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shamanamba
The Shaman


Registered: 06/15/05
Posts: 1,122
Last seen: 1 month, 18 days
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The not so age old debate : Gateway drug or not?
#5255368 - 02/02/06 01:36 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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A great number of people I know are still hung on the idea that marijuana is bad because it is a "Gateway drug." I traced this statement back to a man by the name of Harry Aslinger, who was appointed the president and founder of the agency now known as the DEA by one Andrew Mellon. Aslinger made the statement of pot being a gateway drug after recanting that it was responsible for violent and psycotic behavior. Andrew Mellon was, at the time, director of the National Treasury, and owner of the Mellon Bank; the bank which funded the two citadels of the beginning of the war on drugs: the DuPont Chemical corporation and Hirst News Media. Just wanted to throw that out there and see if anyone agrees, disagrees or has any ?'s or !'s .
-------------------- The Shaman
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DieCommie

Registered: 12/11/03
Posts: 29,258
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Re: The not so age old debate : Gateway drug or not? [Re: shamanamba]
#5255411 - 02/02/06 01:45 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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I think its a gateway drug in this regard:
Pot is illegal Kid trys pot, relizes its not so bad Conclusion: All illegal drugs arnt so bad.
Its pot's legal status that makes it a gateway drug. People who sell one illegal drug often sell another, and the buyers get exposed to that. If pot was in the supermarket next to the booze, it wouldnt get associated with crack, heroin, and speed.
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kaniz
That one, overthere.


Registered: 07/23/04
Posts: 4,166
Loc: Ontario
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Re: The not so age old debate : Gateway drug or not? [Re: DieCommie]
#5255432 - 02/02/06 01:49 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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I'd say that MDMA was my gateway drug.
After going out to a club, and seeing people from all walks of life, from sketched-out ravers, to lawyers and doctors, to accoutants and kids in University dropping E, having a great time, and still doing something positive with their life (Yes, there were the etards and trainwrecks also), and then doing E myself, it was "Oh, well - I enjoyed it, I'm still OK, and there are all of these other people around me who do E regularly and they arnt cracked out in the allyways giving head for their next hit" kind of thing, then maybe the conceptions I had on other drugs arnt all that correct either.
I didnt start to smoke weed regularly untill about a year or two of doing E and shrooms on a regular baises.
Drugs in order of me trying them, was actually
Meth->MDMA->Shrooms->Ketamine and then long after that, weed.
go figure
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Weeded420
All Grown Up

Registered: 11/17/05
Posts: 206
Loc: Colorado
Last seen: 4 years, 7 months
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Re: The not so age old debate : Gateway drug or not? [Re: kaniz]
#5255463 - 02/02/06 02:00 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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hmmmm...
i was curious what else was out there
the better the weed my friends/dealers had the harder the drugs i was around.
im not sayin that pot IS a gateway drug, but it CAN be a gateway to other drugs
order of drugs weed-->alcohol-->xanax(scripst)-->mushrooms-->coke(twice)-->acid
would never buy white and only do it on certain occasions(when i dont plan on sleepin), and i would never do any other drugs.
however, I still smoke daily and drink often
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DieCommie

Registered: 12/11/03
Posts: 29,258
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Re: The not so age old debate : Gateway drug or not? [Re: Weeded420]
#5255483 - 02/02/06 02:03 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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I suppose LSD is what got me into drugs. Started taking it weekly beging of freshman year in highshcool. A few months later I was a drop out, using crack and meth as often as I could. Only after quitting that stuff did I turn to daily pot use.
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kaniz
That one, overthere.


