I think they figured this out years ago. Stop wasting money on pointless research.

/And put down the pot.

But it is so much easier to blame weed and just say no!

All it currently does in relation to the article is put people in touch with the black market where many other things get peddled.

simple as that.

If anything alcohol and cigarettes are the gateway drugs. I smoked tobacco and drank long before I ever smoked weed.

halfof33

1/10.

/What experts in overblown marijuana might look like

Tatsuhiko: I think they figured this out years ago. Stop wasting money on pointless research.

/And put down the pot.

When 'Pointless Research' informs and contradicts prior-held sentiments...

Is it pointless?

/Does a bear in a pope hat make a sound?

Yeah, it's amazing how long this notion has persisted. Even though the highest statistical indicators for hard drug use are broken homes and early abuse of alcohol.

Most people who like pot just stop there. The only gateway effects I could see are that since it's illegal, you end up hanging around with drug dealers.

I ended up telling the kid I'd rather have him smoking pot than binge drinking in middle school. But if I caught him doing either, he'd wish he hadn't. In the words of South Park, "there's a time and a place for everything... it's called college"

xynix: I wonder how many hard drug users ever even used weed? Seems like most meth users go straight from drinking to meth usage which to me would indicate alcohol is the gateway drug. Not that I believe in anything being a "gateway" drug.

Never done drugs.. Never will. Drink like a fish though.

Ummm? I got news for you...

Funny. Cigarettes were my gateway drug. I still don't see anybody being thrown in jail for tobacco use.

I always knew the "Gateway Drug" thing was BS even when I was a kid. When the officer was telling us about drugs all the way back in the third grade I couldn't help but find some lack of logic in "If you do Marijuana you're going to eventually do this other stuff." It's not mind control (on that matter it's pretty much the opposite)

I've seen a few people i know start using weed, and then move on to harder drugs (cocaine and LSD specifically). That said, I think its important to note that this may just be a result of the type of people they are; predisposed to drug use.

is marijuana a "gateway drug"? probably not.

do people often start using marijuana and then move on to harder drugs? for sure.

xynix: I wonder how many hard drug users ever even used weed? Seems like most meth users go straight from drinking to meth usage which to me would indicate alcohol is the gateway drug. Not that I believe in anything being a "gateway" drug.

Never done drugs.. Never will. Drink like a fish though.

Not that I have a problem with people who drink, but the sort of delusional doublethink one must readily engage in to think like you do can't be good for one's health. Not that alcohol is either, mind you, but still.

Yep, pot smokers are more likely than non-smokers to try something dangerous like alcohol.

It's not pointless. Ive been researching this for decades. My results are only a few years away. Just hold tight everyone.

Was this study commissioned by Ric Romero?

If marijuana was legalized, I would probably quit drinking.

jehovahs witness protection: It makes people throw puppies in the river.

/TOO SOON

Summercat: Tatsuhiko: I think they figured this out years ago. Stop wasting money on pointless research.

/And put down the pot.

When 'Pointless Research' informs and contradicts prior-held sentiments...

Is it pointless?

/Does a bear in a pope hat make a sound?

It does when the research sounds like one hand clapping.

/Meaning, I haven't heard the opposition in years.
//Yeah, I had to explain it, because you're seeing this in colors.

Accent: If marijuana was legalized, I would probably quit drinking.

This

Summercat: Tatsuhiko: I think they figured this out years ago. Stop wasting money on pointless research.

/And put down the pot.

When 'Pointless Research' informs and contradicts prior-held sentiments...

Is it pointless?

/Does a bear in a pope hat make a sound?

I think the argument could be made that yes, it is pointless. The gateway theory has already been struck down in numerous studies, funded by any number of research institutions. In spite of this, people still cling to their misconceptions.

I used to be all messed up on drugs. But then I found the Lord. And now I'm all messed up on the Lord.

I still hear people stating the "gateway effect" as an absolute fact.

Had a job interview a couple months ago and they ran my background and found my tickets for possession and possession of paraphernalia.

The interviewer then stated that marijuana was a gateway drug and I was treated as though the second I was out of sight I'd be doing coke and heroin and god knows what else.

Needless to say, I didn't get the job.

I actually think I should be more trustworthy because I consciously chose to take only natural psychedelics and never to do any of the "hard" drugs.

Unlike someone who would still be tempted to experiment with who-knows-what because they had no experience whatsoever.

I guess life doesn't work like that though and now I have to deal with job discrimination for the rest of my life due to my choices in my 20's.

halfof33: Accent: If marijuana was legalized, I would probably quit drinking.

