“After all.. marijuana isn’t a gateway drug, well unless you look at the experiential evidence.”
Not an advocate, but illegal marijuana is often sold by the same black market dealers as other contraband. Therefore potential marijuana customers are shopping at the same store as junkies. One week the guy may be out of weed, but just happens to have something else... Just a thought. I never met anyone who claimed pot just wasn’t doing it for them and they wanted something stronger. Experimentation due to proximity is my thought.
Pot evidently isn’t doing it for them based on drug testing data from the two Emergency Rooms I have been at. All the data is just being hushed, and I don’t know why.
I have. My best friend from high school. I don't know why he thought life was so bad - still don't. I never understood beyond the normal, "ugh my parents just don't understand," what was so bad. We talked about everything, (so I thought). He would smoke up all the time, "to escape."
I didn't smoke at all, and he continued to do so, more and more. I quit hanging out with him so much b/c that's ALL he wanted to do. He got a new crowd of friends and started dropping acid b/c "pot just didn't do it anymore."
I left for the military and his mom had actually approached my dad and asked if I could talk or beat some sense in to him the next time I was around on leave. The next time I went to their house, I found out from his parents he had been arrested about an hour or o before I got there. Cops were watching a smack house in the city - they arrested him on the way out and raided the place.
My best, and one of my only, friend in high school went from "looking to escape" to addicted to crack (among other things), with four illegitimate children, never allowed to have a drivers license, no diploma, no GED, an extensive criminal record, and no future.
Do I think all, or even most, people who smoke MJ wind up in that situation? No. Do I think that marijuana should be illegal? No.
Do I think we need to crack down on other types of narcotics and illicit drugs, or those who sell (even marijuana) to children? Absolutely, and with extreme prejudice.
Do I think the answer is going after prescription drugs? Yes and no. I'd like to say that the "reasonable man" standard should be employed, but that's a stretch expecting lawmakers and enforcers t employ.
When I first got wounded, our medical officers were reluctant to prescribe narcs "because you might get addicted." So, just suffer through getting shot and/or blown up.
After that initial stupidity, I was given quite a bit of narcs, which I took regularly. However, I had a doctor who gave a damn and monitored how much he prescribed and how I was doing. After about four months, I stopped taking them - no issues. But, I wasn't taking them to get high; I had been taking them b/c I was in debilitating pain.
Later, I was prescribed narcs (by the military) and was observed by a pain management doctor - I had to undergo urinalysis testing and pill counts to ensure I didn't take too many, or wasn't selling them.
In the civilian world, my doctor prescribed me narcs for "breakthrough" pain, but (I took 3-4 total over a 10 month period) seemed reluctant to even do that.
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I think we should educate people on the dangerous of narcotics (and things like huffing), discourage ghetto culture and glorifying drugs, and crack down on dealers.
I think we should build the wall and try to prevent illicit drugs from entering the U.S.
I think we should decriminalized marijuana and leave legal age/taxes to the states - let them regulate it, maybe similar restrictions as tobacco for how much you can grow/have for personal use.
I don't think we should prevent/limit access to painkillers. I do think we should track prescription narcotics, and doctors should be required to have regular followup appointments with patients. Perhaps, required addiction screening/counseling in cases of high dosage or long term use for pain management.
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I personally do not use marijuana, and I've seen people "graduate" to other drugs. I've also seen people abuse tobacco, alcohol, duster (computer spray), among other things. There will always be those who have abusive and/or addictive personalities. We are never going to eradicate that behavior. However, I think we can take a reasonable approach.