Registered: 07/23/04
Posts: 4,166
Loc: Ontario
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Re: The not so age old debate : Gateway drug or not? [Re: Weeded420]
#5255490 - 02/02/06 02:04 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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I think, generally speaking : The first positive drug expierence you have, is you're 'gatway' drug.
The first time I did meth, it was by accident (Thought I was doing Ket), and ended up being strung out for 2 days. Mind you, once the initial strungout spaz part wore off, I kinda liked it - but not enough to get me into 'using drugs regularly'.
It was about 6 months after that, that I tried MDMA and was all *WOW! that is what I was missing?!", which then lead me into regular use of MDMA and more exploration with other substanes.
Now, for alot of people - pot is usualy their first exposure to an illegal drug. Its probably one of the most common, and the easiest to get a hold of.
I dont think its an "OMG, that high was so good, I want a better high now!" type of gateway, but more of a "wow, that was good - maybe other drugs arnt so bad either".
When they say its a gateway drug, its often said in a manner of "Oh, it gives them a taste of being high, then they move onto other drugs just to increase that high"
Edited by kaniz (02/02/06 02:05 PM)
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shamanamba
The Shaman


Registered: 06/15/05
Posts: 1,122
Last seen: 1 month, 18 days
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Re: The not so age old debate : Gateway drug or not? [Re: kaniz]
#5255520 - 02/02/06 02:13 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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methamphetamines are indeed addictive and may very well lead to other drugs. MDMA and particuar is likely to cause users to seek out other forms of euphoria. I was referring to pot though, I simply belive the people lead themselves to other drugs, pot dosent lead them there. even if i quit smoking pot, i would most likely still occasionally do X, or snort a line when its offered.
-------------------- The Shaman
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leery11
I Tell You What!

Registered: 06/24/05
Posts: 5,998
Last seen: 8 years, 9 months
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Re: The not so age old debate : Gateway drug or not? [Re: DieCommie]
#5255555 - 02/02/06 02:21 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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Quote:
DieCommie said: Its pot's legal status that makes it a gateway drug. People who sell one illegal drug often sell another, and the buyers get exposed to that. If pot was in the supermarket next to the booze, it wouldnt get associated with crack, heroin, and speed.
Yeah, but we can not legitimify the term "gateway" when we are arguing with anti-drug people, well, discussing with them.... we say intelligent things like this, but we use a different term.
for example I would say "no it's not really a gateway at all... HOWEVER...." then i'd say something like that.
I'd also say that it is not really a gateway anymore than alcohol and tobacco are, becasue most people try cigs and beer before they try pot. I would then further say that it entirely depends upon the person's intent. You do not get into marijuana, generally, and find youself forced to get a stronger better drug.... just as many people use pot AND heroin and those drugs .... and ignore psychedelis entirely.
But some people use pot then go, yes, well now I want to do LSD! But that isn't the pot's fault, the pot is kind of like ..... a fisher-price version of the big boy hallucinagens, its something to introduce you to the underground of drugs, and something to eventually prepare you to move on to hallucinagens. Or other illicts, but pot doesn't have much in common with the "hard" drugs, I'd say pot is more of a psychedelic and the only "gateway" it can possibly open is toward using the more intense psychedelics somewhere down the line.
It's like this....... Kid: You know, shrooms acid and weed sound neat... but I'd be scared to do shrooms or acid right now, I'll try weed first. several months later Kid: Okay well now I'm more confident and have had a taste of the psychedelic experience, and I'd like to try some LSD.
It's a stepping stone really, not a gateway, because it does not lead to anything at all, you have the ultimate choice and potheads are just as likely to have a disdain for hallucinagens as they are a passion for them. They are just as likely to use many illicit drugs as they are to ONLY use pot as their illicit drug of choice.
it's just a bucnh of deceitful manipulation of statistics...... 70% of the nation has done pot at least, so of course most people that do harder drugs tried pot first.
Most people that learned to walk learned to crawl first.......
most violent criminals have h20 in their systems.
what's the point?
-------------------- I am the MacDaddy of Heimlich County, I play it Straight Up Yo! ....I embrace my desire to feel the rhythm, to feel connected enough to step aside and weep like a widow, to feel inspired, to fathom the power, to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain, to swing on the spiral of our divinity and still be a human...... Om Namah Shivaya, I tell you What!
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musher_420
Stranger

