Democratic Primaries
In reply to the discussion: Tired of the Meme That Harris/Booker Show That "Democrats Have a Problem" [View all]JonLP24
(29,322 posts)Once and for All, Marijuana Is Not a Gateway Drug
According to many studies, weed seems more like a filter that keep people away from stronger drugs than a stepping stone into life-destroying addiction.
As the 2016 election approaches, marijuana legalization is in the air once again, with ballot initiatives likely to succeed in at least five states, including California. As usual, politiciansincluding some presidential candidates, notably Carly Fiorinaare trying to turn back the tide by spreading fear that weed is a gateway to more dangerous drugs. But research increasingly shows not only that the "gateway" theory is incorrect, but that weed may actually help people with addictions stop taking other drugs, rather than start.
On the surface, the gateway idea seems reasonable enough. After all, there are almost no heroin users who didn't start their illegal drug use with marijuana, and marijuana smokers are 104 times more likely to use cocaine than those haven't tried weed.
Yet as scientists constantly remind us, correlation isn't the same thing as causation. For example, the number of people killed annually by dogs correlates almost perfectly with the growth in online revenue on Black Friday. And the rise in autism diagnoses is strongly correlated with the growth in sales of organic food. It's technically possible that some third factor causes both of these apparently haphazard connections. However, it's completely implausible that these connections are causal, and odds are that the links are due to random chance.
In terms of marijuana's specific correlation with other drug use, slightly less than half of Americans over 12 have tried marijuana, while less than 15 percent have taken cocaine and less than 2 percent used heroin, according to the latest National Household Survey on Drug Use and Health. Even smaller portions go on to become addicted to those drugs: Typically, only 10 to 20 percent of those who try alcohol and other drugs get hooked.
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/9bgn7a/why-marijuana-is-not-a-gateway-drug-1013
I can post 20 links but it doesn't matter for drug warriors. Gateway drug is the argument Chris Christie was making in the Republican Primary.
primary today, I would vote for: Undecided