'Gateway Drugs'

[Shwicaz]

When I was a kid, drinking was taking a beating. Groups like Madd, SADD, and such were out there. Drinking was being cracked down on. Happy hours ended up where I live.

Law enforcement and community leaders were saying that alcohol is the 'gateway drug' for youth to start smoking marijuana.

Flash forward to today.

Boston recently enacted a law making decriminalizing less than an ounce of weed. (if a person is found with less than an ounce of weed on them, they pay a 100 fine, instead of going to jail).

And now, here we are again. Pot is taking a beating. Anti-drug groups and family coalitions are banging their drums.

Now, law enforcement and community leaders are saying that marijuana is the 'gateway drug' and that from there, people graduate to harder drugs like heroin and meth.

I am a pothead. I don't do coke. I don't do meth, heroin, E, or anything else. Give me my joint, and I am happy. I don't even drink that much.


For me, my 'gateway' was alcohol and cigarettes. My step-dad used to let me drink his beer when I was kid/teen (not a whole one, obviously, but a few sips here and there that i enjoyed). I would also say that cigarette smoking got me to pot smoking. I had never smoked a joint until I was 17. But I was smoking cigs. Someone offered to smoke a joint with me, and I took them up on it. I figured "heck, I was already smoking anyway."


Do you believe in the 'gateway drug'? What do you think it is? What was yours? Did you start down the road to hard drinking/drug addiction due to smoking pot, etc?

[Thomas Mauer]

The gateway drug is bullshit. Especially that alcohol example you mentioned. If that were so, all of Europe would be stoners starting around age 16.

[jamestolliver]

I think you hit the nail on the head. I just had this discussion with my brother and we agreed that cigarettes and alcohol are the two biggest "gateway drugs."

[Ashwin Pande]

Yeah. Booze is the biggest gateway drug there is. It's messed up that alcohol and tobacco kill more people than pot but pot is somehow the evil one.

[Andreas]

Yeah. Booze is the biggest gateway drug there is. It's messed up that alcohol and tobacco kill more people than pot but pot is somehow the evil one.

I think television is, though it's more an end in itself. It messes up more minds than alcohol and marijuana combined.

Andreas

[Shwicaz]

The gateway drug is bullshit. Especially that alcohol example you mentioned. If that were so, all of Europe would be stoners starting around age 16.

or they could just go to amsterdam. ;-)

[Shwicaz]

Also....there are some people (like my sister and a good friend of mine that have 'addictive personalities')

with my sister, it started with food. She would have to not only eat her own food, but extra helpings, and try to eat food off of other's plates when we were kids.

Then she started smoking cigarettes (still smokes 2 packs a day to today), she then started smoking marijuana. Then doing acid. Later it was cocaine. Now she sniffs/snorts prescritption pills and has to be fucked up every minute of every day or she can't function.

Is that the fault of the 'gateway drug' of marijuana? Nope.

As I have shown, my sister will consume anything put in front of her. It is in her personality, or something. It is her. Not the drug.

Same w/ my friend Scott. He is a raging alcoholic. If you smoke weed with him, he wants to smoke a whole bag in about an hour. "Can I get a puff?", he always asks me, even if we just smoked a blunt. I have learned to bring one joint to his house, otherwise he would smoke my whole week's supply in one visit.

When his friend comes over with cocaine, the two of them sit at that table and snort so much it makes me ill just looking at them (I no longer do cocaine).

It is just in their personality to be consumers. Marijuana did not cause them to be consumers like that.

[HeartlessNinny]

I'm with you too man. I've done a fairly massive amount of drugs in my time, but I don't think that a supposed 'gateway' drug really exists.

These days, I'm content to just drink heavily and occasionally smoke a joint. Fuck, I'm drunk off my ass right now. Don't know what that says about me...

...But either way, I agree with you.

[Hollingsworth]

Yeah, it's BS. I did acid before I ever smoked weed when I was 16. If anything, it's backwards. I tried a buncha drugs when I was younger and now have settled down to mostly just beer with occasional other alcohol and sometimes weed.

