Feel marijuana is a gateway drug

I have a statistics survey due on monday, so anyways, "hypothetically" speaking, do you feel that IF you were to smoke weed you'd end up doing harder drugs because of it, OR do you think you'd stick to that, but if you did do harder drugs it wouldn't be cause of herb?

Basically, is it a gateway drug or not?

Thanks if you do decide to contribute and even if you don't.

i smoke weed once in a while and i have no intentions of doing anything else. everything else is too expensive and the effects of weed are good enough.

I'm still trying to figure out how the whole hypothesis of marijuana being a gateway drug came to be. What about alcohol or cigarettes, codeine or valium? How many people have O.D.'d from marijuana.....none. How many people have died from smoking marijuana........none. Reason its not legal........because the government can't regulate it enough to effectively receieve any revenues from it.

I also dont feel it is, because I know too many people who have managed to not "upgrade" or do more powerful drugs. But for those of you who haven't voted, feel free to say if you feel it is a gateway drug, its just your opinion and if it gets too many people saying they feel it isnt, people may tend to just agree even if they dont, so vote how you feel. Thanks

Alcohol is the gateway drug! People have died from marijuana but it is rare. Its mostly heart related problems/lung cancer.

I'm still trying to figure out how the whole hypothesis of marijuana being a gateway drug came to be. What about alcohol or cigarettes, codeine or valium? How many people have O.D.'d from marijuana.....none. How many people have died from smoking marijuana........none. Reason its not legal........because the government can't regulate it enough to effectively receieve any revenues from it.


agreed 110%

the whole marijuana is a gateway drug thing is stupid.... you said everything i wanted to say

noone has died from marijuana, not as a direct result. it definately doesnt cause lung cancer. And it is not illegal because it cant be regulated, it is illegal due to slavery, the main guy leading the campaign to outlaw marijuana was the president of the largest logging company in the world. Hep is 100s times more effecient then trees can ever be. and logging companies lost millions when hemp became big. In WWII the government PAID farmers to grow hemp to be used for rope, sails clothing, tents stationary, etc. it was the primary substance over trees. it is more efficient, cheaper, better on the environment, it would not suprise me one bit for it to be legalized in the next 20 years. it has too many medicinal and environmental benefits for the world to turn away.

I think that this is probably not the best place to do a poll like this, since this survey has mostly young people, probaby ages 16-24 the results are going to be not very accurate. If you want an unbiased poll, the you need to ask all kinds of people, not just young people.

I voted no, but I think that people who use marijuana ARE more likely to try real drugs. I never have, never will. I think the reason for this is who they get it from. That person is invariably a drug dealer, who sells other drugs. "Hey, man, wanna try some ______?". If it were legal and you could buy it at the gas station or grocery store, there would be no pressure to try anything else.

So to summarize, weed doesn't tempt you to try other drugs. Ther person you get it from may.

I agree with clawhammer that this is not the most accurate place for a poll. The good news (as I see it) is that all of us who are 16-24 now, will be running the country before long. Limited5.9Cherokee said he wouldn't be supprised if it were legalized in the next 20 years. I sure hope it is.

i just think that since marijuana is so commonly found and easy to get, people who lean towards illicit drug use, just happen to use it first and it picked up the connotation of a gateway drug. it's easier to get a bag of weed than to find coke or heroin. i think the term gateway drugs should be applied to alcohol and tobacco more than marijuana.

and i defiitely don't think gender has anything to do with it.

its not that people that smoke weed do other drugs.... its the other way around. Cause everybody that does harder drugs ALSO smokes weed, so they make it look like its a gateway to those harder drugs

government propaganda :rolleyes:

The whole term "gateway drug" is just another group of mother's stupid made up pile of shit to help aid in their hypocritical drug lecturing towards their children because they smoked as kids. Having a good time with bud sounds dangerous now that the mommies are older, just like riding a skateboard w/out 15 pads and a helmet.

On and off I'll smoke a shitload of weed, and when I'm high do I feel like robbing a store or killing some old lady? Fuck no, I feel like playing a videogame or watching a movie. The only way I can see mj being a gateway drug is if you smoke so much of it, you become a blithering idiot who needs to snort, shoot up, or inject all that other nazi shit to get a buzz anymore.

Have I tried more than weed? Just for the experience, sure, but now I'm fine spending time with mary and her alone, in moderation.

