Is Marijuana a gateway drug?

[Steve]

This is a tough subject, but I don't think that Marijuana is a gateway drug. There are too many variables(chemical, physical and social) to just flat out say the Marijuana is a gateway drug. What do you think?

[Cartman]

The use of marijuana does open the mind to the concept that maybe those adults were lying about EVERY drug, cuz this stuff ain't too bad. That's what I think.

This is a tough subject, but I don't think that Marijuana is a gateway drug. There are too many variables(chemical, physical and social) to just flat out say the Marijuana is a gateway drug. What do you think?

[RECON]

I think marijuana legalization will bail out the economy, I don't smoke, but I'll go into business as lucrative as it would be

[ass_is_grass]

having lived in a halfway house/drug rehab for two years, I heard many stories where the dealer runs out of weed and the client ends up buying something else. And that something else brought about their undoing.

But I believe any drug can be a gateway drug. I also think that certain people are much more susceptible to addiction, upon exposure to a given drug. One person could dabble with cocaine and never look back (albeit unlikely), yet throw away an entire life to alcohol.

Cannabis though, is not so much a 'gateway drug' as it is the victim of societys fear---and inability to deal with---social woe's such as street gangs and recreational drug use. Outlawing it makes people feel safer without actually addressing reallife problems. It also gives the government more leverage further involve itself in all aspects of our life. It's not that different from terrorism in that respect, actually.

I have to stop before I sound like a marijuana enthusiast/advocate or conspiracy theorist. I neither use cannabis nor partake in serious conspiracy speculation. Although i am a libertarian who believes (like our founding fathers believed) government by nature seeks to extend itself.