Alcohol, the REAL gateway drug

[Ultima200]

WEll since programs like DARE and all those new internet websites telling the truth about drugs are saying how marijuana is the gateway drug that leads to harder things, i had to make a thread about that crap.

First, anyone who doesnt know, marijuana has NEVER been proven to be a gateway drug, just false facts and scare tactics were used. Second, the REAL gateway drug is alcohol. Yes, you heard me, the legal drink that millions of americans drink daily. Our society has made alcohol so socially accepted not only with adults, but kids as well! If you ask any middle school age kid which is worse for your body, alcohol or marijuana, I GARUNTEE you they will tell you alcohol is. Why? Because they are taught that way. Now dont get me wrong, marijuana isnt without it's flaws, but next time some bitch is preaching how marijuana led her to heroin, ask her is she was drinking before she ever smoked pot....

 

[Tauren]

You're right. Every time I use my fiancee's Gateway, I have to be drunk first.

 

[phatcow]

and for the millions that didnt start smoking pot...

 

[hungrypete]

<< and for the millions that didnt start smoking pot... >>



they hang out with the millions of potheads who arent heroin fiends.

 

[luv2chill]

<< they hang out with the millions of potheads who arent heroin fiends. >>

touche!!!

l2c

 

[gopunk]

[edited]WEll since programs like DARE and all those new internet websites telling the truth about drugs are saying how marijuana is the gateway drug that leads to harder things, i had to make a thread about that crap.

are you qualified to make this judgement?

Second, the REAL gateway drug is alcohol. Yes, you heard me, the legal drink that millions of americans drink daily.

we all know legal drugs are just as harmful, nothing new.

i'm just wary of &quot;the man is using scare tactics&quot; type views because i find they usually come from drug users (and/or people with a bunch of druggie friends), whom i feel would be a little biased.

 

[Viper GTS]

i'm not seeing your point... it looks like kids agree with you?

I think that's a typo.

Viper GTS

 

[gopunk]

I think that's a typo.

smart cookie, it would appear so.

 

[KrispyKremer]

MJ has to be demonized as a gateway drug, as if this argument is proven to be false, the reasons for it's continued illegality fall apart.

Tobacco and alcohol are far more damaging health-wise.

edit: Of course, the above 2 are taxed.
By the very notion of it's illegality, the price skyrockets. The War on Drugs is an excuse to raise taxes to pay for it. This is my opinion here, but those same people fighting this war are also providing it! They're making money either way! And by putting all those &quot;criminals&quot; in jail, we now have a means of a cheap labor force.

 

[gopunk]

<< MJ has to be demonized as a gateway drug, as if this argument is proven to be false, the reasons for it's continued illegality fall apart.

Tobacco and alcohol are far more damaging health-wise. >>


health-related issues are not the only factors in legalization of drugs. economics would be the largest factor imho.

 

[hungrypete]

<< i'm just wary of &quot;the man is using scare tactics&quot; type views because i find they usually come from drug users (and/or people with a bunch of druggie friends), whom i feel would be a little biased. >>



You make them sound like a cult. It's no cult. It's your mom, it's your sister, your daughter, Bob in accounting, Frank the janitor, Bill the CEO. Drug use is in all walks of life. Marijuana has been a confused issue for a long time now. The bottom line is that is so easy to compare to legal drugs like alcohol and tobacco yet it is illegal and in certain cases can get you a long vacation in prison. This is not logical. Most people are just trying to make the point- If alcohol is legal, marijuana should be too. You like to drink, alcohol is legal, and it can kill you if you abuse it. I like to smoke, pot is illegal, and it can kill you if you abuse it. The differences are in the marketing, I assure you.

Another Thread

 

[gopunk]

You make them sound like a cult. It's no cult. It's your mom, it's your sister, your daughter, Bob in accounting, Frank the janitor, Bill the CEO. Drug use is in all walks of life. Marijuana has been a confused issue for a long time now. The bottom line is that is so easy to compare to legal drugs like alcohol and tobacco yet it is illegal and in certain cases can get you a long vacation in prison. This is not logical. Most people are just trying to make the point- If alcohol is legal, marijuana should be too. You like to drink, alcohol is legal, and it can kill you if you abuse it. I like to smoke, pot is illegal, and it can kill you if you abuse it. The differences are in the marketing, I assure you.

yea yea yea, i've heard drug users talk about how everybody does it, whatever. you know who i'm talking about, there is a certain type of drug user that likes to make themselves feel better by justifying it to everybody else. maybe not the janitor, but they do exist. i'm not saying all these things shouldn't be legalized, i'm just saying that you have to look at where all this information is coming from. i could care less about drugs personally, don't care if they're legalized, whatever. you're preaching to the choir, just because i challenge the objectivity of some assertions doesn't mean i'm anti-drug or something.

