Then what is the biochemical mechanism? Or is there none---in which case, what exactly is the dreaded "gateway"? And why does the research YOU claim to have seen show the "gateway" closing by age 21?
You are the one making the assumption that pot does not serve as a gateway drug for adults.
YOU are the one who claims to have seen evidence that "if society can prevent an individual from using any of the gateway drugs until age 21, the chances are 93-7 that that person will not use illicit drugs OR use alcohol in a high-risk manner." So where is the "gateway" for adults?
the idea of smoking dope IS to get stoned. This puts pot in the same category as cocaine, heroin, crank, etc. These are all self-destructive substances that can't be used "responsibly".
You haven't proved "can't be"---merely "aren't." And criminalization of a substance encourages irresponsible use; how many people during Prohibition went to a speakeasy and had just one glass of wine?
you set up alcohol and tobacco as these horrible "deadly addictive" substances. You identified these as a problem. And your solution? None whatsoever.
Correct---most of life's problems have no governmental solution.
You should be ashamed of yourself for your callous attitude and lack of regard for your fellow citizen.
Thanks for outing yourself as a bleeding-heart liberal.
If you want to discuss the effects of alcohol and tobacco on society, FINE! Let's talk about that and what should be done.
What should be done? Nothing governmental.
See if you can form an argument of WHY cocaine, heroin, crank, LSD, etc should be freely and legally available WITHOUT using alcohol and tobacco in your reasoning.
There is no sound basis for the restriction you want to impose on my argument. Here it is:
Relegalizing drugs would reduce the following effects of the War On Some Drugs: deaths of innocents in drug-turf wars; deaths of users due to impurities or unexpectedly high potencies; enrichment of criminals; corruption of the justice system by enriched criminals; and lessened respect for the law in general.
Not to mention upholding the principle that adults should be free to make their own non-rights-violating choices (even if the choices they make are stupid).
Once again I refer you to my previous post. Since you didn't re-read it, I'll quote myself: "When you smoke pot, you've broken a barrier, so it's somehow easier to do the next thing down the line. Only with drugs, you don't progress into something better, you progress into something more dangerous and harmful. Actual studies done by rational, logical people DO show that if you smoke pot, you're more likely to try things like crystal meth or cocaine or heroin. Not only is marijuana dangerous in its own right, it also screws up your judgement, making you more likely to use other drugs. A gateway drug, like pot, breaks down a psychological barrier against doing other drugs. Once you've crossed the line with a gateway drug, you're more likely to go there with other drugs, too. Gateway drugs also impair your judgement. If you're high, it's easier to say yes to cocaine or whatever else is around. These drugs break down your inhibitions, so you're more susceptible to peer pressure or experimenting. And they don't just impair your judgement when you're on them-these drugs can change the way you feel about drugs in general, putting you on a really ugly path that'll get you in trouble and make you quite unhappy. With impaired judgment and that "barrier" crossed with pot, the fact that other drugs are illegal will certainly have a lessened effect on someone with access to the drugs."
I really don't know how more obvious the "gateway" effect can be. It's right there for everyone to see. Unless, of course, someone refuses to see it. Again, it's nothing "mysterious" or "biochemical". It's easily explained and understood human nature. What about this aren't you getting? Shall we do a study to see if people that shoplift are more likely to move on to other acts of theft than people who don't? No, I'm sure we wouldn't find any "gateway" there either. LOL
Again, this is a side issue in which you try to derail the discusssion from getting to the main point. In reality, you could care less about "gateways". It makes no difference to you. You want ALL DRUGS LEGALIZED, PERIOD. Please don't waste my time anymore with these silly, moot arguments that in the end are meaningless to your main objective.
most of life's problems have no governmental solution
Of course that is true, but government should at least not be part of the problem.
Thanks for outing yourself as a bleeding-heart liberal.
LOL! Fine. If not wanting to see people destroy their lives makes me a "lib", so be it. Of course you are 100% wrong again. I guess in your world there are pure Libertarians who would put no restrictions on adults rights, while everyone else is a "bleeding-heart liberal". Whatever. While I do believe in as much personal freedom as possible, I also believe every right has its limitations. The counter-balance to rights is responsibility. There are certain self-destructive actions that simply should not be legal. Perhaps your ideal utopian society is a "value-free" one with no moral or ethical standards to base its foundation on. Mine is based upon the Judeo-Christian tradition, such as this country is. This provides a moral "anchor" for a society to base itself upon. Part of that tradition is that life is a gift from the Creator. While personal liberty is to be protected and preserved by a society for its citizens, society also has a right to set minimal standards of acceptable behavior for its citizens. You obviously disagree. Fine. I will put my Judeo-Christian society up against your value-less society and watch mine survive long after yours has crumbled from within.
I can't help but note your hypocritical statement of calling me a "bleeding-heart liberal" because I have concern for other citizens. Then, when you make your argument of why drugs should be legalized, your top 2 reasons concern the well-being of other citizens. Nice try. We both know you have no concern for your fellow citizens well-being (God forbid someone accuse you of being one of those "bleeding-heart liberals").
Again, let's just clear all of this other rubbish out of the way and get to the main point. You believe that government should have absolutely no say whatsoever in somoene's private behavior. Anything goes, right? I happen to disagree, and this is where differ fundamentally. Whether pot is a gateway drug or not isn't going to alter your position in the least bit, now is it?