The gateway is having to deal with shitty people that used to be in those crowds.
Its becoming less of an issue as more people use it responsibly like social drinkers and you dont have to deal with a complete waste of space to society to get it or be around others who partake.
Reefer madness is bullshit, but its also not 100% harmless either. Chronic use of THC still almost certainly causes GABA disregulation for instance.
You have a stupid majority who act like weed is just as bad as heroine and meth and THE gateway drug, but the potheads who are just horrible people spouting about how its completely harmless aren’t helping the cause either.
Has anyone called marijuana “a gateway drug” since 1997 or so?
Boomers and uptight genX.
You mean the generations that made pot use common in college?
No one is calling cannabis a gateway drug aside from the Republicans. Who all do cocaine.
Whoa dude. Republicans do all the drugs known to man, they just judge everyone else especially minorities for it, in a delicious and idiotic hypocrisy.
Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan both regularly smoked marijuana.
I’m not denying that shit loads of Republicans do cocaine (and meth) but I guess what I’m saying is that they also do all those other drugs that they hate on left wing people and minorities for doing.
So many boomer Republicans are so doped up on legal opioids because they’re rich connected and have good doctors, it’s not even funny. All while freaking out about anything that becomes available on the street, accessible to people without insurance.
Part of me feels like they wanted heroin and oxycodone replaced with the far more lethal fentanyl for the purpose of punishing the “wicked junkies” but that’s somewhat of a conspiracy theory.
Part of me feels like they wanted heroin and oxycodone replaced with the far more lethal fentanyl for the purpose of punishing the “wicked junkies” but that’s somewhat of a conspiracy theory.
I mean, there’s a reason crack cocaine was so prolific and associated with negative outcomes in black communities… It’s reasonable that a similar strategy might be used again in that same manner.
You forgot caffeine in the meme
Literally classified as a unscheduled drug but people give it a pass cuz ur more “productive”. More people have died from caffeine overdose then weed overdose.
More people have died from caffeine overdose then weed overdose.
Sounds like a rectal fact, got a source?
It’s true, mostly because the LD 50 for THC is like a kg/kg (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK563174/). It’s so astronomical that you would die from many other issues before thc became a concern. Caffeine actually has a pretty low LD 50 even among many illicit drugs, it’s just more widespread so people aren’t incentivized to take hyper-concentrated doses of it.
Lol ok troll
Refined sugar.
It is a gateway drug, not the. But it is the one that forwards most people to harder drugs.
Since weed is still illegal in many/most places, getting your hands on some could also introduce you to criminal elements that can provide a shorter route to harder drugs.
I write that as I recall joining a buddy as he went to some guys apartment to buy weed, and in the living room we were met with the dealer casually shooting heroin, asking if we’d like some. I can’t recall ever having a stronger “holly shit I need to get out of here”-feeling.
I suddenly felt way too close to a road I did not want to go down.
nictoine would be a gateway drug too if you had to meet with a shady dude in an alleyway or get bitcoin to buy it
I don’t think those are “gateways” though. I think the real gateway is when you try something that you’re taught is vilified and told it will make you stupid and ruin your life, but then all it really does is chill you out. The gateway is realizing you’ve been lied to and you wonder what else was a lie so you try other things. Alcohol if anything has the opposite problem.
100%. There’s also the fact that when weed is illegal, the only way to get it is through someone who likely sells other illegal substances so it’s not hard to start messing around with other things after smoking for a bit.
Weed is only a gateway drug when its illegal
Crazy I had to scroll down this far for the reason it’s actually called a gateway drug.
Well, the ACTUAL reason it’s called a gateway drug is fear mongering.
Internet explorer ass comment, 2007 called, they want their hot take back
They’re so proud of their “hot take,” they took the screenshot themselves to post elsewhere
Calling alcohol and nicotine the first substances that most people abuse when caffeine exists is the biggest win in propaganda history.
