Congressman introduces bill to decriminalize personal marijuana use

[JawZ]

The gateway for me when I was a teen....was my friends. I dabbled in cocaine to wipe out the feeling of drunkeness so that I could drive safely home. I did it because my friends did it. Peer pressure. Pot never spoke to me. I tried LSD once because my friends were all checking it out. The only constant drug for me and my friends was rebellion.

[Roody]

The gateway for me when I was a teen....was my friends. I dabbled in cocaine to wipe out the feeling of drunkeness so that I could drive safely home. I did it because my friends did it. Peer pressure. Pot never spoke to me. I tried LSD once because my friends were all checking it out. The only constant drug for me and my friends was rebellion.

There is that also. Without question peer pressure can have a big affect on drug use.

[koldchillah]

The gateway to drugs is simply being curious, rebellious, and impressionable, which are all common among adolescent youth. By labeling any drug or substance as "gateway" we conveniently side-step personal responsibility.

Let us not forget that the only reason pot was made illegal in the first place is because way back during the depression, white folk needed to take up low wage jobs in agriculture, particularly in the southwestern US where mostly mexican immigrants worked the fields. The gov't took note of the mexicans' rampant use of marijuana. They then criminalized MJ so that they could create jobs for white folk who were desperate enough to work the fields.

Basically, it was highly effective in criminilizing those who the gov't felt the need to criminalize at the time. Years later, when MJ became widespread in white society, the gov't then launched further campaigns of propaganda that were mostly based on made up information that was presented to the public to invoke fear. For example: "smoking pot makes your sons become rapists and your daughter's prostitutes" etc etc. It was at least another decade before research started to disprove most early assumptions about MJ and it's effects.

Overall, the gov't did a very good job of convincing the public that the "drug" was the problem, NOT a growing lack of personal responsibility (which was already evident in alcohol related cases). This brings me back to my first point about there being no such thing as a "gateway" to drugs. It is up to each of us as individuals to make sound decisions in regards to that which we put into our bodies.

It is the nature of any politically charged society to consider all people weak minded; therefore, making a case to point the finger at the "thing" and not the "person" becomes very easy to do and unfortunately, people will buy into it every time.

I think the decriminilization would be a step in the right direction but they still need to have some form of consequence in order to assist those who need a kick in the pants when it comes to personal responsibility.

[sito]

The gateway for me when I was a teen....was my friends. I dabbled in cocaine to wipe out the feeling of drunkeness so that I could drive safely home. I did it because my friends did it. Peer pressure. Pot never spoke to me. I tried LSD once because my friends were all checking it out. The only constant drug for me and my friends was rebellion.

But I'm guessing an overall healthy upbringing is why your not a cocaine addict. It isn't the drug, it's the mind using it. Kids that even use through ignorance often or even most of the time find their way home so to speak. I chose to quote you because your use of drugs has much relevance to mine.

It isn't the drugs people. It's the fractured soul seeking and using it.

[Starmax]

i know this will be spam but pskhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh like i give a ****....

[Gixxer]

pot is gateway drug.

nobody, especially the people who refute that it is, has been able to answer the question of how many people they know (or a stat sheet somewhere) of people who go straight to the hard stuff.

[Gixxer]

The gateway to drugs is simply being curious, rebellious, and impressionable, which are all common among adolescent youth. By labeling any drug or substance as "gateway" we conveniently side-step personal responsibility.

Let us not forget that the only reason pot was made illegal in the first place is because way back during the depression, white folk needed to take up low wage jobs in agriculture, particularly in the southwestern US where mostly mexican immigrants worked the fields. The gov't took note of the mexicans' rampant use of marijuana. They then criminalized MJ so that they could create jobs for white folk who were desperate enough to work the fields.

Basically, it was highly effective in criminilizing those who the gov't felt the need to criminalize at the time. Years later, when MJ became widespread in white society, the gov't then launched further campaigns of propaganda that were mostly based on made up information that was presented to the public to invoke fear. For example: "smoking pot makes your sons become rapists and your daughter's prostitutes" etc etc. It was at least another decade before research started to disprove most early assumptions about MJ and it's effects.

Overall, the gov't did a very good job of convincing the public that the "drug" was the problem, NOT a growing lack of personal responsibility (which was already evident in alcohol related cases). This brings me back to my first point about there being no such thing as a "gateway" to drugs. It is up to each of us as individuals to make sound decisions in regards to that which we put into our bodies.

It is the nature of any politically charged society to consider all people weak minded; therefore, making a case to point the finger at the "thing" and not the "person" becomes very easy to do and unfortunately, people will buy into it every time.