Marijuana may not be a gateway drug, but it does make people act and sound like asses. I get a kick out of making fun of them :lol2:

If you smoke weed all the time, yes it is, believe me, I know many examples, but if you were a weekend smoker like I was, then its not so bad...

Alcohol is the gateway drug! People have died from marijuana but it is rare. Its mostly heart related problems/lung cancer.

Yup. I don't know anyone you died from Mary Jane. But my Step-Dad died from Alcohol.

I have done many hits in my days. I never bought it my self. I always bumbed it off one of my friends at there house :) I havnt touch that or anything else in 5 Months. It was not a gateway for Me.

to think that it even used to be legal too!

yogs: good point, but it's more fun to make fun of people who are wrecked out of their minds and can't even walk straight. Or have drunk girls flash me their....... beauty :D

I voted no, because i use to smoke weed when i was younger and it never made me want to do the other drugs i tried. Just like stated before it is the people you do them with that will try to pressure you into other types. I have a few friends who smoke weed and only a few have ever tried other drugs because weed wasnt enough for them.

The correlation is that people who try illegal things are more likely to try other illegal things. That's where the idea comes from. So yeah, it is true in a sense, but it's blown way out of proportion by the media, like everything else in this world.

I voted no i dont think its a gateway drug its just a drug :smokin:

i had to do a term paper on illicit drug use for psychology class

quoted from department of health and human services
web page, http://store.health.org/catalog/facts.aspx?topic=54

"Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug. It is used by 76 percent of current illicit drug users. Approximately 59 percent of current illicit drug users consumed only marijuana, 17 percent used marijuana and another illicit drug, and the remaining 24 percent used an illicit drug but not marijuana. Therefore, about 41 percent of current illicit drug users in 2000 (an estimated 5.7 million Americans) use illicit drugs other than marijuana and hashish, with or without using marijuana as well."

The correlation is that people who try illegal things are more likely to try other illegal things. That's where the idea comes from.

That's how I see it too. Sort of... Weed has always been portrayed as a terrible, harmful thing that is going to ruin your life just as quick as anything else you might try. That equal association with the harder stuff is a problem because then it all falls under the same taboo umbrella labeled "drugs". Where once you step under it, you might as well smoke a little crack while you're there. I think we're just starting to move away from this line of thinking, and none too soon.

If weed hadn't been blown all out of proportion, treated and regarded in the same way as the really bad drugs, less people would move on to the harder ones once they decided weed was okay. But there is nothing about the substance itself that makes people want to move on to more.

Definately not a gateway drug. About 4 months ago in the summer all i did everyday was blaze with a couple of buddies. Then got caught by the police once, and that scared me shitless, ever since then never touched it. Hasnt led me onto anything else, and wont.

So basically "NO, i dont think its a gateway drug" but thats my personal opinion based on my personal experience.

I voted no, but I think that people who use marijuana ARE more likely to try real drugs. I never have, never will. I think the reason for this is who they get it from. That person is invariably a drug dealer, who sells other drugs. "Hey, man, wanna try some ______?". If it were legal and you could buy it at the gas station or grocery store, there would be no pressure to try anything else.

So to summarize, weed doesn't tempt you to try other drugs. Ther person you get it from may.


I'm going to say that ganja is NOT a gateway drug. If it were then alcohol and cigarettes should be listed as gateway drugs to.

Chris Rock said it best, "People wanna get high. Hell, theres people in here right now thinking about getting high. They're looking at their watches thinkin, "damn whens the show gonna be over?"

"Drug dealers don't really sell drugs. Drug dealers offer drugs. I'm 30 years old, aint nobody ever sold me drugs. Would you ever in your life not wanna get high and somebody sold you some drugs? Hell no! Drug dealers offer them, "hey man, you want some smoke, some smoke?" You say no, that its! Drug dealers don't sell drugs. Drugs sell themselves. Look at crack. You don't really gotta try to sell crack. I never heard a crack dealer go, "man how am I gonna sell all this crack?"

Reality is for those who can't handle drugs.
Rehab is for quitters.

Marajuana CAN be a gateway drug. Not always, but EVERY addict I know of started on marajuana, so to say it's never a gateway drug is ignorant, that said, it's more the user than the substance- same with alcohol, same with tobacco.

Marajuana CAN be a gateway drug. Not always, but EVERY addict I know of started on marajuana, so to say it's never a gateway drug is ignorant, that said, it's more the user than the substance- same with alcohol, same with tobacco.

