Yes it is a gateway drug. A gateway to escaping opioid addiction.
Wait wait wait.
Lots of people take cannabis for chronic pain, and most will never move on to addictive drugs.
I have chronic lower back pain. The next medical step is to fuse my vertebrae. I said no to that. I will use cannabis instead. Done so for 25 years now. Sure, the pain is barely muted, but it allows me to live life to a degree, and I am not a zombie like I'd be with opioids.