I think the decriminilization would be a step in the right direction but they still need to have some form of consequence in order to assist those who need a kick in the pants when it comes to personal responsibility.

and how do you know this? personal experience?

[brembo]

pot is gateway drug.

nobody, especially the people who refute that it is, has been able to answer the question of how many people they know (or a stat sheet somewhere) of people who go straight to the hard stuff.

No, you are right Gixxer. No one not even the DOCTOR named David has anything to refute this. You are 110% correct in your anecdotal and streetwise powered opinion.

[Gixxer]

No, you are right Gixxer. No one not even the DOCTOR named David has anything to refute this. You are 110% correct in your anecdotal and streetwise powered opinion.

way to sidestep the question. david, any info? did i miss something?

[Gixxer]

Marijuana is habitual not addictive. Individuals who fall into the stoner catagory suffer as do the obese who overeat. It is a flaw in either brain chemistry or personality that has some people overindulge. It might be thought that cannabis is a gateway to heroin like a brownie is a gateway to a whole wedding cake. Emprically, I have seen that ravages of those who cannot halt their path of hedonism, however not everyone lets loose of the brake.

pot/heroin and brownies/cake?



surgery/death and football games/loss

[Roody]

I believe it is a gateway drug, but even that said a person has the power to overcome the temptation to take that next step. Where I believe some mess up is to believe that you can't have both. Personal responsibility dictates that a person should use common sense and stay away from the stuff. That said if the dabble in the lighter drugs it can lead to a desire for the harder stuff. Ultimately the decision is left up to each person, but imo it is a gateway drug.

[brembo]

pot/heroin and brownies/cake?



surgery/death and football games/loss

Hey, you know best I'm sure. Graduate school is highly over-rated. Medical professionals these days, so sure of themselves when everyone knows that guile and common social memes are the only truth. When will they learn?

[Gixxer]

Hey, you know best I'm sure. Graduate school is highly over-rated. Medical professionals these days, so sure of themselves when everyone knows that guile and common social memes are the only truth. When will they learn?

you think graduate school is overrated? pretty bold statement. the truest data is personal experience, imo. wait, i think that is where the data/stats come from is people's personal experience.

[Roody]

you think graduate school is overrated? pretty bold statement. the truest data is personal experience, imo. wait, i think that is where the data/stats come from is people's personal experience.

I think Brembo was being sarcastic about graduate school.

[koldchillah]

and how do you know this? personal experience?

How do I know what? Be more specific so I can answer you properly.

If you meant the gateway portion.. well it's simple really.. I'm yet to have a drug, substance, or any consumable walk up to me and stick a gun to my head and force me to consume. I am always in control of my decisions and actions and I take full responsibility for them.

[David]

pot is gateway drug.

nobody, especially the people who refute that it is, has been able to answer the question of how many people they know (or a stat sheet somewhere) of people who go straight to the hard stuff.

I can speak empirically, that not that many people go beyond pot. Also consider cannabis is not really a "club" drug, like extasy, ketamine or cocaine. From a pharmalogical standpoint, recreational drugs each have their own desired effect. Not everyone likes a THC stupor. Those who do, often do not care to speed (like meth or coke). UOD mentioned something to that effect in his post.

The "gateway" is curiousity, not the drug.

[David]

Hey, you know best I'm sure. Graduate school is highly over-rated. Medical professionals these days, so sure of themselves when everyone knows that guile and common social memes are the only truth. When will they learn?

Dan,

It is a matter of opinion. If based on personal experiences, it will carry the taint of subjectivity.

[Gixxer]

I think Brembo was being sarcastic about graduate school.

i know he was being sarcastic, but he likes to put words in peoples (my) mouths. that is why i responded the way i did.

[Gixxer]

How do I know what? Be more specific so I can answer you properly.

If you meant the gateway portion.. well it's simple really.. I'm yet to have a drug, substance, or any consumable walk up to me and stick a gun to my head and force me to consume. I am always in control of my decisions and actions and I take full responsibility for them.

yes, i am talking about the gateway part. i said nothing about chioces. i am stating what sets up the harder things, to which nobody has an answer for.

[brembo]

i know he was being sarcastic, but he likes to put words in peoples (my) mouths. that is why i responded the way i did.

Tell me more about me.

[Leatherneck]

Any fool knows pot is (generally) a gateway drug. I am glad I left for the Marines in 80 because I could see cocaine getting big around town and after trying some I could see why! Never touched dope again in my life, but I've seen a couple old friends that are still stoners into their late 40's and it's embarrassing.

