Is Marijuana a gate way drug?

Question

This is a simple one. They say that it is a gateway drug. I personally do not believe that it is, but I want to know what everyone thinks...

Answer 1

no, not really. I beleive that the only reson pot would lead you to doing other drugs is that after smoking it you would realize that the gov't and everyone else has been lying about how awful it supposibly is. This could lead someone into thinking that the gov't and everyone else lyed about the others as well, so why not do them . This is why its not a gateway drug but yet the goverment in someway makes it so it is.

marijuana is the most commonly uses illegal substance in the United States. it is used by many people, most of which aren't your stereotypical "druggie", with no life agead of them. Many of them hapen to be very successful, good people. Think about it almost if not every person who reads this paper will know (even if they don't realize it) at least one if not several regular users of marijuana. Its often made out to be much more harmful htan it really is, unfortunatly not every one realizes this.

What many people don't realize is marijuana is much less harmful than alcohol or tobacco. Yet it's the one of the three that gets a bad rap and is illegal. Marijuana isn't even physicaly addicting. You certanly don't see meetings for marijuana like you do with alcohol and AA. Unfortunatly due to American culture the less harmful of the three is illegal.

The most common reason why marijuana can be harmful is that people can often come across laced marijuana without realizing it. Marijuana can easily be mixed with other more harmful drugs with out the buyer realizing it, until they have already used it. This is a dangerous thing that causes many people to do more harmful, hard core drugs without realizing it. If it were to be legalized the government could provide guide lines, like it does with alchol to insure that people knew what they were putting into their bodies.

Marijuana actually has many helpful benefits toward diseases / sicknesses. Marijuana can reduce nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite caused by AIDS. It can Reduce interlobular pressure, which alleviates the pain and slowing and sometimes even stopping the progress of glaucoma. Common side effects of chemotherapy are nausea, loss of appetite, and vomiting, all of which marijuana would help. It can limit muscle pain and relieve tremor nad unsteadiness of gait for multiple sclerosis patients. Marijuana can help prevent epileptic seizures in some patients. It can also alleviate chronic, often debilitating pain caused by myriad disorders and injuries. Each one of these applications have been deemed legitimate by at least one United States court, legislature, and/or government agency.

Due to these reasons and many others many people are going to jail/prison on a daily basis due to simply smoking a little pot These aren't dangerous criminals that would kill or rape someone. Many of them are teachers, lawyers and respected members of their communities. But yet we still pay thousands of dollars of tax payers money to lock up non dangerous "criminals" yearly even though most aren't going to stop after they get out of jail. Don't you think the money spent here is a waste? Couldn't it be going to more useful things such as hospitals, disease research, or better schools? These are the things that would benifit the people of this country. Certanily you would rather benefit the people more than throwing a non violent pot head in jail who was only trying to smoke a joint and relax after a long days work in jail. There is up to forty million regular (note thats just the regular not occasional users) drug users in the United states. If we were to throw all of them in jail it would cost $500,000 per million people, plus the cost and space of building many more prisons. Couldm't that money be spent on building hospitals? There's already about 1.5 million people tax payers are paying to keep in jail over drugs. From 1990 to 2003, nearly 5.9 million people had been arrested for smoking marijuana. Thats a greater number than the entire population of Alaska, Delaware, The District of Columbia, Montania, North and South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming combined. This country simply can't afford to put 40 million more in jail.

Marijuana should be legalized. It has many uses such as helping sick patients. People are going to smoke it no matter what the government sais, and with out govenment guidelines this can be dangerous. Not to mention the fact that we have no way we can afford to throw all those people in jail. Its much less harmful than alcohol and tobacco, which are legal, so doesn't it make sense that it would be also?

Answer 2

There are arguments on either side of the fence. Some that say it is not are either non-using advocates, or those that actively use. Those on the opposing side of the fence argue that it is, and its use quickly leads to abusing other substances. Still more people argue that certain groups of people are pre-disposed to having addictive behaviours and that makes them more vulnerable to become addicted to certain, if not all drugs (including alcohol).