 

[Urinal Mint]

Fine, legalize pot and tax the ever-living hell out of it, I don't care. People are going to be doped up on it either way... might as well make some money off of it.

 

[hungrypete]

<< yea yea yea, i've heard drug users talk about how everybody does it, whatever. you know who i'm talking about, there is a certain type of drug user that likes to make themselves feel better by justifying it to everybody else. maybe not the janitor, but they do exist. i'm not saying all these things shouldn't be legalized, i'm just saying that you have to look at where all this information is coming from. i could care less about drugs personally, don't care if they're legalized, whatever. you're preaching to the choir, just because i challenge the objectivity of some assertions doesn't mean i'm anti-drug or something. >>



I like to preach to the choir. They're the only ones who listen....

 

[Maverick]

<< health-related issues are not the only factors in legalization of drugs. economics would be the largest factor imho. >>



I agree 100% with this statement. Economics is the whole reason why marijuana was made illegal. Unlike all other drugs, there have not been documented cases where a death could be attributed to the use of marijuana. The only thing that could remotely come close would be lung cancer (which can also come from tobacco use).

Back to economics...in the early 1900s there were three cash crops. Tobacco, Cotton, and Cannibis. Tobacco was for smoking and cotton was for making cloth. Cannibis could be cultivated into Marijuana for smoking and Hemp for making cloth. It was newer than the other two cash crops. Hemp was gaining popularity among farmers because the same crop could be used for two different markets. So the Tobacco and Cotton industries lobbied the US government under the pretense that Marijuana had serious side effects and could damage health. The government conceded and made Hemp illegal. From an economics standpoint, the government could make more money on export tariffs by exporting two different cash crops than by exporting one single cash crop.

Eventually a black market was formed run by organized crime syndicates. This was similar to what happened during prohibition, but at a smaller scale. It didn't have as many adverse effects on society the way prohibition did so MJ was never legalized again.

 

[StageLeft]

I feel I should agree. My first &quot;drug&quot; was alcohol. It was for all my friends. First time I ever tried pot I was drunk at the time However pot never was a gateway for me. I tried shrooms once - but never in my life did I ever think I'd try anything harder than weed or mushrooms or booze, and I have never felt so inclined. I don't personally like weed much so my only drug now is caffeine or booze, but other than the illegality of weed it never felt any worse to me than booze and never made me feel like I should move on to bigger and better things.

 

[sandorski]

Nah, none of those are the &quot;Gateway&quot; drug, Amusement parks are! Sure, some children figure out how to alter their own consciousness by spinning in circles, but most children's first mind altering experience comes from the Merry-Go-Round. This quickly escalates to the Tea Cup then the hardcore children gravitate to the Roller Coaster!

Ban Amusement Parks NOW!!!

 

Gateway drugs are BS!

It takes a gateway MIND to get yourself into addiction.
Ill argue that to the end, I have lived it. I have seen friends go down because of drugs and such.
Its ALL the PERSON.

 

[hungrypete]

<< Nah, none of those are the &quot;Gateway&quot; drug, Amusement parks are! Sure, some children figure out how to alter their own consciousness by spinning in circles, but most children's first mind altering experience comes from the Merry-Go-Round. This quickly escalates to the Tea Cup then the hardcore children gravitate to the Roller Coaster!

Ban Amusement Parks NOW!!! >>



Actually, that type of thinking would lead to the decision that OXYGEN is the gateway drug. I mean how many drug users that you know started out using oxygen? Almost all of them! Spooky....

 

[KrispyKremer]

When you think about it, it's kinda scary that laws would be passed to outlaw that which grows out of the ground naturally. It's not like someone is taking it to a lab and converting it into a pill or something... oh wait, they've actually done that, and it's not nearly as effective as the real thing.

If you go back to the first drug laws, they were passed as a prejudice against the Chinese who were known to populate opium dens. Then in the 20s and 30s, marijuana was deemed the killer weed and the propaganda stated it was mainly used by colored and hispanic populations.

The news presented as fact back then was such a farce how can one believe half of what is being stated in the media today? There are so many mixed signals... for example, on the news they'll talk about the evils of drugs, the war on drugs, another bust worth an estimated millions, then they cut to a commercial and what do you see... an advertisement for pills or some such drug in pill or liquid form. Oh, these drugs are ok, but not other kinds?! But why is it that I read the warning label and there is a list of harmful side effects?

Please, people... just say know!

 

[gopunk]

I like to preach to the choir. They're the only ones who listen....

i'll have to rememeber that one

 

[j0lly]

<< You're right. Every time I use my fiancee's Gateway, I have to be drunk first. >>


LOL

 

[JesusCow]

i agree, and when youre drunk, you'll do something stupid like heroin

 

[kamiam]

the truth behind why hemp and pot were demonized and criminalized

 

[johnjohn320]

DARE-To Think For Yourself