Though I don't necessarily disagree with some of what Casey is saying, I nonetheless feel compelled to defend my (former) drug of choice. To give some background, through my junior and senior years of college (and grad school) I was definitely a pothead. I went through about an ounce a month, probably a little more (not alone, usually smoked blunts, but suffice to say it was a lot). That didn't stop me from getting my workouts in in the morning, and until 5pm M-F if I wasn't in class I was in the library getting my work and studying done. I kept this routine so that I could be a lazy stoner for the rest of the day and a degenerate drunk on the weekends. Being a pothead didn't stop me from graduating with honors or getting my MBA a semester early, and it didn't prevent me from having a social life. The only thing it hurt was my bank account and short-term memory (the effects on which went away within a month of quitting). So I tend to side with those who say that weed is basically harmless, provided it's used responsibly. I'm not going to blame the drug for the fact that a lot of people are irresponsible and allow it to take over their lives. I'm sorry, but it's just too easy to control your use of it with some self-discipline. Are there a lot of irresponsible stoners? Yeah. But I would guess that those people were already irresponsible or undisciplined before they started smoking weed. I'd say the same thing for the gateway drug effect. Did a lot of people who take hard drugs start with weed? Sure, probably, I don't really know (they probably started with cigs or underage drinking, actually). But I would argue that most of those people were likely to go down that path before they ever hit a bong. Ultimately, the onus is on the user. tl;dr version: Weed has it's drawbacks if you abuse it, like any other drug. It can, and should be consumed responsibly. It's still less harmful when abused than just about any other narcotic. It's IMO only a gateway drug in the sense that those already on the path to heavy drug use (might be) most likely to get their first high from a joint.
But mj is less harmful than alcohol? It's a fact shown through the scientific process. What people can't truly define and claim as a 100% true fact is whether it is or isn't a gateway drug. I'm pretty sure though that there isn't a direct chemical pathway in your brain from thc which makes you want to do other drugs. There is a pathway in your brain that explains why mj impairs your memory. But not one for mj being a gateway drug.
Sure. And actually I think that's, on balance, probably a good thing. Drugs can expand the mind and the experience of the user. And, as Bill Hicks said, if you think drugs have never done good things go home right now and burn all the music you love. Either that or we could start giving kids advice that is based upon truth and science rather than on which drugs are legal/illegal. Alcohol is the gateway drug.
The point is that when an authority figure lies to a kid and the kid figures out not to trust him he won't trust him. I stopped listening to my grandfather when I found out he hated blacks. I had black friends and I knew that being black wasn't bad. He lost my trust. I stopped listening to my mother when she told me it was wrong to be gay. I had gay friends and I knew that being gay wasn't bad. She lost my trust. I started questioning authority when I found out that slavery was once hunky-dory in this country. I figured out they'd been actively lying to me when I learned for myself the distinctions between weed and booze. Why would anyone listen to anyone that demonstrates a clear bias for the most popular propaganda and virtually admits he has no experience to back it up?
Again, the arguments against pot are the same arguments of 40 years. That's why noone listens. Same useless tripe. While in the past 40 years you could read article after article about the benefits of the plant in both the medical field and the attributes of it's fibers. You people against pot/hemp REALLY need to do your own research.
I hate the gateway drug argument. You're far more likely to get into harder drugs while drinking alcohol.
Don't be stupider than you absolutely have to. I said that learning to distrust authority was a gateway to never trusting authority. That is all I said. Imagine my parents told me playing in the yard is unsafe and running into a busy street is unsafe but getting into cars with strangers was safe. When I got into a car with a stranger and was molested or whatever I would think WTF? When I went to play in the yard as a result of realizing my parents gave bad advice and found it was pretty darn safe (especially compared to the stranger in the car), I would think WTF? Next I might decide to run into a busy street. Why wouldn't I when my ball just rolled into the street and all the other advice I received was wrong? The stranger in the car is alcohol. The yard is pot (it is not without it potential dangers - one might be stung by a wasp). The busy street is crack cocaine. And it could have easily been avoided. Loss of faith and trust in those who are supposed to looking out for us and giving us good advice is the gateway drug.
I hope you realize the likelihood of us ever making the same point is about the same as Karl Malone voting for a Democrat.
Let me try to get a point across. Pot is sold illegally by drug dealers who make a profit by selling other drugs. Some kid buys pot from this dealer for months, after a while the dealer asks the kid if he wants to delve into other options in sale. Gateway drug? Not really for me or anyone i knew back in highschool simply because we bought from other highschool kids instead of drug dealer. The whole argument of it being a gateway drug even if it was legal makes absolutely no sense to me, and seems to be the only reasonable tool anyone has to use against the legalization of it...
To much will definetly do some harm. Why do it if you are smart. You only hurt you and your family. But I do it sometimes.
why would the cops focus on murder and robbery when the real money is in petty mar1juana busts? It's not about gateway this or any of that it's about cash. Texas is a police state so it's not going anywhere guys..
Absolutely. Which is also why booze and cigarettes remain legal and which is why the booze and cigarette lobbies have spent so much time and money keeping drug laws the way they are.
Big tex said - what will happen after someone uses and they feel fine you said - it might lead to them using other drugs Yet it isn't a gateway drug. OK fine.
You're a dishonest debater. Anyone here can go back and review the thread and see that you're relying on a false syllogism. Same as it ever was. See ya.
Dang, talking to you is like talking to a kid. Sheeesh. Batman, why oh why are you still dealing with this guy? Not even in your class...