[dEnny!]

The gateway drug is bullshit. Especially that alcohol example you mentioned. If that were so, all of Europe would be stoners starting around age 16.

There is a different mentality in Europe then the States in regards to alcohol. One thing I liked about my uncle and father's generation was they drank, they enjoyed it, but they weren't retarded about it. I'm not sure if that is true of today's youth in Europe, but over here people are doing beer bongs, binge drinking, the goal is to get drunk and stupid. I always felt the goal in Europe, particularly Germany was to enjoy good beer, good friends, and have a good time, but they didn't chug, chug, chug like they do in the States (not saying they can't drink a whole lot, just saying the perception, feeling, and reason behind it was different). Over here kids act like they are rebelling, when they aren't, they act like they are doing something out there, they aren't, and I so tired of they, "dude, I got totally wasted last night," as if that was a difficult goal to achieve.

[dEnny!]

Yeah, it's BS. I did acid before I ever smoked weed when I was 16. If anything, it's backwards. I tried a buncha drugs when I was younger and now have settled down to mostly just beer with occasional other alcohol and sometimes weed.

One might maintain you matured and grew up. Not everyone is as fortunate and become addicts, you might have had a better head on your shoulders.

But maybe if you hadn't done those drugs you wouldn't be the alcoholic, pothead you are today. :D (I'm totally joking.)

[DaGetHighKnight]

Yeah, it's BS. I did acid before I ever smoked weed when I was 16. If anything, it's backwards. I tried a buncha drugs when I was younger and now have settled down to mostly just beer with occasional other alcohol and sometimes weed.

me too.

[dEnny!]

Yeah. Booze is the biggest gateway drug there is. It's messed up that alcohol and tobacco kill more people than pot but pot is somehow the evil one.

But if marijuana were legalized are you positive it wouldn't have as great an effect?

Could it be that its negative affect is lessened because it is illegal? That people know they better be smart when using it because otherwise they go to jail? If marijuana were legal you don't think we'd see an increase in driving under the influence?

Most people are smart and know they don't want permanent ramifications for their decisions. I might want to smoke weed, but I don't want to get arrested and go to jail over it, so I use it discreetly.

[dEnny!]

I think television is, though it's more an end in itself. It messes up more minds than alcohol and marijuana combined.

Andreas

Television is very addictive and easy and numbs your mind. I struggle to make sure I take my son outside and play with him, but he still loves tuning into the Mickey Mouse clubhouse.

[leviathan]

I'm not even sure about cigarettes and alcohol being 'gateway' drugs. A friend of mine loves to smoke joints and while he isn't a pothead, does indulge 4-5 times a week if he gets the chance.

However, he refuses to smoke regular cigarettes and drinks only wine and vodka. And even those incredibly sparingly (like once or twice a month). It's all BS...if you're gonna do drugs, you're gonna do them...regardless of how you start of.

[Hollingsworth]

One might maintain you matured and grew up. Not everyone is as fortunate and become addicts, you might have had a better head on your shoulders.

But maybe if you hadn't done those drugs you wouldn't be the alcoholic, pothead you are today. :D (I'm totally joking.)

Heh heh. I wouldn't say I'm a pothead. I go through phases where I don't smoke for months on end. Strangely, when I was at the sea on vacation for six weeks this summer, I didn't smoke much. I smoked once and that was it. Guess I was so relaxed I didn't need to supplement that. I sometimes smoke now when done with work to relax and then do drum pad practice which is fun for unwinding. I have a lot of stress right now with three late books. So guess that's related.

There's a lot to argue with that on both sidesof the legalization argument. Most of the people I know who are real heavy potheads are listless and lazy and don't do all the things they *say* or *plan* to do. Hell, they don't do ANY of them. It's a really good ambition killer in my experience. Doesn't hit everyone that way, but it does with a helluva lot of them who I've known in my life. But then alcohol isn't really any better in my opinion. I don't think it should be classified like heavier drugs.

