Rising Hegemon
Whether teenagers who smoked pot will use other illicit drugs as young adults has more to do with life factors such as employment status and stress, according to the new research. In fact, the strongest predictor of whether someone will use other illicit drugs is their race/ethnicity, not whether they ever used marijuana.
The "gateway drug" theory was always laughable for any of us that have grown up with common illicit and casual use of pot. The whole reason it's used by so many American (and other western) kids is that it is just one step up from Cigarettes, a small upward dose of rebellion and commonality -- but not too much rebellion.
It certainly doesn't make you want to take heroin, cocaine or meth. I'd bet alcohol abuse leads to a hell of a lot more of that than pot.
Of course, for me personally, the feeling of inhaling any kind of smoke is off-putting so it's a vice I never had much trouble with.
fez tip Watertiger.
8 comments:
Tobacco is the gateway drug. Heard that years ago; on radio, someone from NIH.
Got me to thinking about people I knew that used marijuana or cocaine. Could not think of even one that was not also a smoker. Not one.
Anecdotal, I know, but....
In my personal experience, alcohol and pot were both gateway drugs. So were ice cream, sex and gambling. But I'm the addictive type, so more of anything is always better. IMHO, external circumstances have little or no influence on one's drug abuse patterns. Some of us are just wired to take alot of junk until one day we don't want it anymore or it kills us. 'twas ever thus.
In my personal experience, alcohol and pot were both gateway drugs. So were ice cream, sex and gambling.
And watching TV, celebrating Christmas, reading the Bible!
Don't watching TV, celebrating Christmas, reading the Bible!
er...umm... "don't FORGET" that should say... but I forgot the word "forget"...
Probably caused by short term memory loss associated with too much watching TV, celebrating Christmas, and reading the Bible...
'they lied about pot, they must be lying about the other stuff.'
i find it is impossible for me to inhale.
pansypoo
Well there are drugs and drugs. I came of drug age in the 70s and many of my peers smoked pot before ever smoking tobacco, in fact there was somewhat of a fault line between the cigarette and Jack D folk and the pot and cheap wine crowd. And anyone who doesn't think pot was the gateway to hash and LSD missed the sixties altogether. On the other hand a lot of stoners stayed well away from reds/downers and whites/uppers and saw all too many of our idols check out under the Big H (Jimi, Janice, Jim). The relation between pot enforcement and the crack/powder explosion in the late seventies is more complicated, coke not so much being on the other side of the gateway as the only game in town during times of pot shortages.
According to Hedley Bowes the really dangerous stuff is actually the Janjaweed.
Don't smoke the brownies, just eat them.
Enjoy.
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