Registered: 08/01/05
Posts: 2,691
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Re: The not so age old debate : Gateway drug or not? [Re: leery11]
#5255625 - 02/02/06 02:39 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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If you asked me, If someone has smoked weed are they more likely to try "harder" drugs compaired to someone who never smoked pot? I'd say, Hell yes they are. But it's not because of what the pot does to you. It's because of that indivudials mind set. Someone who NEVER smokes pot is either not a very curious person. Someone who is VERY happy with getting "high on life" and can't fathom drug use. Or they are a weak and simple minded fool who eats up all the anti-drug scare tacktics.
So another good question is, Is some body who snowboards more likely to try base-jumping then someone who never tries and extreme sport?
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ismokeweed
Stranger

Registered: 11/19/05
Posts: 286
Last seen: 14 years, 9 months
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Re: The not so age old debate : Gateway drug or not? [Re: musher_420]
#5255637 - 02/02/06 02:44 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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i think its considered the gateway drug because generally its by far the easiest to get, which means its most likely (obviously not all the time) going to be the first thing someone tries. my first drug was almost ecstacy but the deal didn't work out and it ended up being weed after all. but it didn't lead me into other things, i had already decided to try whatever sounded worth whatever harm it may cause.
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rickpsfuckyou
listening to Mozzy


Registered: 11/26/05
Posts: 1,860
Last seen: 2 years, 4 months
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Re: The not so age old debate : Gateway drug or not? [Re: ismokeweed]
#5255644 - 02/02/06 02:46 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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i think its all propaganda. just stay away from powders and opiates and you prolly wont become a junkie
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DieCommie

Registered: 12/11/03
Posts: 29,258
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Re: The not so age old debate : Gateway drug or not? [Re: musher_420]
#5255700 - 02/02/06 02:59 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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Quote:
musher_420 said: If you asked me, If someone has smoked weed are they more likely to try "harder" drugs compaired to someone who never smoked pot? I'd say, Hell yes they are. But it's not because of what the pot does to you. It's because of that indivudials mind set. Someone who NEVER smokes pot is either not a very curious person. Someone who is VERY happy with getting "high on life" and can't fathom drug use. Or they are a weak and simple minded fool who eats up all the anti-drug scare tacktics.
So another good question is, Is some body who snowboards more likely to try base-jumping then someone who never tries and extreme sport?
Good point. I believe that ^ most of all.
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WillieTomg
If stemmer votedme 1, I'm doingSOMETHING right!
Registered: 04/09/05
Posts: 425
Loc: On the insides of your ey...
Last seen: 11 years, 3 months
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Re: The not so age old debate : Gateway drug or not? [Re: DieCommie]
#5255755 - 02/02/06 03:12 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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Quote:
DieCommie said: I think its a gateway drug in this regard:
Pot is illegal Kid trys pot, relizes its not so bad Conclusion: All illegal drugs arnt so bad.
Its pot's legal status that makes it a gateway drug. People who sell one illegal drug often sell another, and the buyers get exposed to that. If pot was in the supermarket next to the booze, it wouldnt get associated with crack, heroin, and speed.
^^^
Quoted for truth. I was a militant sXe kid until I went through some hard shit and realized that maybe I should experience a bit more of life before writing it off completely. I smoked a joint, and loved the hell out of it. A few months later a friend brought 1.5g of mushrooms over to my place... yadda yadda yadda... and now I grow mushrooms, trip acid, and love it all.
And I've never tried coke/speed/meth (seen too many people burn out on them for my comfort) although I have dabbled in opiates. I had to swear those off though, since it was too easy for me to just rail a percocet and forget about all my problems for a bit.
So weed might be a gateway drug in the sense that it usually provides a solid positive experience upon which one can base a healthy regimen of controlled substance use. It isn't a gateway drug in the sense that if you smoke pot, you'll want to shoot heroin after a while in order to get a stronger high.
-------------------- Battles of wits are impossible with the unarmed.
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Kaleidoscope
Voodoo Child
Registered: 12/02/05
Posts: 674
Loc: the 28th dimension
Last seen: 16 years, 11 months
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Re: The not so age old debate : Gateway drug or not? [Re: WillieTomg]
#5255833 - 02/02/06 03:31 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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Information was my "gateway drug." I was a straight edge hardcore kid when I was younger I looked into what drugs did because I wanted to know everything there was to know so I could be a anti-drug fact spitting machine. I found out that a lot of the things I was reading about were actually not that bad and also that some were worse than I thought. I was interested in weed and psychedelics for a long time before I actually smoked weed, which was my first drug experience. Since then I've basicly been experimenting with the compounds that interest me.
The reasoning behind weed as a gateway drug is solid though, not because of it's properties but because of it's legal status. Through having to enter the underground drug black market, people are exposed to the whole thing, they can see people doing lines of coke and having a good time and be influenced by such things. If weed was legal, it would be no more of a gateway drug than cigarettes or alcohol.
--------------------
Purple haze, all in my brain, lately things just don't seem the same. Actin' funny but I don't know why, 'scuse me while I kiss the sky.
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WillieTomg
If stemmer votedme 1, I'm doingSOMETHING right!
Registered: 04/09/05
Posts: 425
Loc: On the insides of your ey...
Last seen: 11 years, 3 months
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Re: The not so age old debate : Gateway drug or not? [Re: Kaleidoscope]
#5255852 - 02/02/06 03:37 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't cigarettes and alcohol cited as gateway drugs as well? I'm trying to think back to my DARE class trying to recall if they talked about legal substances being gateways as well, but I'm having trouble remembering... for some reason...
-------------------- Battles of wits are impossible with the unarmed.
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funnybunny
Saboten Bomber



