Mofo Fly]I will always argue that weed is as much of a 'gateway drug' as cafine is... to say every major drug addict started on pot is as stupid as saying every major drug addict started on koolaid/soda.
Still disagree with this. I didn't bother to put Rain's statements to the test and actually look up any studies to determine if the notorious "THEY" have now determined that the gateway drug theory is "bunk". I just don't care that much.
And also, I would argue that you cannot DISPROVE a theory on psychological and psychosocial mechanisms. Psychology and sociology are not hard sciences. There are no 100% right or wrong answers. We can only make educated guesses.
I get what you're saying Fly, but I think you're comparing apples to oranges. The high you get from sugar or caffeine is nowhere near intensity of the high you get from pot, or any other controlled substance for that matter. If I had to rank illicit drugs in order of intensity of highs (of the ones I've tried, and assuming all are of the potent variety), it'd go like this: pot, coke, E, LSD.
The other aspect of the gateway drug theory that we haven't talked about goes beyond, oh, I tried pot, that was a little "bad", now I'm less afraid to try things that are even more "bad". It's the "chasing the dragon" thing. Wow let's see, I have gotten as high as I can possibly get off pot, I wonder what the high from coke would be like?
Now obviously it's not that black and white and usually involves hanging out with people who do these kinds of drugs and getting into a situation where it's offered to you. But the point is still the same. That's the other side of the gateway drug coin. Once you're bored of the high with one drug, many people try something new out of sheer curiousity.
There are 100 million reasons why when people come to that crossroads where they can accept a harder drug when it's offered to them, some people choose to do it and some do not.
I'm not saying that the gateway drug theory is proven or that it's 100% right. I'm simply saying that I agree with it's 3 main ideas which are:
1. Once you try one illegal drug, your moral barrier has been compromised and you are more likely to try something harder.
2. Most people start with lower level drugs (like pot) that are easier to get, cheaper and less socially frowned upon.
3. Once you experience the high of one drug, you are more likely to want to experiment with others.