No one has ever said “man I love coffee, I should try ecstasy next!” Lol
nobody has said it because the same person never sold both
if you had to go to the ecstasy guy to buy your coffee too, then you’d be much more likely to try ecstasy as well
What? I’m confused at what point you’re trying to make lol
You don’t know my life
I’m sure more than a few people have said “coffee ain’t doin’ it for me anymore; I should try cocaine or meth,” though.
Unable to cite sources on this, I swear I’m not pulling it out of my ass and I did hear it on broadcast news like in the early 00’s…but adderal is (or at least, was) the most abused prescription drug by “soccer moms”, so, I wouldn’t be surprised.
You know anyone that’s never had coffee before they’ve tried x?
Know anyone that’s never had pizza before they tried heroin?
Pretty sure milk is the ultimate gateway drug.
I didn’t drink coffee until I was thirty.
How about soda?
Not by choice. I guess in a float, but root beer isn’t caffeinated. I preferred herbal tea. I was a very edgy child.
Coffee isn’t really a mind-altering drug in the same way, and people take it for it’s effects recreationally. Getting drunk, though? It’s not for me, but people do that for fun, and then look to other ways to have fun in the same kinda way. All the sudden…
There is a whole merchandise category about people not being able to function without coffee but I’ve never seen a mug that says “don’t talk to me unless I’ve bumped a rail”
Picturing that on some stockbroker’s desk
The classification of cannabis changed to incarnate more black people. It’s a historical fact and it’s sad that many people don’t know that.
incarnate
Either you mean incarcerate, or else it is one hell of a gateway
I smoked pot and now I have a new isekai life with superpowers and a band of roaming catgirl assassins who enforce my will upon an otherwise cruel, dark, and corrupt world in an alternate dimension.
This could happen to you.
…yes please!
Yeah, sorry. I’m tired and English isn’t my mother tongue.
I didn’t mean anything by it, and assumed it was autocorrect. I was just amused by the visual of it in my head.
Gateway drugs should open more things
I believe originally, it was used to incarcerate Latin Americans, hence the naming of “Marihuana” and later, “Marijuana” to make it sound more Spanish.
It wasn’t just race, it was Black People and anyone else that associated with them. If someone went against authority and smoked weed, they were a danger to authority.
It was a litmus test
But pretty fucking close for .ml account
Hippies too
Person 1: You know what? You’re right. They should all be deregulated.
Person 2: You know what? You’re right. They should all be illegal.
2 : Mormons
EDIT: Although not sure , given how Utah/SLC is. IT’s a shitty joke, I apologise.
I believe that sugar and caffeine are the real gateway drugs, they are the 1st chemical compounds many people are addicted to.
Gateway to what? Harder cookies? A double shot of espresso? They’re definitely drugs, but I think to call them a gateway isn’t so accurate.
“Gateway” is subjective, but sugar is certainly the first substance people encounter that influences cognitive behavior. Consume this thing and feel this way.
Of course that doesn’t mean you’re going to go and shoot up some heroin, but both are certainly “addictive”.
Dependency
And salt and fat
Both of those are biologically necessary. So if we’re going that route, oxygen.
You can live just fine without consuming sugar or caffeine.
Sugar is a bit of a stretch, since we also do need it. We just get it in a lot of food, since a lot of the foods we eat also need sugar to grow and do things.
You can get sugar from carbs, the issue is refined sugars
We do need a small amount of glucose, that’s why I was specific that we don’t need to consume it. We can make the amount we actually need from the protein we eat.
Whether that’s ideal or not is a separate conversation, but we can live our whole lives without consuming sugar or carbs.
We’d literally die if we didn’t eat salt or fat.
https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/ask-dietitian-can-you-survive-without-carbs/
Can you survive without any carbs in your diet? An army of zero-carb-diet social media influencers seem to think so.
