugs and makes you want to test the waters more. It is not a gateway drug in the sense that if you smoke it, you will start craving harder drugs though.
It all varies from person to person. For some it seems to be a gateway drug and for others it doesn't. I think its really about self control and knowing about the long term effects that you experience from these hardcore drugs.
Yeah how about sugar , caffeine , and alcohol . Those are usually the first "drugs" that people use to change the way they feel .
Its really comes down to open minded people wanting to experiment with drugs on their free time. Some are willing to try more, some are willing to try less... hell some are willing to try all. What it really comes down to is you can get lost in the experimentation, or you can try it get your pleasure out of it and move on. Most people on these forums are 18-23 and still experimenting. Of course there are some who are lost in the world of heavy addictive drugs but ehh what can ya do?
Honestly it can be, but really it comes down to the person and their choices. I've tried a lot of drugs out there but marijuana was my first, besides alcohol. Did it cause me to try other drugs? No, but it was my curiosity that led me to try other drugs. As long as you are open minded and have a lot of self control, I don't really see a problem with trying most any other drugs as long as you don't get addicted (and also, no injections- that shit just flat out scares me). Meth, cocaine, codeine, mushrooms, and some others I've tried but I can tell you, no matter how good a certain drug you take makes you feel, be aware of its effects and control / stop using it if it will ruin you. Hope that makes a little sense
since (at least in my eyes) weed isn't a drug, then it would more accurately a gateway leading to drugs. but again that's just my opinion.
I agree with both of these. If you're the kind of person who would try harder drugs you'll definately try weed cuz it's completely mild in comparrison to harder drugs and psychedelics and shit. I dont think it is a gateway drug
10 out of 100 people are not the majority. See, this is why marijuana receives such a horrible rep. My friends did shrooms and salvia BEFORE trying pot. You cannot point out a few people and leave everyone else out of it. Not everyone goes on to other things, or better yet, becomes addicted to other drugs.
Not 100% true Marijuana is a illegal substance. Therefore, other illegal substance will come by you more often than usual. It's all about black market.
Theres a HUGE barrier between the people that stick to weed and the people who move onto other drugs. I know people who never even started with pot, just went to coke, and i know people who started with pot and never even thought about anything more. But yeah most of the time its all started with weed....its easy to get and safe at a young age (safe meaning you cant die from it). Why would anyone want to go onto coke or heroin without gettin blown out of your mind for a while first?