Now we have crack, meth and God knows what else. Don't think I am a prude because I do support MJ for medicinal purposes. I watched my 28 year old Uncle die back in the late 70s of diabetes complications. He also had glaucoma and pot was the only thing that helped. Cancer patients etc.. you bet I support anything of comfort.

To just make it legal though is shooting ourselves in the foot. As if Alcohol is not already a big enough problem. I guess the fast food industry would benefit.

[Gixxer]

Tell me more about me.

go back and read some of your posts.

[YARDofSTUF]

To just make it legal though is shooting ourselves in the foot. As if Alcohol is not already a big enough problem. I guess the fast food industry would benefit.

If they every made it legal I'd cash in my mutual funds and life insurance policy to buy frito lay stocks.

[Gixxer]

If they every made it legal I'd cash in my mutual funds and life insurance policy to buy frito lay stocks.

and MCD's

[brembo]

MJ when used often or habitually in a way similar to cigarettes, is actually an appetite suppressant.

[Gixxer]

MJ when used often or habitually in a way similar to cigarettes, is actually an appetite suppressant.

is that a fact?

[Gixxer]

Marijuana is Gateway Drug

New research confirms that marijuana is a gateway drug for most teens who use it.

Some will tell you marijuana is a harmless drug, but the Journal of the American Medical Association isn't one of them.

Young people who smoke marijuana are two to five times more likely to move on to harder drugs. That is the formal opinion of researchers, who published their conclusions from a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

It is also the informal conclusion of two recent high school graduates who talked with Family News in Focus. The two, who asked that their names remain anonymous, said they no longer smoke marijuana, but that most of the kids they smoked pot with in high school went on to harder drugs and aren't able to hold jobs.

One of the young persons said she started smoking pot because of peer pressure, but she stopped out of concern for her parents.

"I realized how bad it disappointed my parents," she said. "My dad cried and so I stopped."

The JAMA study followed 311 sets of identical twins � one smoked pot while the other did not. Twins were chosen to help rule out a genetic or social explanation for the gateway effect. Almost half of the young people who started smoking marijuana before 17 went on to use harder drugs later in life. The study is the latest to suggest the link between marijuana and other drugs like cocaine and heroin. However, Howard Simon, of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, said regardless of the evidence some still dispute the findings.

"But the one thing everyone should be able to agree on is that for young kids, to be even 'dabbling' with marijuana is just not a good idea," Simon said.

He added he still thinks "Just Say No" is the best policy.

"Regardless of the first drug that is used, what we want to see is kids choosing not to use any of these substances," Simon said.

But experts say a good drug policy isn't enough. They say parents need to be open and consistent with an anti-drug message.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
The Partnership for a Drug-Free America, a non-profit group founded by the nation's advertising industry to fight drug use among teens and children, has a Web site with information for parents.

The Journal of the American Medical Association is a subscription-based periodical. Temporarily, the online version of the Journal is offering free access to the drug study article. Please be advised that JAMA, however, reserves the right to change free access to paid access at any time.

[Izzo]

http://rand.org/news/press.02/gateway.html

"We've shown that the marijuana gateway effect is not the best explanation for the link between marijuana use and the use of harder drugs," said Andrew Morral, associate director of RAND's Public Safety and Justice unit and lead author of the study. "An alternative, simpler and more compelling explanation accounts for the pattern of drug use you see in this country, without resort to any gateway effects. While the gateway theory has enjoyed popular acceptance, scientists have always had their doubts. Our study shows that these doubts are justified."

[Gixxer]

glad you bolded that last part. nobody would have been able to read it.

[Gixxer]

Marijuana is Gateway Drug

New research confirms that marijuana is a gateway drug for most teens who use it.

Some will tell you marijuana is a harmless drug, but the Journal of the American Medical Association isn't one of them.

Young people who smoke marijuana are two to five times more likely to move on to harder drugs. That is the formal opinion of researchers, who published their conclusions from a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
It is also the informal conclusion of two recent high school graduates who talked with Family News in Focus. The two, who asked that their names remain anonymous, said they no longer smoke marijuana, but that most of the kids they smoked pot with in high school went on to harder drugs and aren't able to hold jobs.

One of the young persons said she started smoking pot because of peer pressure, but she stopped out of concern for her parents.

"I realized how bad it disappointed my parents," she said. "My dad cried and so I stopped."