[Ultimate Lurker]

I smoked pot one time in high school. It definitely was a gateway drug. Next thing I knew I was turning tricks on the corner, until that nice man took me home and put me in his videos. It's good money though.

[adam_warlock_2099]

The gateway drug is bullshit. Especially that alcohol example you mentioned. If that were so, all of Europe would be stoners starting around age 16.

Having been a fan of alcohol since I was 17, I have never tried any drug, narcodic or perscription drugs. Alcohol is my drug of choice, and I don't plan to ever try another drug. I like to stick with what works for me.

[Brother Power the Gong]

Mixtapes (or CDs or podcasts) make awesome gateway drugs, though.

[dEnny!]

Heh heh. I wouldn't say I'm a pothead. I go through phases where I don't smoke for months on end. Strangely, when I was at the sea on vacation for six weeks this summer, I didn't smoke much. I smoked once and that was it. Guess I was so relaxed I didn't need to supplement that. I sometimes smoke now when done with work to relax and then do drum pad practice which is fun for unwinding. I have a lot of stress right now with three late books. So guess that's related.

There's a lot to argue with that on both sidesof the legalization argument. Most of the people I know who are real heavy potheads are listless and lazy and don't do all the things they *say* or *plan* to do. Hell, they don't do ANY of them. It's a really good ambition killer in my experience. Doesn't hit everyone that way, but it does with a helluva lot of them who I've known in my life. But then alcohol isn't really any better in my opinion. I don't think it should be classified like heavier drugs.

I was just busting your chops. There are people who smoke pot to relax and mellow every once in awhile and then there are those who can't function unless under the influence. I worked with a guy who always said he couldn't deal with people unless he was high, that's a problem in my opinion.

[Hollingsworth]

I was just busting your chops. There are people who smoke pot to relax and mellow every once in awhile and then there are those who can't function unless under the influence. I worked with a guy who always said he couldn't deal with people unless he was high, that's a problem in my opinion.

Yeah. But there are also the people who can't relax at all without it. I was fating this girl once who was extremely high strung. She'd smoke every night. But she'd smoke a TON every night. Like enough to be completely incoherent.

I'd like to continue to smoke to relax now and then without getting into that kind of cycle. I've found when I smoke too much and too regularly that I have too much mood lability with too many down moods that aren't related to anything else. But that's my metabolism. My mood is more evenly positive if I'm not overdoing it.

I know you were busting my chops. No worries.

[schizorabbit]

I smoked pot one time in high school. It definitely was a gateway drug. Next thing I knew I was turning tricks on the corner, until that nice man took me home and put me in his videos. It's good money though.

Heeeeeeey, I got some of them videos. Damn, you were good. Whatcha call a "natural."


I don't know who, but some stand-up comedian was talking about how it's all bullshit logic--people arguing that just because a large percentage of hardcore drug users first did marijuana, that makes marijuana a gateway drug; with that logic, since over 99% of hardcore drug users drank breast milk, then we should consider breast milk the ultimate gateway drug.

[Ultimate Lurker]

Heeeeeeey, I got some of them videos. Damn, you were good. Whatcha call a "natural."


I don't know who, but some stand-up comedian was talking about how it's all bullshit logic--people arguing that just because a large percentage of hardcore drug users first did marijuana, that makes marijuana a gateway drug; with that logic, since over 99% of hardcore drug users drank breast milk, then we should consider breast milk the ultimate gateway drug.

Or oxygen.

[CougarTrace]

I've never taken an illegal drug in my life, but I have witnessed first hand where alcohol and weed led to bigger addictions.

So, while of course this doesn't happen all the time, it's enough for me to classify them as a gateway drug.

Just say no and then you don't have to worry about it at all.

[Fake Pat]

I've never taken an illegal drug in my life, but I have witnessed first hand where alcohol and weed led to bigger addictions.

So, while of course this doesn't happen all the time, it's enough for me to classify them as a gateway drug.

Just say no and then you don't have to worry about it at all.

How do you know that those drugs led to further addiction?

