The opinions of my history with drugs is based only on me saying mar1juana isn't harmless and in some cases it can be a gateway drug. It is pretty obvious. It is also an attempt to use the weakest argument ever. The "I am a member of the NRA but..." and "I have plenty of black friends but..."
Actually my opinion here was shaped only by your weird refusal to answer a simple question posed to you by thadeus. Shoo, fly.
thadeus can complain all he wants but he bailed on my simple question 2 pages earlier. and thadeus actually holds my respect so don't put yourself in his company.
caffeine is a gateway to energy drinks which is a gateway to uppers. whacking off is a gateway to pre marital sex riding a bike is a gateway to speeding in your car one could argue that keeping it illegal is a gateway to other illegal acts since they are already 'breaking the law' Love these 'conservatives' that want less gov't but more gov't, more police, and more jails. Sounds great. I love that I can eat xanax, ambien and drink all day and I am 'drug free' GOD BLESS AMERICA
As does threatening to fight me and reporting tons of my posts when nothing comes from it. keep thinking you are doing something, it has worked well for you.
Poor you. You were just sitting around acting innocent and mean ole Batman started picking on you. I don't think I am doing anything here but killing time. And, as I have killed much time here, I judge that it has indeed worked well for me. I've had actual arguments or debates with people outside of the board and yes I suppose they have mattered in some small way for some small amount of time, but going back and forth with you? It's like watching old reruns because there's nothing else that's on.
Honestly, Casey, the real gateway is probably something else. I bet that nearly 98% of the people who try mar1juana first modify their perception and energy levels with caffeine. I would bet that a significant number of people who try mar1juana have smoked a cigarette or had a beer. The point is that between mar1juana and alcohol is the wrong place to draw the line between legal and illegal. There has never been a documented case of mar1juana ever directly killing a human being compared to 500 a year for aspirin, the way we treat people who choose to use it is in-freaking-sane. But since you like rehashing old threads, I would love your contribution to this one.
Yes, I've seen it happen. But I've also seen it happen with a lot of other things (alcohol, tobacco, pills). Heck, I even know some people who tried acid before anything else. My theory is, is that if people are curious enough to try weed, they're probably curious about some other drugs as well (note that I said "probably" and not that they are). Weed is notorious for being a soft drug, so people sometimes use it as a preparatory launching board for more severe mind-trips like shrooms and acid. Not to mention that if you're smoking weed, chances are you're going to be surrounding yourself with other people who do as well. The more this happens, the more there's the chance that someone is eventually going to know a Travel Agent and whatever else. People who smoke weed seem to be more naturally inclined towards wanting to experiment with hallucinogenics. I've even noticed that this trend is far more common amongst those whom I consider to be vastly more intelligent than the average drug user. Whether or not it acts as a gateway to the REAL hard ****, like heroin, coke, meth, etc. is a case-to-case issue IMO. I'm sure there are instances in which mar1juana has acted as "the" gateway, but I'm sure there are people out there intelligent enough to know that they should just stay away from the hard stuff at all costs and continue staying away despite still smoking weed. I think in the end, whether or not weed is a gateway depends more on what kind of world that weed gets you into. It can get you into the "harder" lifestyle as it were, but it can also get you in with the peaceful types just looking for a soft time.
As an add-on... for what it's worth, a number of drug users have explicitly told me to my face that they believe weed was their gateway (as in weed got boring so they went for the next high). I also have a friend who was a STRONG disbeliever in the "gateway theory", but has since conceded that he has seen it happen first hand. The problem is that people look at these case-to-case scenarios and then make sweeping generalizations. Sometimes it can be a gateway, sometimes it isn't at all. Just as with most things, the truth often lies in the middle.
nature vs. nurture. someone with a predisposition to alcohol or drug addiction is going to experiment with plenty of drugs and alcohol. most adult casual to daily mar1juana users are just that- mar1juana users. they might have tried a harder drug in their teenage years and decided it's not for them, or that the buzz from a doober is enough to mellow them out. you can't really put it on the pot, though. but in general, I like seeing that other adults here are starting to evaluate their relationship with mar1juana and how it effects their mood, behavior, and overall motivation. and the younger ones who are still going through that rebellious I Love Weed phase, that's cool too. but after you have convinced yourself and everyone around you that it is really a benefit, and that it is safer than alcohol, and how it really should be legalized and regulated, remind yourself that you just like getting high a lot. everyone who smokes weed likes getting baked. they should be able to get baked without having to break the law to score their weed. they shouldn't drive while they are baked, regardless of any statistic on "deaths from driving while on weed" that they might read on a pro pot website.
CaseyH has the annoying tendency to every now and then make good points (especially ones I disagree with), but then to be a royal dick about it. Makes it incredibly hard to justify any effort (similar to your "killing time" idea here). Reminds me of guys at my office who are very smart, but such assholes they're essentially demoted to not have to deal with them in any grand capacity. BTW - I'm sending you an email about something totally unrelated.
I've tried it, and I would DEFINITELY call it a gateway drug. That said, I'm all for legalizing it and taxing the crap out of it. I'm also for much higher taxes on alcohol (although liberals would consider my ideas on that a regressive tax). In fact, I think weed being illegal is the biggest part of it's "gateway drug" aspect. If it was legal, and you smoked some, you wouldn't be crossing that line.
you'll never meet a heroin junky who didn't start with alcohol.. this gateway drug thing is ridiculous. If anything argue the loss of motivation,time,energy,sleeping more, groggy,overeating,coughing more, illegal etc. arguing gateway drug has got to be the weakest argument ever. It's as sad as mar1juana advocates trying to push hemp fiber on people to get weed legalized.
All we're saying is DO YOUR OWN DAMN RESEARCH on the qualities and usage of the plant. You'll find an overabundance of ridiculously wonderful attributes this plant has to offer. We're not saying like some young smoker that we should legalize MJ so we can wear a hemp shirt while we toke the leaf. You’re right in that respect…stupid. There are adults in this matter. Try talking to them. As far as I’m concern, this plant is GREEN GOLD but it will never be realized. We are sitting on a cash crop (and I’m not even talking about its recreational usage) but the powers at be are confusing the two issues. Just like you are.