You should probably quit anyway.

It sounds like you have a problem

No, YOU have a problem.

Hasn't pretty much everyone at least tried pot by the time they're 21? Not everyone has tried heroin so if it is a gateway drug, it's doing a bad job.

You know what MY childhood gateway drug was? Spinning around until I got dizzy. I moved from that to looking through the back of a reflector until I got dizzy. Then came the choking game. Finally, I got addicted to masturbating.

halfof33: Well this article is sure embolden the Fark Dope Posse. I expect to see much rejoicing in this thread.

/as soon as they get off their shift at the local independent coffee house and/or Taco Bell.

I don't work at a coffee house or a Taco Bell. They have no need for computer programmers there.

neonpale: Hasn't pretty much everyone at least tried pot by the time they're 21? Not everyone has tried heroin so if it is a gateway drug, it's doing a bad job.

I didn't try pot until after I was 21.

Don't ignore the most important part of the article:

"While marijuana use may serve as a gateway to other illicit drug use in adolescence, our results indicate that the effect may be short-lived, subsiding by age 21. Interestingly, age emerges as a protective status above and beyond the other life statuses and conditions considered here. We find that respondents 'age out' of marijuana's gateway effect regardless of early teen stress exposure or education, work, or family statuses,"

I wonder if it's easier to restrict underaged access to weed if it's legal, or if it's illegal. Hmmm...

Accent: halfof33: Accent: If marijuana was legalized, I would probably quit drinking.

You should probably quit anyway.

It sounds like you have a problem

No, YOU have a problem.

No, sir... you are a towel.

You mean the government used a paranoid, hyberbolic statement based on the findings of partisan quasi-science in order to further an agenda that solidified their own power base?!?!

I am shocked. Just shocked.

simian04: Funny. Cigarettes were my gateway drug. I still don't see anybody being thrown in jail for tobacco use.

Look again... (new window)

dolphinburger: I've seen a few people i know start using weed, and then move on to harder drugs (cocaine and LSD specifically). That said, I think its important to note that this may just be a result of the type of people they are; predisposed to drug use.

is marijuana a "gateway drug"? probably not.

do people often start using marijuana and then move on to harder drugs? for sure.

In summary: *Every* drug is a gateway drug to the addiction-prone. Weed is just cheaper and more available, thus it's often the first drug they try.

snarltron: I wonder if it's easier to restrict underaged access to weed if it's legal, or if it's illegal. Hmmm...

According to my 15 year old, he has unlimited access to weed at school. Alcohol is much harder for them to get a hold of.

Zeranamu: halfof33: Well this article is sure embolden the Fark Dope Posse. I expect to see much rejoicing in this thread.

/as soon as they get off their shift at the local independent coffee house and/or Taco Bell.

I don't work at a coffee house or a Taco Bell. They have no need for computer programmers there.

or software as a service sales

halfof33 = obvious troll
responders to halfof33 = drooling idiots

/GTFO halfof33, you've only got 26 minutes left to get to the gym.

one reason why not many politicians are at the forefront of legalizing marijuana is they have been so staunchly against it, they will look like idiots for saying 'changed my mind! it's ok now! :). i hope california does the first good deed and makes a ton of money of it (tax booze, why not weed?) and bring in some green tourism dollars. oh, that and get a fark ton of people out of jail for having a plant, not a gun mind you, a plan in their possession. a plant that cannot kill you unless you strangle someone with it.

Ever notice a commonality among all heavy drug users? They all drank milk as children. Milk is a gateway drug. Outlaw milk.

snarltron: Don't ignore the most important part of the article:

"While marijuana use may serve as a gateway to other illicit drug use in adolescence, our results indicate that the effect may be short-lived, subsiding by age 21. Interestingly, age emerges as a protective status above and beyond the other life statuses and conditions considered here. We find that respondents 'age out' of marijuana's gateway effect regardless of early teen stress exposure or education, work, or family statuses,"

I wonder if it's easier to restrict underaged access to weed if it's legal, or if it's illegal. Hmmm...

That's my theory too, is that the government isn't keeping potheads from getting their fix as much as keeping it out of the hands of kids as best they can. Cigarettes and booze are already a problem with kids, but it's harder to criminalize an addictive substance like cigarettes, and we've seen how booze goes being abolished.

/Even pro-pot activists say that pot has terrible effects on children still in their growth period.
//But it'd be easier to get to if corporations put it on their shelves.