[xyzzy]

Sort of. I mean, in the sense that there's a progression. Generally speaking, people don't go from completely clean to shooting up with heroin. There are intermediary narcotics that they try first. This is not to say that if you drink or smoke pot that you are inexorably drawn to heroin and harder stuff, but if you're going to end up in the harder stuff, you're probably going to go through alcohol and pot first.

[schizorabbit]

How do you know that those drugs were the cause of further addiction?

Yeah, some people just have addictive personalities to begin with or have other psychological issues that have nothing to do with the "innate power" of the weed to create need for speed or aceed (sorry, tried to force a rhyme here).

[CougarTrace]

How do you know that those drugs led to further addiction?

maybe because, like I said, I witnessed it. I saw what happened and how it did.

I will say no more because I don't like to talk about it.

Like, I said, not a gateway drug for everyone, but it CAN be. It has that possibility.

[Fake Pat]

maybe because, like I said, I witnessed it. I saw what happened and how it did.

I will say no more because I don't like to talk about it.

Like, I said, not a gateway drug for everyone, but it CAN be. It has that possibility.

You can't know whether or not the same thing would have happened without the weed/booze.

Correlation isn't causation.

[Shwicaz]

Just say no and then you don't have to worry about it at all.



Who is worried? ;-)

I cut back and say I am going to quit every year. Of course I did the same with cigarettes. This year will be my 3 year anniversary quitting cigarettes. Perhaps this will be my year to kick the weed.

We will see.

[CougarTrace]

You can't know whether or not the same thing would have happened without the weed/booze.

Correlation isn't causation.

I forget Pat that you know more than me on almost every subject. Hell, you even know more than me about a person you have never met.

Dude, I'm impressed.

[Marc Lombardi]

I am a pothead. I don't do coke. I don't do meth, heroin, E, or anything else. Give me my joint, and I am happy. I don't even drink that much.


Same w/ my friend Scott. ...When his friend comes over with cocaine, the two of them sit at that table and snort so much it makes me ill just looking at them (I no longer do cocaine).


Wait. Which one is it? Or do you mean that you DID coke but don't do it any more. If you did try coke, what honestly led you to try it? Don't you think that smoking pot at least made you comfortable with the idea of trying it?

[CougarTrace]

Who is worried? ;-)

I cut back and say I am going to quit every year. Of course I did the same with cigarettes. This year will be my 3 year anniversary quitting cigarettes. Perhaps this will be my year to kick the weed.

We will see.

congrats man. I missed that part.

You should be proud.

[Fake Pat]

I forget Pat that you know more than me on almost every subject. Hell, you even know more than me about a person you have never met.

Dude, I'm impressed.

Sorry, but if you're gonna make claims that you have zero proof of, expect to be called on it.

[Shwicaz]

Wait. Which one is it? Or do you mean that you DID coke but don't do it any more. If you did try coke, what honestly led you to try it? Don't you think that smoking pot at least made you comfortable with the idea of trying it?


I did cocaine when I was a waiter. We are talking early 20's (21, 22 years old). I did it for about a year and realized I didn't like it. I was working at a place where everyone did it, so I thought I would try it to.

didn't mind it, but didn't like the feeling afterwards. So, I stopped.

What honestly led me to try it? I wanted to see what the big deal was. And I wanted to belong. Yeah, i know that sounds stupid, and I guess it was.

As far as pot making me feel comfy to try coke...I dont' think so.

I did acid a year before I did weed. and then I did coke 4 years later for a year.

Now its weed and beer.

So, no, i can't honestly say that weed was the 'gateway' to my using coke. especially since I had already done acid.

[CougarTrace]

Sorry, but if you're gonna make claims that you have zero proof of, expect to be called on it.

except I'm not talking about a person who isn't on this forum and their personal life. That isn't right in my book.

[Shwicaz]

congrats man. I missed that part.

You should be proud.



thanks. it took lots of trial and error. peole say you really have to want to quit. It sounds so simple and silly, but it is true.

[Fake Pat]

except I'm not talking about a person who isn't on this forum and their personal life. That isn't right in my book.

I think there's an extra "not" in there.