Yeah every addict started on marijuana but that doesnt mean marijuana is a gateway drug. Marijuana is just the most accesible thing thats why they start on it. When you're 14, its easy to try weed, somebody steals it off their older brother, peoples brothers sell it. Its not like a 14 year old is just gunna pick up a crack pipe and start there.

like i said people that do harder drugs ALSO smoke weed, so it makes it look like weed led them to the harder drugs. But look at the percentage of people that do harder drugs and the percentage that ONLY smoke weed. The percentage of people that ONLY smoke weed is waaaaaaaay higher, so how is it a gateway if those people arent doing any other drugs.

Maybe if 80% of people that smoked weed did other drugs, then it could be considered a gateway drug... not when only like 15-20% of people that smoke weed do harder drugs

I got into "harder" drugs because weed was too expensive, and too hard to find.

any drug is fine in moderation. I'm more worried about the fat lady chomping down the mars bars one after another.

Marijuana may not be a gateway drug, but it does make people act and sound like asses. I get a kick out of making fun of them :lol2:
:cwm27: You just havent ran into any intelligent ones. :)

I am not votin cuz i think it really depends on the person, i know plenty of people that have done pot for years and will not dare go near eny other drug and the will not even try it

as a weekend-smoker, i can tell you that for me it will never lead up to anything else.

i've tried hash, which is basically only more potent marijuana. and i've tried shrooms, which i don't consider to be a hard drug. marijuana was not a gateway for me to try mushrooms. it just happened. and i don't think i'll do it again. but i don't consider mushrooms to be a hard drug because they don't really do any damage to you, just like weed. i will never try cocaine, crack, PCP, LSD, crystal meth, E...nothing like that. they're all too risky and the highs have way more downs then they have ups. plus they're expensive and can do some real damage to you.

beer, a bong and a bag full o' weed are all i need.

I have a statistics survey due on monday, so anyways, "hypothetically" speaking, do you feel that IF you were to smoke weed you'd end up doing harder drugs because of it, OR do you think you'd stick to that, but if you did do harder drugs it wouldn't be cause of herb?

Basically, is it a gateway drug or not?

Thanks if you do decide to contribute and even if you don't.



everyone I know who smokes pot on a regular basis, has done harder since.

mostly E.

Anyone care to define "harder" drugs?

In my case, cigaret has been the gateway to weed. I don't like the taste of cigaret alone, so I only use the tobacco to roll. I wouldn't smoke weed if I didn't try a cigaret first.
I tried other drugs, not because I was smoking but because I had the occasion to try and WANTED to try. I tried coco (sniffed) , horse and pills, never hero. And only did 2 or 3 times.

Marijuana doesn't lead you to other drugs, YOU make the choice.

Anyone care to define "harder" drugs?
Any narcotic that isn't Marajuana. The ones that fuck with peoples consience (Such as P), the ones that hook people (Such as crack, heroin etc) and other ones.

Anyone care to define "harder" drugs?


does more damage.

Alcohol is a drug. Heroin is a hard drug. It fucks you up.

Common sence oz.

Pfft, I hate spelling. I know I made a mistake somewhere here.

everyone I know who smokes pot on a regular basis, has done harder since.

mostly E.

Yea but that can be expected from people who are stupid enough to smoke every day. The people who only smoke every now and again generaly don't move on to anything harder and do fine in school from what I've seen.

weed is need

for sheez

If you smoke weed all the time, yes it is, believe me, I know many examples, but if you were a weekend smoker like I was, then its not so bad...
I am an example of that. But I am clean now.

noone has died from marijuana, not as a direct result. it definately doesnt cause lung cancer. And it is not illegal because it cant be regulated, it is illegal due to slavery, the main guy leading the campaign to outlaw marijuana was the president of the largest logging company in the world. Hep is 100s times more effecient then trees can ever be. and logging companies lost millions when hemp became big. In WWII the government PAID farmers to grow hemp to be used for rope, sails clothing, tents stationary, etc. it was the primary substance over trees. it is more efficient, cheaper, better on the environment, it would not suprise me one bit for it to be legalized in the next 20 years. it has too many medicinal and environmental benefits for the world to turn away.

WHAT are you talking about? Marijuana kinds all kinds of cancer, lung, throat, and sometimes gum. It's just like smoking but unregulated and unfiltered. Considering its usually packed in dung to be shipped, yeah I'd say your likeliness of getting ill from smoking MJ are pretty high. Also, MJ is no different than alcohol.

