[Svartalfiar]

Grass is a gateway drug. Ask any meth addict...and fentanyl addict...and he/she will tell you that they started with grass.

Almost any lower-level anything can be considered a 'gateway' something. Dad letting you have half a beer after helping mow the yard is a gateway to margaritas and boulevardiers. Watching Paw Patrol with your toddler is a gateway to R films when he turns into a teenager. His Daisy Red Ryder is the gateway to a third of his paycheck being wasted on ammo. Helping Mom with dinner so you don't have to wash dishes after leads one into trying all sorts of new recipes that piss the wife off for trying them instead of just making the normal stuff.

There is nothing unique about marijuana (or tobacco) that drives someone into other drugs. Anytime someone tries something and likes it, they'll often try to find other objects or experiences that are similar, or cheaper, or of higher quality.

[Gay State Conservative]

It’s the illegality that drives them to other stuff. “Hey,I’ve broken the law once...now I got a chance for cocaine”.