And you brought it to the discussion. Not me.

[McAfee]

Yeah, some people just have addictive personalities to begin with or have other psychological issues that have nothing to do with the "innate power" of the weed to create need for speed or aceed (sorry, tried to force a rhyme here).

That's it more than anything else. It's more a matter of allowing yourself to do things than being taken over by them. If marijuana is a gateway drug then so was Superman #75 because I wouldn't be on this board today if not for that comic.

[Challenger]

except I'm not talking about a person who isn't on this forum and their personal life. That isn't right in my book.

then perhaps it should not have been brought up?

[ZombieSpeedball]

I am a pothead. I don't do coke. I don't do meth, heroin, E, or anything else. Give me my joint, and I am happy. I don't even drink that much.

This is pretty much the same category I fall into.

[McAfee]

except I'm not talking about a person who isn't on this forum and their personal life. That isn't right in my book.

It's as easy as saying, "I know a person who..." without giving names or biography. For instance, I have a friend who had an orgasm while receiving a lap dance with very little stimulation other than visual. I could go into more detail, but it's not necessary to make the point.

The way you've presented yourself makes your claim sound insincere.

[CougarTrace]

It's as easy as saying, "I know a person who..." without giving names or biography. For instance, I have a friend who had an orgasm while receiving a lap dance with very little stimulation other than visual. I could go into more detail, but it's not necessary to make the point.

The way you've presented yourself makes your claim sound insincere.

or for you to be just distrustful.

[ZombieSpeedball]

I forget Pat that you know more than me on almost every subject. Hell, you even know more than me about a person you have never met.

Dude, I'm impressed.

You're getting too defensive when he raised a good point. Just because A happens, then B happens, that doesn't mean A caused B.

[McAfee]

or for you to be just distrustful.

:mistrust:

You've given no reason to trust what you're saying is true, other than "trust me, I saw it happen."

Hey, Trace, I saw a UFO last night. I won't tell you what it looked like or where I saw it. Just trust me.

[Ultimate Lurker]

:mistrust:

You've given no reason to trust what you're saying is true, other than "trust me, I saw it happen."

Hey, Trace, I saw a UFO last night. I won't tell you what it looked like or where I saw it. Just trust me.



maybe because, like I said, I witnessed it. I saw what happened and how it did.

I will say no more because I don't like to talk about it.

Chill out. He doesn't like to talk about it.

[Ultimate Lurker]

You're getting too defensive when he raised a good point. Just because A happens, then B happens, that doesn't mean A caused B.

Doesn't mean it didn't cause it either.

[ZombieSpeedball]

:mistrust:

You've given no reason to trust what you're saying is true, other than "trust me, I saw it happen."

Hey, Trace, I saw a UFO last night. I won't tell you what it looked like or where I saw it. Just trust me.

In fairness, while he should give more to support his case, he shouldn't necessarily have to reveal a bunch of personal shit about people he may or may not know. So he should focus more on other example and information he has.

[ZombieSpeedball]

Doesn't mean it didn't cause it either.

Meaning you can't really make a claim of one or the other.

[xyzzy]

Chill out. He doesn't like to talk about it.

While I do think people are being a little tough on him, you really shouldn't bring something up on a message board if you don't want to talk about it.

[schizorabbit]

I just got a flashback.

Hey, Cougar, remember this? This was the first time I believe the two of us interacted. Another thread (about the legalization of pot). Good times... ;)

*insert flashback harpsichord music*


I know, right?

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk200/schizorabbit/CheechChong.jpg
Cheech: Hey, man, fuck that CougarTrace!!!
Chong: Yeah, man. Like he doesn't have anything to do, so he's gotta rain on our parade, man. That's just whacked, man.
Cheech: Yeah, how many dudes did that bastard get arrested?
Chong: Oh, man. Lemme see. Sanchez...Hector...Barbara...
Cheech: Barbara? He got her arrested!!???!!!! Fucker!!!! Barbara gave the best blowjobs!!!!
Chong: Yeah, man.
Cheech: Shit, we gotta go teach that CougarTrace a lesson...HEY!!! I got an idea. Let's drive to his house, and then duct tape all the windows and doors. Then we stick a tube under one of the doors, and smoke a pound at once and blow the smoke into it, fillin' his whole house with smoke.
Chong giggles.
Cheech: Seriously, Holmes. We'll turn his house into one bigass bong.
Chong: That's great, man. Make it so, Number One.
Cheech: Numero Uno, you mean.
Chong: Make it so, Numero Uno.