The JAMA study followed 311 sets of identical twins � one smoked pot while the other did not. Twins were chosen to help rule out a genetic or social explanation for the gateway effect. Almost half of the young people who started smoking marijuana before 17 went on to use harder drugs later in life. The study is the latest to suggest the link between marijuana and other drugs like cocaine and heroin. However, Howard Simon, of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, said regardless of the evidence some still dispute the findings.

"But the one thing everyone should be able to agree on is that for young kids, to be even 'dabbling' with marijuana is just not a good idea," Simon said.

He added he still thinks "Just Say No" is the best policy.

"Regardless of the first drug that is used, what we want to see is kids choosing not to use any of these substances," Simon said.

But experts say a good drug policy isn't enough. They say parents need to be open and consistent with an anti-drug message.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
The Partnership for a Drug-Free America, a non-profit group founded by the nation's advertising industry to fight drug use among teens and children, has a Web site with information for parents.

The Journal of the American Medical Association is a subscription-based periodical. Temporarily, the online version of the Journal is offering free access to the drug study article. Please be advised that JAMA, however, reserves the right to change free access to paid access at any time.

[Izzo]

I posted information to the contrary from the parent organization of your source and from one the world's leading think tanks. Are you actually going to claim you know more about it than those 2 organizations and lien on your source that was obviously funded by the partnership for a drug free america with no link back to the original source?

Again, you haven't a clue what you're talking about...now let the adults speak and go play with spammy now.

[Roody]

I posted information to the contrary from the parent organization of your source and from one the world's leading think tanks. Are you actually going to claim you know more about it than those 2 organizations and lien on your source that was obviously funded by the partnership for a drug free america with no link back to the original source?

Again, you haven't a clue what you're talking about...now let the adults speak and go play with spammy now.

Actually yeah I am disputing that. Both with information previously provided and personal experience through friends. I find that even more accurate and valid.

[Gixxer]

Is marijuana a gateway drug?

"I don't think so," 18-year-old Katie Falkenberg says.

"I just have known kids who have done it and they don't do anything else," adds Randy Glance 17.

"I don't think it's gonna lead them into anything bigger," 17-year-old Cody Mcguire says.

But a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests these teens are wrong.

The study examined 311 sets of twins, with one twin in each set having smoke marijuana before age 17.

"And what they found is that the twin who began smoking marijuana at a much earlier age had a very high increase in the probability that that twin would go on to use other drugs other than marijuana," says Dr. Robert Margolis, an addiction specialist.

"As for me, it led within about a month period to other drugs," says Kelly Crockett, 18.

Kelly says smoking pot got her closer to people who used hard drugs.

"And it's like, 'Hey, you like the way this made you feel? Try this, you know?' And I was up for it, you know, part of me was like OK, if I say no, you know they won't think I'm cool anymore," she says.

Experts say pot also releases dopamine in the brain, just like harder drugs do.

"So if marijuana triggers the release of dopamine and cocaine triggers the release of dopamine and heroin triggers the release of dopamine, it makes sense that smoking marijuana may be priming the brain, getting the brain ready for these other drugs," Dr. Margolis says.

But experts say many kids - and their parents - think marijuana is virtually harmless.

"Don't just say, 'Oh, it's only marijuana,'" Dr. Margolis says.

Instead, parents should arm themselves with information from credible sources and send a strong message to kids: Marijuana is illegal, unhealthy and could very well be a gateway to other drugs.

"I know that it is, and anyone that thinks that it isn't, it's kind of sad to say this, but wait and find out … you probably will, you know," Kelly says.


Links
usnodrugs.com
opiumaddiction.com
heroinaddiction2.com
Drug Rehab Oregon .com
drugrehabs.org
addictionca.com

[Gixxer]

http://www.marijuanaaddiction.info/

[Gixxer]

Again, you haven't a clue what you're talking about...now let the adults speak and go play with spammy now.

i have already played with sam and if i ever get out that way again, i would play with hiom again!!!

[Izzo]

Actually yeah I am disputing that. Both with information previously provided and personal experience through friends. I find that even more accurate and valid.

[Gixxer]

now run your mouth

[YARDofSTUF]

Pot isn't a gateway drug its jsut the most common one, based on that you can find studies to go either way, so unbunch your panties gents and find another part of the drug issue to argue.

[Roody]

No offense dude, but you even admitted you didn't go through a personal experience like that so forgive me if my own experiences and the info I have seen holds more merit to me.

[Izzo]

No offense dude, but you even admitted you didn't go through a personal experience like that so forgive me if my own experiences and the info I have seen holds more merit to me.