Still, some argue that marijuana is not addicting. Others would say "yes it is." Some tout it's medicinal purposes, others denounce it saying that 'Nothing has been proved.'

I, personally, would say this: EVERYTHING in life should be done in moderation.

Many people say that marijuana's availability, low cost, accessibility make it a "gateway" to the use of other drugs because it introduces the user to altered states of consciousness (even a sense of euphoria, a sense of being "oneness with the universe", feeling numinous, sublime, or even - in some cases - spirituallly enhances - as if heightened senses while under the influence allow the user to experience the world while there mind becomes slightly untethered from reality) . Fortunately (or unfortunately -depending on how you look at it) Marijuana's effects only last a handful of hours. Those individuals that use it over a prolonged period of time may be fascinated by it's effect and MAY become interested in finding what effects other drugs have (i.e., xtc, mushrooms, LSD, and the whole gambit of uncontrolled substances). Perhaps it's that "wanting to explore" behaviour that should reason for alarm, and perhaps signals the potential for abuse and addiction to other substances - thereby making marijuana a "gateway" to other drugs. Some would argue that a person must have a pre-disposition or a addictive personality for this to ring true.

My watch says it's 4:20. Sorry, gotta go.

Answer 3

It's a gateway for meeting dealers and those people certainly have an interest in selling you a higher priced drug. Plus eventually you could start to look for something that gave you the same high marijuana used to (but you built a tolerance for) But this can happen with any drug alcohol included

Answer 4

Usually people begin smoking tobacco. That is their first experience, since it is legal, to get used to smoking.

Then the next logical step would be smoking marijuana ... even though it is illegal...it is extremely easy to get.

From that point people may venture into other smoking type drugs.

Yes, I do believe Marijuana is a gateway drug. It is usually the first ILLEGAL drug people use and people usually experiment with other drugs after that.

Answer 5

By gateway drug you are referring to the fact that some people may start with pot and move on to harder drugs?
Life is about choices...if you choose to use hard drugs I don't think it much matters if you smoked pot prior to that.
I used to smoke when I was younger but it didn't lead to other drugs. And now I wouldn't even smoke.

Answer 6

With some people, drug use starts with marijuana... it depends on the person to take othr drugs and get hooked/keep using. I quit smoking weed about a month ago, never took any other drug, but my father died of a cocaine overdose in 2004. It varies.

Answer 7

It's like this - once you cross the line and don't die or see any ill effects - and there ARE ill effects, you start to wonder - what ELSE is out there? What else can I try? And after a while marijuana doesn't do it for you like it did before, and you want MORE.

Besides - it's not like it was in the 60s. NOW there are predators out there who'll dip the joint in stuff to make it much stronger but easily fatal. Instead of coke it's powdered battery acid that will kill you very painfully in seconds.

So in a word: DON'T.

Answer 8

Personally I believe for some it is, actually for most. The reason being is that (I believe) when people just start smoking pot they typically don't care much about the possible outcomes, so they keep doing it, then it could either become less effective or they could run out.

Another possible solution is that its not very hard to lace a weed with crack and give it to someone that has never smoked weed before, it happened to my friend, and for some reason now, all she ever wants to do get high.

Answer 9

Is this religious, I suppose Rastafarians use it 'religiously'.
No it is utter nonsense, millions use it and do 'progress' but others do, but they were already on a search for pleasure. The real question is "can you take drugs and still achieve what you would have without taking them".
I can answer yes. I have taken a great many different drugs in large quantities, I still got a good degree, good job and now a good PhD.

Answer 10

Yes. Every drug addict will tell you that they started with marijuana. It causes the user to look for bigger highs and once you do illegal drugs it won't be a problem to use harder drugs.

Answer 11

people make their own choices. Some like to believe that marijuana is responsible for crack-heads. I personally think it was the government!

Just reading the answers here...eberyone has a friend who had something bad happen to them, but no personal experience...don't believe the urban legends!