EDIT: To clarify, my whole point in this thread has been that you can get addicted to salt and fat, both of which are things you need. I don’t know why the fuck anyone would want to ramble about whether you can “fully quit carbs”. Maybe the best question here is “Why would you and why are you even talking about it?”. Again: you can get addicted to things you need. Consuming it in excess is what makes it an addiction. There’s no rule that says you can only get addicted to things you want but not need
Dude… they’re literally banning fast-food ads in the UK. This is no time to get pedantic haha
You can absolutely get addicted to salt and fat
And we do need sugar… Carbs are sugar. You need carbs
Don’t take this personally but it kinda sucks you got upvoted this much
EDIT: Lots of morbidly obese Americans here. Sorry I offended your gods, salt and fat. Oh and get off the internet every once in a while. There’s too many of you here and 90% of your opinions are moronic.
It goes along with how they categorize cannabis as “drug” while alcohol for some reason gets it’s own special category.
Because one is legal and one isn’t…
If alcohol or tobacco was illegal, they’d be treated like illegal drugs
Laws aren’t always correct.
Do you understand it now?
That’s circular reasoning. “It’s considered a drug because it’s illegal, and it’s illegal because it’s considered a drug.”
It hard to start somewhere. Look back in history and see where it started.
So if cannabis is a “drug” because it’s illegal and alcohol is “alcohol” because it’s legal, why is ibuprofen a “drug” and not “alcohol”? Or maybe, did you misunderstand something, and the condescending tone is not only embarrassing, but completely unwarranted?
No, not really.
Because one is legal and one isn’t…
Both alcohol and cannabis are legal.
But they are still treated very differently legally despite both being drugs.
Alcohol isn’t a drug, it’s a drink.
Edit: I guess the niche 90s British comedy references don’t fly too well on the fediverse.
“Marijuana is not a drug. It’s a plant; it just grows that way! Drugs you gotta do shit chemically to it.”
Marijuana is not a drug. I sucked dick for coke. You ever suck dick for some marijuana? Didn’t think so.
“Lean isn’t a drug, it’s a drink”
Alcohol is a psychoactive drug
Alcohol and nicotine are the first step in the path of despair. But cannabis is the gateway to a good time. Change my mind.
Eh alcohol can be enjoyed in moderation. Personally I massively prefer it to weed
Same. I’m not actually a fan of weed. No ill effects, just not more enjoyable to not consuming it for me, and less enjoyable than the right amount of alcohol (but much more enjoyable than too much alcohol, so balance is key).
Are you really having a good time when the munchies hit but you’re out of snacc?
A little planning ahead can help with that.
A tip that has helped me a lot with munchies: instead of chips and taco bell, reach for some fruit. Solves munchies and cottonmouth.
I don’t get the munchies, so there’s that.
Caffeine: am I a joke to you?
Apparentely it’s only considered a dependence and not an addiction, even though there are a lot of discussions about it.
Pathologically reinforced caffeine use induces dependence, but not an addiction.[13] For a drug to induce an addiction from repeated use at sufficiently high doses, it must activate the brain’s reward circuitry, particularly the mesolimbic pathway.[13]
Its been my experience that 125cc motorcycles, Cessna 172’s, DJI Mini-2 drones, and Ender-3’s are also gateway drugs. Less illegal but just as damaging financially.
I often call e-bikes gateway drugs to motorcycles :)
I’m older, for me normal bikes were gateway drugs to motorcycles.
On the other hand, for me normal bicycles were gateway drugs to even more expensive normal bicycles…
The war on drugs has always been bullshit. I wonder how many bosses have said “drug free workplace” or principals saying “drug free campus” while holding a cup of coffee.
I’m not for prohibition whatsoever, but have you seen the difference between someone who chose coffee as their drug of choice and spend decades drinking it versus smoking meth?
I’m making fun of all the propaganda.
For example: Someone who is against the justice system as it is isn’t advocating for murder to be legal.
Don’t you dare discompare a cup of coffee to my morning meth
Depends if they’re using an intoxicating amount as well. Plenty of folks around on a dose of amphetamines that would have you and me stimming our brains out. For work that doesn’t involve dangerous machines or the safety of others, I say, As long as I can’t tell you’re high on something and it’s not effecting your work, whatever makes your day more enjoyable have at.
But let’s compare the potential for abuse for a moment