It alters your mind state, and although actual direct deaths from MJ are low, and just like DUI, normal tasks are NOT safe. People get killed from marijuana mostly from driving, but other routine tasks like trimming bushes, or swimming can be dangerous. Come on people, unless you know you won't be doing anything of value, please don't waste your life getting stoned.

WHAT are you talking about? Marijuana kinds all kinds of cancer, lung, throat, and sometimes gum. It's just like smoking but unregulated and unfiltered. Considering its usually packed in dung to be shipped, yeah I'd say your likeliness of getting ill from smoking MJ are pretty high. Also, MJ is no different than alcohol.

Marijuana can cause those cancers, but people who smoke it are LESS likely to develop them, due to one reason. The fact that people dont smoke it as OFTEN as cigarettes or other tobacco products. Why? Because it's got a “negligibly therapeutic ratio”; that is, you do not have to use much to get the desired effect.

The average marijuana smoker smokes four joints a day compared to cigarette smokers who smoke 21 cigarettes per day (Hendid 34).

Hendid, Herbert M.D., Hans, Ann Pollinger PhD, Singer, and others. Living High: Daily Marijuana Use Among Adults. New York: Human Sciences Press, 1987.

It alters your mind state, and although actual direct deaths from MJ are low, and just like DUI, normal tasks are NOT safe. People get killed from marijuana mostly from driving, but other routine tasks like trimming bushes, or swimming can be dangerous. Come on people, unless you know you won't be doing anything of value, please don't waste your life getting stoned.

May i ask where you got this information from? Because from what i hear, noone has died as a direct cause of Marijuana, and i heard this from a police officer.

But im not saying hes right, im just looking to see where you got your information from...

does more damage.

Alcohol is a drug. Heroin is a hard drug. It fucks you up.

Common sence oz.

Pfft, I hate spelling. I know I made a mistake somewhere here.
It has little to do with common sense. It has everything to do with societel perception. Medical grade cocaine is still used. Ephedrine, the basis of most amphetamines, was sold OTC for decades.

And most people probably dont know that Morhpine has almost the exact same chemical makeup as Heroine

...or that Heroin is one of the cleaner "hard" drugs around.

Marijuana can cause those cancers, but people who smoke it are LESS likely to develop them, due to one reason. The fact that people dont smoke it as OFTEN as cigarettes or other tobacco products. Why? Because it's got a “negligibly therapeutic ratio”; that is, you do not have to use much to get the desired effect.

The average marijuana smoker smokes four joints a day compared to cigarette smokers who smoke 21 cigarettes per day (Hendid 34).

Hendid, Herbert M.D., Hans, Ann Pollinger PhD, Singer, and others. Living High: Daily Marijuana Use Among Adults. New York: Human Sciences Press, 1987.

ive done marijuana, and yea people have died from it. plus, based on years of research, marijuana will damage your lungs more than cigarettes with the same amount, because you hold it in a lot longer.

Where's the research to back this claim up? I cited my sources, where are yours? I've done marijuana to, does that make me an expert?... Once again you need to realize, yes you hold it in( a little longer, but not enough to make a difference) And there are no records or evidence that link death as a direct result of smoking marijuana.(S04)
“So You Wanna Know About The Legalization of Marijuana?”2000.
http://soyouwannaknow.com/site/pros_cons/pot/pot.html

There was a pro-marijuana program on PBS one night a few years ago. Probably around 3 or 4 years ago. It was the history of marijuana and its abolition. It was very very interesting. Did anyone else catch it?

i think i remember skimming through it. but i didnt actually watch it.

i wish i would have.

A little off topic, but do dope smokers realize how friggin boring and silly they are when they're high? Today a guy that I've been helping came over to discuss his truck's suspension, He'd been tokin, and after ten minutes of his giggly bullshit I told him to take his truck somewheres else for the rest of the project. If he'd stuck around I'd have buried a hammer in his skull. Imagine, a grown man turned into a six-year-old instantly, and wanting to be taken seriously. No way.

noone has died from marijuana, not as a direct result. it definately doesnt cause lung cancer. And it is not illegal because it cant be regulated, it is illegal due to slavery, the main guy leading the campaign to outlaw marijuana was the president of the largest logging company in the world. Hep is 100s times more effecient then trees can ever be. and logging companies lost millions when hemp became big. In WWII the government PAID farmers to grow hemp to be used for rope, sails clothing, tents stationary, etc. it was the primary substance over trees. it is more efficient, cheaper, better on the environment, it would not suprise me one bit for it to be legalized in the next 20 years. it has too many medicinal and environmental benefits for the world to turn away.