[Ultimate Lurker]

Meaning you can't really make a claim of one or the other.

Or means one claim may not be true for another. Just because one person has an addictive personality, doesn't mean another person tried coke cause their pot dealer had some and suggested trying it.

[t00lverine]

Addictive personalities and social awkwardness are the gateways, not the drugs themselves.

[ZombieSpeedball]

Or means one claim may not be true for another. Just because one person has an addictive personality, doesn't mean another person tried coke cause their pot dealer had some and suggested trying it.

If you want to get technical about it, anything can be a gateway for anything else. You could go to church, where you meet a guy who sells a little bit of crack every now and then. So going to church lead to becoming a crackhead. Different people have different results, and one thing shouldn't be banned because there are stupid people in the world. It's why we still have alcohol, guns, and pornography.

[Boris the Blade]

Yeah, pot is okay, but once you get bored of it, you should probably move onto something better. Like crack. If anything all the pot I smoked was just in preparation for crack.

[McAfee]

While I do think people are being a little tough on him, you really shouldn't bring something up on a message board if you don't want to talk about it.

That's sorta what I'm getting at. While this may be a close knit community, it's still relatively anonymous.

We're having what I perceive to be a mature conversation on a somewhat controversial topic. So if you come in with a claim you should expect to be called upon to back it up. Put up or shut up.

[ZombieSpeedball]

Yeah, pot is okay, but once you get bored of it, you should probably move onto something better. Like crack. If anything all the pot I smoked was just in preparation for crack.

Nobody listen to this one! He doesn't speak for us!

[McAfee]

Nobody listen to this one! He doesn't speak for us!

Whatever, crackhead!

[ZombieSpeedball]

Whatever, pothead!

POThead, he said POT!

[McAfee]

METHhead, he said METH!

You're unbelievable!

[Boris the Blade]

Nobody listen to this one! He doesn't speak for us!
You're right, most people move on to black tar heroin, but I did not take it as far.

The anti-marijuana campaign is pretty effective, I guess, if most people can see it as more dangerous than alcohol. It has it's risks, but so does everything. The "gateway drug" bullshit is still pervasive, but it's not a true correlation. Pot is easy to get, relatively harmless, and not very expensive. If you're someone who wants to experiment with drugs, pot's there. Maybe you would also have tried other stuff, but that's all harder to get, and a bit scary in some cases. It's not as though someone puts a joint in your hand and it opens a section of your brain that makes you want coke as well.

[ZombieSpeedball]

You're sexy!

How DARE you?

[McAfee]

How DARE you?

Oh, I will dare...yes, I will...

[Gunter]

I'm in the camp that it's the person's psychological and physical makeup that determine the gateways, not the actual drugs themselves.

I witnessed it first hand with my ex wife. She was addicted to food. Instead of treating the addiction she had gastric bypass surgery. So then she just moved her addiction to other things such as painkillers, then alcohol.

I've also seen most of my relatives battle addictions, whether it was food, alcohol, drugs, gambling, or even relationships.

I recognize in myself the tendency to have an addictive personality, and I feel that's in a large part due to my OCD.

[Dreaded Anomaly]

There is a different mentality in Europe then the States in regards to alcohol. One thing I liked about my uncle and father's generation was they drank, they enjoyed it, but they weren't retarded about it. I'm not sure if that is true of today's youth in Europe, but over here people are doing beer bongs, binge drinking, the goal is to get drunk and stupid. I always felt the goal in Europe, particularly Germany was to enjoy good beer, good friends, and have a good time, but they didn't chug, chug, chug like they do in the States (not saying they can't drink a whole lot, just saying the perception, feeling, and reason behind it was different). Over here kids act like they are rebelling, when they aren't, they act like they are doing something out there, they aren't, and I so tired of they, "dude, I got totally wasted last night," as if that was a difficult goal to achieve.

