Marijuana a Gateway Drug?

[VWFringe]

Marijuana isn't a gateway drug, I believe it's the people we're exposed to and the conversations we have, and the implied lifestyles we witness and want to model for ourselves.

and some candy should be expected to be too sweet.

So, I believe it's the people, not the plant, Cannabis. Example, (and 'nuff said): "Try talking drugs to a clerk at Liquor Barn."

Funny Example #2: "it was, you know, that chick's coked-up Mom and her biker boyfriend, the guy who taught me what a "spoon" is, as he sold me a quarter of one, that was more of a gateway than the doobie I smoked with them...again, I think that makes the point really well, hahaha, I wanted a piece of THAT lifestyle. (Odd, it got lonelier and lonelier after that, should have stuck with weed, met nice people when i stuck to weed!)

Most adults in California who blaze show a GREAT DISDAIN for even mention of any other drug.

There's a small percentage of us who just have a pre-disposition, and the right kind of education I believe can mitigate that. And that's where the money should be spent. Not on Private Prisons full of black men (man, the survivor's guilt I carry about that!)
We need to repeal legislation around drug law (but how?), and shift to a more "health issue" oriented stance as a society.
Take the money away from gangs, even if it means legalizing everything 100%
take it back to scratch, move immediately to getting people rehabilitated and integrated into society, not in prisons.

do we want to keep legislating to the lowest common denominator or just treat those who can't control it?

I think the US should become the worlds largest buyer of coca, directly from the south american farmers, and cut the middle-men out. sure we'd have a rise in kidnappings, but it would take the money out of our kid's hands so they could concentrate on what it takes to make it, through school or other learning. dots we dont connect when we're involved with the illegal.

So part of the problem is that people jump to criminal instead of, "health issue," I think for the same reason we go to the gun. Part of being American, I hope we can change to being more compassionate, and thinking, if that was a family member i'd want them to get treatment before prison (and we should really be made to understand how much we spend on each person in jail, and how it's effecting the other criminal cases, as opposed to keeping them part of the tax base).

Fast forward to today...hell no pot's not a gateway drug, and it isn't a soft drug...it's just the first or second means of alleviating Reward Deficiency Syndrome used by People with ADD/ADHD...but since my experience with Adderall, and my (ongoing) development of the dopamine pathways most natural to our species (relationships and human interaction), I've found it isn't the right medication for me. Society is brain-washed into thinking "gateway" drugs, hell, even pschologists are brain-washed into thinking, "so, your interest in softer drugs wanes as you use harder drugs?"...both are ignorant views. When one gains enough experience with the Human Reward System, one simply loses interest in using the wrong medications which get in the way of enjoying the chemicals in our own brains. I've lost interest in vaping, packed it up in a box in the garage, and have very little interest in saving my adderall for the once a month over-nighter I used to do. I've relieved my Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS) through gaining experience, and developing, the most natural pathways to dopamine for our species...the orchestration of meanings around relationships and human interaction. My job now is to strengthen the perceived (possitive) emotional bonds and dredge up and destroy the "secondary" pathways I'd created over the years. But, dopamine is such a powerful drug, and it's free, and we can all access it on demand...why use another medication that just gets in the way? Why use something that just makes it seem okay to not have enough dopamine (when IT is the "real deal"?

I've come so far in three short years - and it just took getting away from the television narratives that kept me from connecting the dots correctly. I was brain-washed by our culture (or, by the rich influences on our culture). I think it's so funny, in a way, that so many ex-drug users fail to make these connections. The only reason they don't presribe meth to kids in school is because the patent ran out...meaning it has the same effect as Adderall, which is to increase dopamine, thus lowering the threshold to accessing the Reward System.

 

[ThE sAtIvA hIgH]

nicotine should of been on the list , most people i grew up with were smoking cigarettes before anything else

 

[see4]

Marijuana is a gateway to my refrigerator.

 

[silasraven]

dude RIU needs a thread clean up. 2008 is ancient . not to mention it could be a security hazard for some threads

 

[lilroach]

Just watched a old re-run of "Dragnet" and it was an episode where the two cops were talking to a hippie about how pot was a gateway drug to LSD where people would tare out their eyes and "never come down". I had forgotten all that bullshit warnings they gave us. I can honestly say that after 1,000 of trips, I still have my eyes and have come down every time.

 

[Autistic Austin]

My first drug was alcohol, thanks America!

 

[cannawizard]

this thread sounds like a blame game cliche' ..shit, some people would say glazed donuts can be a "gateway drug"~

 

[ShazMo09]

Man, my brother got mates who are 15-16 smoking meth but they never smoked pot in their life...In todays day and age its all up for grabs, whenever you want it! Its sort of a shame I have to raise my son in this shitty world...

 

[MojoRison]

We are a drug fueled society.

The choice is yours and yours alone, be it pot, caffeine or alcohol, it's what drives us to try those substances that is the gateway.

Peer pressure, shitty home life or you simply want to try it and saying this or that is the route of all drug addiction to me is a very shallow way of looking at this issue.

 

[Autistic Austin]

Why the fuck did I make a thread lol, didn't look at the OP last night...

 

[rowlman]

Why the fuck did I make a thread lol, didn't look at the OP last night...

Serious question. Are people naming their autistic kids Austin on purpose, or is just a crazy coincidence?

 

[Dislexicmidget2021]

Austin is also a city In Texas,,,could be a coincidence there as well IMO.

 

[silasraven]

Serious question. Are people naming their autistic kids Austin on purpose, or is just a crazy coincidence?

asbergers dude, a "disease?" for people who dont quite fit in or arnt social. the true gate way drug for the topic at hand was acid, hippys started with that then went to pot. but the only way its a gateway is to a better life and to produce better thoughts and ideas for the betterment of your life. put into action it can and will inflict beneficial results.

 

[smokinafatty]

yea it's a gateway drug to the munchies and relaxation.

 

[iiKode]

Its only a gateway drug because its illegal, if it were never illegal i doubt people would be introduced into crack, as most people will be dealing with drug dealers who sell a variety of drugs and may even be tempted to try other stuff because weed is associated with other drugs, because its illegal.

 

[Julius Caesar]

Nicotine should have been an option - I bet it would have received 95%+

 

[hempyninja309]

ganja an herb mon

 

[mytwhyt]

I always thought it was a Gateway drug, until they busted a bunch of people at Dell and Apple..

 

[racerboy71]

As a recovering addict, I can and do smoke cannabis on the regular, and it doesn't make me rush across the bridge jonsing for some coke or crack..
Get me a nice buzz on from say a half dozen drinks or so, the results surely aren't the same... I don't drink much now as I know in very short time my ass will be in the hood looking for some blow or rock..

So, to sum it up, weed is good, alcohol is bad, and way more of a gateway drug than weed is hands down..

 

[jtprin]

Starting smoking weed is probably one of the smartest decisions I've ever made in my life. Not because I like being stoned or being messed up, but because it's helped reveal a lot of things to me. I figured out my passion, became more open-minded, tolerate less bullshit, and it's probably healed me in ways I may never know about. It might be a gateway drug to psychedelics (shrooms, LSD, DMT, ayahuasca) because it expands your consciousness, but not shit like cocaine or heroin. And it's definitely a lot safer than any prescription medication. I think when people realize they've been lied to all along about marijuana, they start to question other things and then soon find out that they were also lied to about psychedelics. How can exploring your own consciousness be considered a crime?