01-12-2009, 07:21 PM
Let's get real. The whole concept that marijuana in and of itself leads to harder drugs is bull. But it does lead kids to harder drugs because, in a nutshell, marijuana is illegal and people have to buy it from the same dealers who sell the other stuff as well. The "gateway" is not the weed, it's who they have to buy it from. Then there's peer pressure that is fueled by an uncontrolled environment. People are individuals and react differently to similar situations. I know some who have been smoking pot for 30 years or more and do nothing else even though they associate with hard drug users, and I know alcoholics who never "graduated" beyond that substance. Same for the nicotine addicts who, by the way, happen to be hooked on what is arguably one of the most addictive substances there is.
If there were no drugs other than alcohol, there would be more abusers of booze than there are today because there would be no other drug of choice and society would suffer more than now because for many, alcohol generates violence and aggression, and it causes people to do things that a pot smoker won't do. Marijuana is not a weapon of mass destruction but alcohol, when abused by some, most certainly is.
If there were no drugs other than alcohol, there would be more abusers of booze than there are today because there would be no other drug of choice and society would suffer more than now because for many, alcohol generates violence and aggression, and it causes people to do things that a pot smoker won't do. Marijuana is not a weapon of mass destruction but alcohol, when abused by some, most certainly is.