That mentality is a direct response to all of the pseudomoral outrage about "underage drinking" in America, including the absurdly high drinking age. People have made it into a rebellious act over the past few decades.


Or means one claim may not be true for another. Just because one person has an addictive personality, doesn't mean another person tried coke cause their pot dealer had some and suggested trying it.

...so then it's the person's problem, not the drug's.


If you want to get technical about it, anything can be a gateway for anything else. You could go to church, where you meet a guy who sells a little bit of crack every now and then. So going to church lead to becoming a crackhead. Different people have different results, and one thing shouldn't be banned because there are stupid people in the world. It's why we still have alcohol, guns, and pornography.

QFT.

[Ultimate Lurker]

If you want to get technical about it, anything can be a gateway for anything else. You could go to church, where you meet a guy who sells a little bit of crack every now and then. So going to church lead to becoming a crackhead. Different people have different results, and one thing shouldn't be banned because there are stupid people in the world. It's why we still have alcohol, guns, and pornography.

Doesn't make it any less of a gateway. If thousands of people were meeting crack dealers at church, we'd be talking about 'Gateway Churches' instead.

[The Craig]

I doubt that chemically there's a "gateway" effect with most drugs, but it seems to me that taking drugs leads to being comfortable with "drug culture" (purely my name for it, because I couldn't think of anything else) which in turn might increase the likelihood of being exposed to harder drugs.

For example, I have several friends who use recreational drugs quite a lot and as they've got older, earned more money and got used to what they were enjoying they've never hestitated to try the next drug up, so to speak.

On the other hand, I think weed is a shitty example to use by people who want to crack down on drug usage and just demonstrates their ignorance as I know plenty of people - including now on this board :) - that only smoke pot.

[19bernardo87]

Addictive personalities and social awkwardness are the gateways, not the drugs themselves.

Yes.

"Gateway Friends" are in my opinion the #1 problem. If people don't have enough self-confidence to say no and stand up for themselves, any asshole can convince them to pretty much try anything.

[19bernardo87]

There is a different mentality in Europe then the States in regards to alcohol. One thing I liked about my uncle and father's generation was they drank, they enjoyed it, but they weren't retarded about it. I'm not sure if that is true of today's youth in Europe, but over here people are doing beer bongs, binge drinking, the goal is to get drunk and stupid. I always felt the goal in Europe, particularly Germany was to enjoy good beer, good friends, and have a good time, but they didn't chug, chug, chug like they do in the States (not saying they can't drink a whole lot, just saying the perception, feeling, and reason behind it was different). Over here kids act like they are rebelling, when they aren't, they act like they are doing something out there, they aren't, and I so tired of they, "dude, I got totally wasted last night," as if that was a difficult goal to achieve.

:duel:

Touche. :thumb:

[Kurt Russell Crowe]

boredom is the biggest gateway.

[artimoff]

I certainly hope that everyone who thinks that looking at cartoons of girls having sex is a gateway to pedophelia thinks pot is a gateway to harder drugs.

[Shwicaz]

Yes.

"Gateway Friends" are in my opinion the #1 problem. If people don't have enough self-confidence to say no and stand up for themselves, any asshole can convince them to pretty much try anything.
BING!

that's it.

It amazed me today, how many of my friends say to me "you aren't quitting" or "I'll pick you up a bag this week as usual.", when i tell them I am quitting on New Years. (granted I have said this before, but I am ready.)

It will be interesting to see how many friends stick around after my 'cleansing'.

[ZombieSpeedball]

Doesn't make it any less of a gateway. If thousands of people were meeting crack dealers at church, we'd be talking about 'Gateway Churches' instead.

