Posted on 11/30/2018 7:03:52 AM PST by SeekAndFind
...but that isn’t scientific, that’s the mistake of “correlation is causation”.
I came to the USA from the UK at 16. The schools in the UK never said a thing about pot and I didn’t know anyone using it.
In my new USA high school our “health ed” class gave the impression that pot is incredibly dangerous, incredibly addictive, etc. etc.. I had no reason to believe otherwise.
...until I became aware that just about EVERYONE I HAD COME TO KNOW had at least tried it, if not using fairly regularly. I was shocked, although I didn’t see any of these people as “addicts”, they had good grades and had jobs etc.. So at a point I tried it too and found it to be nothing even close to what the teachers in high school had claimed. It was a lie. At this moment the thoughts ran through my head, “what else have they lied about?”. What about cocaine? What about all the others?
My point is, the kids stopped believing the “education” because they were inaccurate about weed. They lowered the “concern threshold” of trying other drugs. Also, if you’re likely to try hard drugs at some point, you’re likely try weed first only due to it being so very available - but that has nothing to do with weed being the “gateway” to everything else. I only knew of a couple of people that went on to do harder drugs - out of hundreds.
I’d argue cigarettes are the primary “gateway drug” as it’s the first thing kids growing up see adults smoking. The very concept of “smoking” would be a foreign concept without cigarettes. Without them, as far as weed is concerned, it would be the first time a kid would see somebody “smoke” anything - which would obviously be perceived as stupid.
At the end of the day, drinking, smoking tobacco, smoking weed are ALL indicators of addictive traits, of course somebody that is willing to do harder drugs will, most likely, try these first. MOST people that do try these DON’T go on to try anything harder.
To think that somebody wouldn’t do hard drugs unless they started on weed is weak - it’s only “on the path” due to accessibility, same as cigarettes - but nobody says that. I’d like to see a study of kids having divorced parents as it related to harder drug use. The whole issue of “seeking a higher high” is rooted in other problems, it isn’t CAUSED by weed.
Frankly, people who smoke weed, drink, smoke cigarettes, aren’t committing crime to get the next drink, the next joint, etc. - criminalizing it isn’t the answer. People who do the harder drugs are willing to do anything for their next “fix”. Prohibition of common substances isn’t good policy, it turns otherwise law abiding people into criminals.
Ugh...sorry for the long post :)
I like reading these “my dangerous drug of choice is cool, yours is not” threads. The various arguments are hysterical to read.
So is beer
You want to do pot legally? Fine, get us taxpayers off the hook of you messing up your life and I'll gladly support you doing whatever you want to mess up your life.
I have a college degree, graduating early with honors in 3 years instead of 4, back in 1969.
I was an officer in the Air Force for 8 years.
I've had several successful careers in hospital administration, mortgage banking and commercial printing.
I own 3 homes from Arizona to South Carolina to Florida, all of them free and clear of debt.
I have an 800+ credit rating and am flush with liquid assets in my financial portfolio.
I am currently retired and raise beef cattle on my ranch in Florida.
I've been married for 44 years to a former Air Force officer and nurse practitioner.
I am healthy and active at age 71. I was a 10K and marathon road racer for 40 years. Now I walk an hour a day. I don't drink alcohol or smoke tobacco.
I've lived a very productive life, both personally and professionally.
But I've also been smoking pot daily for recreation since I was a freshman in college back in the 60s. It is a habit, not an addiction. If you stop smoking pot, there are no cravings, withdrawals or DT's like in alcohol and hard drug withdrawals. There is nothing.
People who smoke marijuana recreationally are not potheads, anymore than people who drink alcohol recreationally are liquor-heads. And it doesn't make them irrational, no matter how hard you want them to be.
There is no "gateway" that this study claims. People don't do harder drugs because they smoke pot. They do so because their personalities are predisposed to addictive and destructive behavior.
Time to dispense with the government's marijuana hysteria they've had since "Reefer Madness" was their propaganda film.
Roll another one, brother.
It’s a trade-off. While it *MAY* be a gateway drug, the war on drugs isn’t working and won’t work. The cost of the war on drugs is too high, in terms of the wrecking ball it takes to society.
One of my aunties told me that she liked wine because of the taste not because of the effect. Boy, she liked that tastes a lot.
Thanks for the ping.
For me cannabis has been a gateway to freedom from depression, anxiety, insomnia, obesity just in 3+ years of use. That & 116 lbs of flab I lost along the way since February 2015.
I’m also gainfully employed for the 1st time in over 15 years. My boss knows I am a legal cannabis patient here in Florida & she could care less. Life is better for me & my family because of cannabis.
Get rid of welfare? OK, sure. We’ll get right on that.
Problem solved, everybody!
Nice to meet you.
Pot helped me get over my first wife's adultery and the divorce that followed. In fact, pot was the only thing that helped stop the endless loop in my mind - what went wrong, how could I not have seen this, how could I put this back together - that plagued me 24 hours a day when the emotional pain was the worst, in the very early days.
Psychiatry, and the pharmaceuticals I was prescribed - Zoloft - were worthlessly ineffective.
If I smoked a joint, however, my brain would relax, and that relaxation gave my spirit time to heal...just like staying off your feet helps a twisted ankle or a bad knee to heal. Not only that, but with my brain more relaxed, I picked up my guitar and made music.
So there you go.
You roll around in stereotypes like a dog orgasmically rolling around in a pile of cow shit.
Whatever rationalization one conjures up to do pot, as a “no big deal” can also then be used to move on to other drugs.
The Libertarian in me say “Go ahead, but don’t expect me to bail you out of your disaster.” I may or may not help but do not expect it.
The Conservative in me askes, “Does legalizing pot and other drugs make us more competitive on the world stage?”
Slow clap. Bravo, sir. Bravo.
Recreational chemistry is for losers - bump for later....
The government's not a general manager looking to put together a Stanley Cup winner. Listen to the Libertarian in you.
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>> “And what is humourously described nowadays as “soy boy” and “man-tits” Baby Huey shaped fat a@@ oreo eating (and whole lot else)” <<
All caused by the estrogen overload from consuming soy products!
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