Ask the heroine or crack addicts if they've ever smoked pot. I hear that it takes the edge off of their high when they are around other people.

Unfounded claim, never been proven. Pot has never been definitely proven to be a gateway drug. Here, let me explain how it is labeled a gateway drug real quick: Gateway drug-a drug (as alcohol or marijuana) whose use is thought to lead to the use of and dependence on a harder drug (as cocaine or heroin); now we take a drug (the typical first drug a kids has is cough medicine) and we have this drug that we will call A. Now we have A, person ingests A and according to the theory of gateway drug person will move onto B, C, and D respectively.

Here is the trick, definition of drug: 1 aobsolete : a substance used in dyeing or chemical operations b: a substance used as a medication or in the preparation of medication caccording to the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (1): a substance recognized in an official pharmacopoeia or formulary (2): a substance intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease (3): a substance other than food intended to affect the structure or function of the body (4): a substance intended for use as a component of a medicine but not a device or a component, part, or accessory of a device
2: a commodity that is not salable or for which there is no demand —used in the phrase drug on the market
3: something and often an illegal substance that causes addiction, habituation, or a marked change in consciousness
— drug·gy also drug·gie \ˈdrə-gē\ adjective

Drug is defined as (2): a substance intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease (common cold). Therefore with the gateway drug theory, the true gateway drug would in fact be cough medicine...as I said before, they always start with cough medicine.

Fear,

No disrespect here. But...

I've worked in a rehab. I've been to their NA meetings. I've read their charts and talked with them. The ones that I've seen have all started with pot and/or alcohol.

I would have to teach them all of the secrets to MacGyvering a pipe or bong in any situation.

i smoked pot for a year and a half and never got into anything or even tried anything else till i hurt my shoulder and got put on perscription pain killers, got addicted to them and then went on to harder stuff, so in my book weed is NOT a gateway drug, what is are the pain killers and pills doctors are shoving down our throughts for every little thing, which causes dependancy, and therefor a need once the perscription is done!!!

It may not be a gateway drug to 100% of the people. But..the one's that went further then that started with pot and/or alcohol from what I've seen.

further than what??

Further then pot and/or alcohol.

You're missing the point, the point is that in the same way that pot is considered a gateway drug...cough medicine is the true gateway drug. Gateway drug is just a myth, people don't move to harder drugs unless they want to move to harder drugs there is no magical substance that suddenly snaps someone into doing heroin or coke. Hell I did heroin before I did any other drug, but if you really want to clear cut a gateway drug the real one would have to be cough medicine...cause it is a drug, and everyone starts with it.

So unless people here are willing to say that cough medicine started the addiction into harder substances they need to drop the gateway drug nonsense.

o come on...experimentation usually BEGINS with cigarettes.

My brother never touched a cig in his life. He did smoke though.

I hear what you are saying about the cough medicine. Children of alcoholics are recommended to use cough medicine with no alcohol in it because addiction runs in families.

And that is why the "gateway drug" theory holds no water, because no matter what, when, where, or how they have done another drug before even touching pot. Whether it was cough medicine, tyenol, or aspirin.

Actually...the active ingredient in cough medicine is dextromethorphan hydrobromide. It's a stimulant and in large doses produces effects similar to LSD. It's in Robitussin and sold over the counter everywhere. Robitussin does not contain alcohol.

WHAT KIND OF F@CKED UP CRACKPOT THINKING IS THAT?

Somebody give scorp the "Better Living Through Chemistry" award

If you had read my previous posts in this thread, you would have seen my sarcasm.

Wow. I guess nobody bothers to read my posts. I have numerous posts in this thread about how pot is NOT a gateway drug. I guess the sarcasm thing didnt work.

Excellent.... guess I took that outta context