Which is why this is bullshit. Rather than trying to figure out what connection this shit has to other things, maybe we should be focused on dealing with the actual addiction, rather than what may or may not be what lead that person to the addiction in the first place. People shouldn't be punished because other people take the shit too far.

[DAVE]

This made me think of this thread : http://www.606studios.com/bendisboard/showthread.php?t=158713

[McAfee]

BING!

that's it.

It amazed me today, how many of my friends say to me "you aren't quitting" or "I'll pick you up a bag this week as usual.", when i tell them I am quitting on New Years. (granted I have said this before, but I am ready.)

It will be interesting to see how many friends stick around after my 'cleansing'.

Obligatory response: if this makes them "leave" they weren't really your friends were they?

http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/nbc_the_more_you_know.jpg

[maverick-99]

I blame "scene chicks"

[Shwicaz]

Obligatory response: if this makes them "leave" they weren't really your friends were they?

http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/nbc_the_more_you_know.jpg


it works both ways. I may look at my friends and say 'my god, was I like this the whole time....?"


time will tell.....

[McAfee]

it works both ways. I may look at my friends and say 'my god, was I like this the whole time....?"


time will tell.....

That's actually very likely. Sort of like how if you're not drinking all your friends who are are more annoying than anything, but if you're slamming them down shoulder to shoulder it's all good.

[WillieLee]

Smells like patchouli in here.

[Thomas Mauer]

There is a different mentality in Europe then the States in regards to alcohol. One thing I liked about my uncle and father's generation was they drank, they enjoyed it, but they weren't retarded about it. I'm not sure if that is true of today's youth in Europe, but over here people are doing beer bongs, binge drinking, the goal is to get drunk and stupid. I always felt the goal in Europe, particularly Germany was to enjoy good beer, good friends, and have a good time, but they didn't chug, chug, chug like they do in the States (not saying they can't drink a whole lot, just saying the perception, feeling, and reason behind it was different). Over here kids act like they are rebelling, when they aren't, they act like they are doing something out there, they aren't, and I so tired of they, "dude, I got totally wasted last night," as if that was a difficult goal to achieve.
The youth of today - at least in Germany - is full-on retarded about drinking. They have coma-drinking parties. :no: Of course not all of de yout's are drinking juvenile delinquents. Far from it. But it used to be less pronounced.

What's weird is, if you look at drinking habits in the UK for example, the cut-off point at or around Midnight since WWI has led to a drinking culture where one beer gets downed after another as quickly as possible. But lower legal age clearly helps take the edge off the forbidden fruit.

[19bernardo87]

I was having the same discussion today with friends.

Basically, my view has always been that pot is more harmless than alcohol, which is more harmless than tobacco. We didn't know this before, thus there legality and pervasiveness (especially cigarette's) was first due to our ignorance. The reason these two are still legal, in cynical terms, is analogous to why The Dark Knight was a PG-13 movie. It's mostly economics and politics.

Now, people often bring up the fact that we see pot smokers "moving up" to more dangerous drugs, and the same is not true for alcoholics and smokers. The reason that's true (which I have no numbers to back up, but I think it's a fairly decent hypothesis) is our fault.
We have deemed pot to be illegal, and not the other two. Thus, while going from alcohol to "stronger drugs" is much smaller jump in terms of health than going from pot, it would still be a huge jump in the eye of the law.
Moreover, by grouping pot with other drugs we have further advanced the misconception that pot is a dangerous drug. Ask most people which is the most dangerous out of the three (pot, smoke, and alcohol), and most will say MJ.

Therefore, I think by legalizing MJ, we could also harm the sales of our drugs. Pot smokers, ignorant ones, would step back and say "wow, that other stuff is THAT much worse?"

[SMACK!]

I think that hot dogs are a gateway meat to cannibalism. Start kids on wieners and then they're eating hamburgers then they move on to steak and eventually they'll be raving cannibals. We need to enact firm measures to keep the kids of today becoming cannibals. If we don't the next person that might be eaten might be you.

Once a kid gets a taste for meat...

As anecdotal proof, the first meat Jeffery Dahmer ate was an oscar myer wiener.