The term gateway drug is a misnomer within itself the term defined as a drug that is not habit forming that coincides with users of that drug branching out to other drugs that are habit for me is not a thing that exists.
Somebody might be clinically smoking marijuana for their glaucoma but somebody might be abusing marijuana for social issues both are a treatment to a symptom.
Somebody maybe smoking cigarettes for bowel regulation, or they may be smoking cigarettes for anxiety issues.
Clinical youth of drugs Versus Recreational use of drugs The only real difference is The Institution of medicine Determining prior to the prescription of a drug that this is the least harmful drug to be consumed across a swath of people.
It’s a drug that most people try first but not all pot smokers continue on to do harder drugs. In fact I would say most people that smoke pot dosent move past pot.
More like paint on the gate. You just look over and say, "Man! That is a nice gate! I could paint my house that color." Then you walk through the gateway and boom ..you have a purple house.
If it is I think it could be because it was historically so heavily criminalized despite being a very minor drug. Some people try marijuana, realize it's pretty mild, and start to wonder what else they've been lied to about. They may think if weed isn't that bad maybe other drugs aren't too. If that effect exists hopefully further decriminalization will make it better.
None of them have qualified opinions, they’re just dorks. The bottom line is we’re adults and we should be allowed to decide if we want to smoke or not, especially since marijuana is far less damaging to your health and society than alcohol
My colleagues and I wrote about 25 academic papers on the effects of substance abuse on women and their children. We enrolled women in public health clinics. Followed them for 18 years. We were continuously funded by the NIH for twenty years. Five grants of four years each.
The drugs of interest at the time were alcohol, nicotine, cocaine/crack, and marijuana.
@tractorman each drug has two parameters of interest — addictive power (likelihood of becoming an addict) and damage from use (health effects resulting from use).
Addictive power rank: Nicotine, alcohol, cocaine, marijuana.
Health damage rank: alcohol, nicotine, cocaine, marijuana.
My father died of lung cancer. I have two cousins who died from alcohol abuse.
@irishalzheimers Two comments. 1) your stories do not contradict our research findings. I’m glad people have used marijuana without ill effect, and very glad to hear of people who have successfully beaten opioid use. 2) it’s popular to doubt science. Science is complex. I’m not here to change your mind. Only to share what I know from the work we did.
As for notion that we can all make our own decisions, I am in broad agreement. Unfortunately, our health insurance system is socialized. I pay for the health outcomes of abusers in my pool. 6% of the nations wealth is spent on substance abuse disorders.
@irishalzheimers not sure what point you are trying to make about prescription medications. In general I favor use prescribed by a physician and used in accordance with the drug label.
@irishalzheimers please review my comments. I said Marijuana was the least addictive and least harmful of the four drugs we studied.
I can add that we found no effect on birthweight or other birth outcomes of children born to marijuana users. The children did poorly in school. In my opinion, this was more likely due to other conditions — poverty, child abuse, and other factors in the children’s environment.
So based off that research you found that it shouldn’t be legalized. Why would you come to that conclusion? My dad was prescribed morphine his whole life. All you have to say is that you’re in pain to follow the regulations. Because the real drug lords work in the pharmaceutical industry.
A percentage of people who use the drug become addicts. A percentage of people who use the drug will have poor outcomes.
By legalizing the drug, use increases, because of capitalism. Addiction increases, poor outcomes increase, medical costs increase.
BTW, this is not the research we did. Our research was focused on birth outcomes and child development. But, of course, we read broadly in substance abuse and health outcomes.
If you are doing something and it’s effectiveness decreases over time it can be an influence for you to try different things. This goes way beyond drugs. It’s human nature. Just because it’s not true in every situation doesn’t mean it’s not true in others.
“Initially, when someone smokes pot, the brain experiences a surge in dopamine, and this can make the person feel high or intensely relaxed. The experience might be rewarding enough that they want to repeat it, reinforcing the behavior and creating a cycle where the person uses marijuana more frequently to chase that high.”
“However, the brain's dopamine system is quite adaptive. With regular use of marijuana, the brain begins to compensate for the increased dopamine levels. This process is called neuroadaptation. Over time, the brain may reduce the number of dopamine receptors or lower the production of dopamine in response to the constant stimulation from THC. As a result, the person needs more of the substance to experience the same effects.”
“This is commonly referred to as tolerance. So, the more frequently someone uses marijuana, the less "high" they feel with each use, and they may find themselves needing stronger doses to achieve the same pleasurable experience.”
No, I did. I saw your incorrect implication and decided to respond from a cultural perspective because I assumed that’s what you mean. I didn’t think you were dumb enough to literally think that pot shops are advertising that weed is safe and unaddictive. I figured you just meant that in the zeitgeist, people view it as such. Sorry for giving you the benefit of the doubt, from here on I’ll assume you mean the dumbest thing possible whenever you say something
I think some people are more prone to experimenting with drugs in general. Marijuana typically comes early in that experimentation as it is popular and widespread, and has fewer negative side effects associated with it than many other drugs. Some people will stop there and some will not. I don’t believe it’s absence would stop people prone to experimenting from trying harder drugs.
I can tell you my dad quit heroin through sheer force of will, but smoked marijuana till the day he died. And he saw nothing wrong with it.
No I know people who smoke it and they have never done any other drugs and they have no desire to. I know not everyone is like that but I think people who use other illegal drugs would do them anyway.
Yes. Gateway to nothing happens positively in your life. You just plod along stupidly and never get anywhere. But you don’t know it because you’re too stoned to notice.
Well it’s kinda like drinking. Some people handle it well and others don’t. I just think if you’re chasing the high eventually you’ll go to something else something more dangerous like coke or heroine.
Interesting. I started everything later than most. I didn’t drink until I was in the military, I didn’t try pot until I was over 40. I don’t think I’m typical in any way, which is why I’m curious about how others see it.
I know two people who did it. The first tried anything and everything. The second only tried marijuana and nothing else. Me myself I’ve never tried anything not even marijuana not even drinking. Might make it to 80.
Some people have addictive personalities. It’s not the substance. There’s been studies that showed addiction only arises when your environment is something you can’t tolerate. That goes for any drug. Heroin users in the Vietnam war came back home and had no problem getting clean. It was coping with their environment that got them addicted
Irish, you are correct. It’s the “feeling” that is the key. I had a roommate who had been a heroin addict but he found the same feeling from LSD so he stopped heroin. Remember that song by Head East:
Save my life, I'm going down for the last time
Woman with the sweet lovin', better than a white line
Bring a good feeling ain't had in such a long time
Save my life, I'm going down for the last time
I been using it off and on for 50 years … helps with anxiety attacks.
It’s like any other natural medicine, you have to know the product and treat it with care. The last time I went to pick up the script, I told the dispensary that the previous dose was too strong and I needed something milder. I don’t want to be messed up, just calmed down now & then.
It does the opposite to me, whenever I would smoke it it would make me anxious and give me anxiety. One time it was so bad I had a full on panic attack so I decided not to smoke it anymore.
It helps to stop the shaking I get when an anxiety attack starts.
I like people, but some people can just strike <something> and I start to feel panicky in the situation. It began when my Dad passed away … my first known/documented panic event.
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