Is Marijuana a gateway for harder drugs?

[Msmith]

With the legalization of two states, the trend is going to sweep the nation in next 20 years. Being a father, I like to teach my children about certain paths in life to take or not to take. Personally, I don't touch Marijuana and I don't want my kids to touch that at all. But kids just like to listen to their peers.

How does the board view about this?

[WhiteWhale]

Originally Posted by Saccopoo

Sure it is.

You think that strippers want to end up being prostitues or on internet porn videos?

No, but that's just the logical progression.

Same with weed.

Start smoking weed and it's not that big of a jump to put a little meth in the pipe. And then, your kids are either in prison, screwing people for meth or money to buy meth, robbing people for money to buy meth, etc.

Everybody that I know that has ever done meth smokes weed as well.

Slippery slope reasoning is a logical fallacy.

Your assertion shouldn't be 'everyone I know that does meth smokes weed'. To validate your claim it has to be 'everyone I know who used weed eventually used meth".

Yes though... smoke weed and it's only a matter of time before you're robbing people for meth money. Sounds legit. Carl Sagan was a known meth head wasn't he?

This logic is on par with creationism.

[nychief]

1) no.

2) crowdsourcing parental advice is idiotic.

[KCUnited]

For me, it all started with making suicides at the soda fountain. 15 years later I was blowing lines off passed out chicks.

[Nzoner]

Although in my younger days I frequented the use of LSD and Shrooms I haven't had them in years but nothing wrong with a little weed from time to time.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by nychief

1) no.

2) crowdsourcing parental advice is idiotic.

Eh, I don't necessarily agree with #2. Sure, you probably shouldn't make a sole decision based on what people on the internet say, but that doesn't mean it can't help to frame your thinking.

[Ming the Merciless]

Only in a far flung sense...

You have to think of cause and effect.....versus correlation.

Yes, people who do harder drugs often start with weed and alcohol...but that is a correlation.

The weed and alcohol doesn't cause them to jump to harder drugs.....or there would be millions upon millions of more people doing harder drugs.


-----------------

(like the old , the more churches there are in a town...the more liquor stores there are so therefore church CAUSES people to drink.......fallacy...

its an example of confusing correlation with causality, a basic logical error)

[WhiteWhale]

Originally Posted by Pawnmower

Only in a far flung sense...

You have to think of cause and effect.....versus correlation.

Yes, people who do harder drugs often start with weed and alcohol...but that is a correlation.

The weed and alcohol doesn't cause them to jump to harder drugs.....or there would be millions upon millions of more people doing harder drugs.

This is 100% correct.

Correlation does not equal causation.

[ThaVirus]

Oh, man. I just got into a lengthy debate about drugs with a good friend of mind recently.

I think it started when I said that drugs should be legal. He flipped out and said they shouldn't be because, according to him, "there are no advantages".

I'm like: "Dude, what's the advantage to anything you don't need to survive? If you like to do something and it doesn't hurt anyone else in the process, you should be completely free to do so". Then he actually made the marijuana is a gateway drug argument

Really, what it boiled down to is that he doesn't like drugs. He doesn't do them and, in his perception, everyone he knows that does drugs is a loser with horrible work ethic. He legitimately made the claim that he could conclude whether someone was a recreational drug user by talking to them for an hour because "they're all idiots". I tried explaining to him that there are tons of recreational drug users that live totally normal and productive lives and he'd probably never know they did drugs unless they told him.. But no. Not possible according to him.

Honest to God, I felt like I was speaking to HonestChiefFan.

Originally Posted by DaFace

In an attempt to make a more serious response (since I realize you're trying to understand this for yourself)...

There is a correlation between marijuana use and the use of harder drugs. In other words, people who use cocaine, for example, likely have also used marijuana in their lives.

The issue is that correlation and causation aren't the same thing. People don't try cocaine because they tried marijuana first - it's just that people who are willing to experiment with hard drugs are typically also the types who like to experiment with softer drugs as well.

The argument becomes obvious when you also realize that cocaine users also likely drink alcohol. Is alcohol a gateway drug to cocaine? Of course not.

This is about the best way I could ever put it.

[saphojunkie]

Originally Posted by Saccopoo

Sure it is.

You think that strippers want to end up being prostitues or on internet porn videos?

No, but that's just the logical progression.

Same with weed.

Start smoking weed and it's not that big of a jump to put a little meth in the pipe. And then, your kids are either in prison, screwing people for meth or money to buy meth, robbing people for money to buy meth, etc.

Everybody that I know that has ever done meth smokes weed as well.

[saphojunkie]

Originally Posted by Detoxing

Are you ever right about anything, ever? You're basically the new CoMO.

This.

[Oxford]

[QUOTE=Cochise;10834871
I don't personally care what people do. If you want to become a burnout or ruin your life with meth or whatever, do it in your basement and don't steal from me to support your habit or expect me to pay your medical bills.[/QUOTE]

I do care what people do, not because I "nanny" but because I know it does/will affect me. If people doing their own thing had no effect on me than go ahead and cook your brain.

[Donger]

Can it be? Sure. But, it truly isn't for everyone.

Seems more like a correlation versus causation argument to me.

[Nzoner]

As for the parenting issue(no kids here) I have friends who introduced their kids to weed by being honest and letting them know they still smoke and if the kid ever decided they wanted to try they would prefer they trying it with mom and dad first.

The kids from both families whom I speak of are now very responsible adults who smoke weed and have good jobs.

[Donger]

Originally Posted by KC native

Alcohol is the true gateway drug though.

Gateway to what?

[Fish]

Marijuana is bad enough. It's a Class 1, so I'm not sure what you mean with all this "Gateway to harder stuff". Technically its classification is as hard as it gets.....