Registered: 01/30/06
Posts: 602
Loc: Spain
Last seen: 1 year, 7 months
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Re: The not so age old debate : Gateway drug or not? [Re: WillieTomg]
#5255946 - 02/02/06 04:03 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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Meditation -> Lucid dreaming -> Weed/Hash -> Cacti
Meditation was what awoke my interest in the psyche, the conscience, the brain.
Please, ban meditation, think of the kids!
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XUL
OTD Janitor


Registered: 03/16/05
Posts: 28,261
Loc: America
Last seen: 4 years, 2 months
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Re: The not so age old debate : Gateway drug or not? [Re: shamanamba]
#5255974 - 02/02/06 04:09 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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alchohol was definatly the gateway drug for me. 100 percent the gateway drug for me.
I smoked my first time because I was drunk.
--------------------
TRUMP 2020
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gotcha420haha
Not Available


Registered: 12/21/05
Posts: 1,217
Loc: In the woods
Last seen: 13 years, 8 months
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Re: The not so age old debate : Gateway drug or not? [Re: XUL]
#5256149 - 02/02/06 04:51 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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I smoked weed. because i love weed, and then the crowd i was chillen with introduced me to shrooms, love them too. I still have boundrys, no addictive drugs is my thing, or chemical drugs (minus LSD), but what im trying to say is, no i dont tihnk pot is a gateway drug, but people dont just wake up and say "i think ill try some speed today", with no drug backround.
--------------------
"Sometimes I wonder, If I know where I am going. I go for a walk and it seems like I have been walking for years and years and I don't know where I'm going. I hear the sound leading me on."
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ClammyJoe
Azurescen Head



Registered: 11/03/05
Posts: 3,691
Loc: PNW
Last seen: 11 years, 1 month
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Re: The not so age old debate : Gateway drug or not? [Re: gotcha420haha]
#5256158 - 02/02/06 04:53 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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I think its refered to as a gateway drug because the people you get your marijuana from may introduce you to some harder drugs.
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the_psychonaut
psychonaut

Registered: 01/09/05
Posts: 394
Last seen: 8 years, 5 months
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Re: The not so age old debate : Gateway drug or not? [Re: ClammyJoe]
#5256952 - 02/02/06 08:23 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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FALSE i wanted to try mush long before pot, although pot happened to be first
-------------------- never be afraid to let your mind explore, just know what you are getting into b4 you jump in the deep end, and do your research on this site and erowid.com
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