Amen on the Hemp thing. Hemp clothing, sheets, rope, etc, even paper products are great. Stronger and longer lasting than cotton, cheaper than produce than cotton or tree-based products. You don't need pesticides when growing hemp, the bugs stay away from it. Prior to it being made illegal to grow hemp in the US, farmers would plant alternating rows of hemp and their other crops and never sparyed pesticides. Europe has alot of hemp production and a large hemp-product industry.

A common misconception is that hemp IS cannabis. It isn't, but they're closely related.

As far as the original question, I believe that any drug, including nicotine, alcohol, prescription this or that, or marijuana, can be a gateway drug. For some people, no. But as mentioned in an earlier post, a vast percentage of addicts tried marijuana (or just nicotine), which then led them to try other things.

People will argue that experimentation is normal, and it is. But if you experiment for a long time, you'll eventually meet someone that will have something different, or harder. In that way, I believe it's a gateway drug.

It has little to do with the substance - nicotine, THC, whatever. People with addicitve personalities are always going to find something.

I voted no, but I think that people who use marijuana ARE more likely to try real drugs. I never have, never will. I think the reason for this is who they get it from. That person is invariably a drug dealer, who sells other drugs. "Hey, man, wanna try some ______?". If it were legal and you could buy it at the gas station or grocery store, there would be no pressure to try anything else.

So to summarize, weed doesn't tempt you to try other drugs. Ther person you get it from may.

I agree with clawhammer that this is not the most accurate place for a poll. The good news (as I see it) is that all of us who are 16-24 now, will be running the country before long. Limited5.9Cherokee said he wouldn't be supprised if it were legalized in the next 20 years. I sure hope it is.

Drug dealers don't sell drugs they offer it!!?

First off- You can die from Marijuana! The thing is that you won't die from an overdose, believe me I've tried. Secondly- marijuana is like no other narcotic/drug because the effects are different from person to person/Clone to clone. The highs can be one or more of these feelings-alert,body stone,cerebral,cheerful,clear head,couch lock,creative,creeper,energetic,euphoric,even body-head high,giggly,happy,lethargic,mellowing,munchies, narcotic,physically relaxing,psychedelic,sleepy,social,stoney,trippy,u plifting,visual,wandering mind. If you don't believe me ask any pothead! Therfore it can be controled/regulated. my thoughts are that you should legalize the ones that are uplifting,cheerful,alert,clearhead etc... and limit the stoney,narcotic,trippy,etc.. Also people will try to grow these crops so there should be a servay to tax growers.
some exps. bubbleberry-euphoric&cheerful,bubble Gum-uplifting,Eclipse-happy&cerebral,Misty-uplifting&social,Northern lights-narcotic&body high,Sensi Star-strong body stone possibly cerebral,Super Skunk-even head/body stone
So depending on what buds you smoke=your performance.
And saying that smoking weed makes you dumb or that you can't perform is bullsh*t! Almost everyday at work my Boss would ask me if I had buds to smoke. So if it was before a job (morning) we smoked some alert buds and after a job we smoked relaxing buds. this was the same with almost all of my jobs. (mostly machnics or autobody jobs) I could understand that it might not be a good idea if you where dealing with rocket science or some sh*t. LoL
For more info. on types of marijuana and there effects I suggest "The Big Book of Buds"

To clear up some more things-marijuana's primary psychoative component (the sh*t that gets you high) is THC-tetrahydrocannabinol, which interacts with CBC-cannabichromene & CBD-cannabidiol can be vaporized at a temp of 120-140F(I think) using a vaporizer. So you can get there effects without breathing in the toxins-which would pervent getting cancer. The worse thing that you breath in when smokin weed is the butane from your lighter! I suggest kinetic energy(use a magnifying glass to spark that bowl)
Also, the reason that "they" say that marijuana is a "gateway" drug- marijuana is the easiest drug to find/get/grow. For most its easier to get treez than cigz/alcohol/illegal drug. I say that alcohol is the gateway drug because it is socially accepted and is the easiest mind altering substance to get.

P.S marijuana is one of the only drugs that is NOT physically addictive! I say it should be legal as long as alcohol still is....Smoke weed everyday!