Marijuana no longer the 'Gateway' Drug?

[TakodaVega]

So there is a show on Current {Which if you don't have it you can watch it here}, called...wait for it, VANGUARD, which is about a group of unbiased journalists going around the world about various topics. This one struck a little close to home which mainly was because it was based in the States {Boston, MA and South Florida to be exact} where they are having a drug epidemic mostly in the form of pills and heroin.

Turns out that pain killers, such as Percocet and Oxycotin, have started to take over the 'gateway drug' coin that Mary J has been holding for so long. Granted I don't see how marijuana could really be a 'gateway drug' with it's lack of addictive properties. Percocet and Oxycotin, however, are often prescribed as pain killers to those who suffer, for example, broken bone. They both, however, are narcotics and also are based opiates, which fuels the jump to the 'harder' drugs in my opinion.

How?

Pills now are being crushed and snorted - much like you would snort cocaine for the 'quicker high', but there is also another potential difference. They're readily available depending on where you go. In South Florida there are these places called "Pain Clinics". Pain Clinics you could say in parts of florida are like...free drugs. Some form a ring to get thousands. That's right thousands of pills further up north. A single Perc or Oxy can go to $80 a pill. Eventually such funds are beyond those means and they turn the cheaper, more potent, more addictive Heroin.

Which leads me to ponder - is it really so bad that an herb, which has helped more than hindered with no addictive properties, which is illegal and can land you in a felony charge. Yet something that a Doctor can prescribe or be easily obtained and is quite legal...but lands you into something that could very well kill you.

So is Marijuana really the gateway drug? I don't think so anymore... what do you think?

[BlisteredBlood]

You know, Denis Leary actually pointed this out in one of his bits that marijuana leads to other drugs, but he came back - albeit in a smarmy way - that it leads to carpentry. Because for years and years, pot was just a joint rolled up, passed around a few folks then after you catch a buzz, you then go eat a couple bags of Doritos and then you go pass out.

But the problem is people wanted it bigger and better and stronger and faster. Bongs came out and they were alright after a while, but then it wasn't good enough for them. They then began to build bigger bongs and bigger bongs still until they were about the size of Jay Leno's tank car, which is pretty friggin' stupid to say the least. Why can't they keep it simple anymore, I'll never know.

But if you want my theory on this, I say marijuana is still the gateway drug, mainly because of the fact that its composition - which is THC - render it as a mild form of acid.

[TakodaVega]

I haven't heard people really do Acid since the Hippie Era {Granted the fact that the era seems to be returning is something to think about} but that being said - I don't hear about Acid as much as I do Cocaine, Heroine, Meth, and so on. These 'harder' drugs are more seen in films than Acid is and therefore more likely used. If you think about it...

[H a r r i e t]

Pot isn't a gateway drug.  And it never was.  Just because people wanted more creative ways to smoke it doesn't mean jack shit.  And it all depends on preference, anyway.  Some people can't get high off passing a joint around, but passing a bong around does them perfectly fine.  Other people can't handle a bong, and stick to the original way of consuming marijuana; a joint.

Marijuana doesn't make anyone feel the need to get into harder drugs, though.  Because of the fact that it doesn't make you addicted (or if it does, it's all in the user's head), it's a really free-based substance.  I think that the people that go from smoking weed to snorting cocaine are people who're looking for more thrills in their life, which isn't the weed's fault.  It's just the person themselves.

I've smoked pot.  I do smoke pot.  It hasn't made me want to go into anything heavier than shrooms.  And shrooms, like pot, doesn't have any manmade chemicals in it.  So it's not like I went from smoking a bong to munching on magic mushrooms that were gonna fuck me up completely, get me addicted to something I couldn't afford as much as my addiction needs, etc.

Personally, I think people that take pain killers as a way to get high are just plain dumb.  If they wanted a not-give-a-damn drug, they should probably just pick up a gram of weed and see where it takes them.  It also relieves pain, so, you know.  On the off chance that they actually are hurting...  Bazinga.

[mad hatters revenge]

I don't believe Marijuana is a gateway drug at all. I don't have any friends, at all, who have started or tried any hard drugs that smoke it. If anything Marijuana is safer than any of the pills they can hand out.

For example, I will not lie, I may partake in Mary Jane on a regular basis. However, when I don't have? I don't crave it. I'm not two completely different people on and off it, and I'm certainly not itching for something stronger, faster, better.

Currently I'm in pain, my wisdom teeth have to come out. The dentist prescribed me codeine tylenol, according to the bottle, it suggests I take 1-2 every 4 HOURS.

1. ONE PILL. Knocks me out. I still sleep through the night on one, and that's all I feel safe doing.

During the day? When my teeth start to hurt? I don't want to take a pill that I'll have to start taking more of and more often in order for it to work. So during the day, I smoke, and it helps me feel better and get my mind of the pain and back on school work. I don't believe it's a gateway drug, I think it's just the only hardcore drug that can easily be attacked right now because less and less people are being quiet about it, it's not a big deal to have it anymore. I think people are just uptight and believe making it legal all over the country will lead to bigger problems, when in reality it would probably lead to less. No one would have to lie/pay off doctors for prescriptions or worry about getting in trouble for taking something that makes them feel better, without all the side effects many pills can cause.

In my mind right now Marijuana and Alcohol are the same level of drug, it's perfectly fine for people to get wasted and drink themselves silly, cause accidents by drinking, have massive mood swings while drinking, ect. Yet it's perfectly legal. If doctors can give this to patients to deal with pain and eating problems, I don't see why it's an issue for others to do it as well. It's great for headaches, eating problems, pains of most kinds, and for stress. I think right now, the big issue with Marijuana? It will replace so many pills that companies are afraid they'll loose money where it's made legal.