Gateways

About a week ago, a friend and I were having a discussion about marijuana. Neither of us smoke (though I believe she used to smoke in the past, during her high school days), but we were reading an article in the school paper saying how administration doesn't really know how to handle the issue with marijuana on campus. Technically, there isn't a true "issue" at hand, but the cases of students caught with it has gone up almost twice the amount of last year at this time (last year=4, this year=7 students). Yes, it's not super expensive, making it easier for college students to get their hands on it, but in the paper they noted it as a gateway drug...

Now, many people (mostly marijuana smokers) become defensive when it is considered a "gateway drug" and deny that it is. Personally, I don't care who smokes or whatnot, but it's just something that I choose not to do. Plus, I bet I would be randomly drug tested not too long after I've smoked or something like that. My friend doesn't believe that it is a gateway drug, and spoke from personal experience that smoking pot never led her to pick up any hard drugs and such. Sure, it will be that way for many pot smokers because no one wants to become a druggie and fucked up in the brain.

Here's my opinion though...
Marijuana is not always a gateway drug, but it can be a gateway drug under certain circumstances. If a person is dealing with some personal issues and a ton of stress, marijuana may only help out with that for a short while, leading that person to turn to something harder to feel less pain and more bliss. This is how some people do end up as drug addicts, unfortunately. Because so many people do not see marijuana as a possible gateway drug, they don't always pay attention to those who might be developing a strong habit with smoking the green plant. No one believes that someone can be addicted to marijuana, but many people do become very dependent upon it. Dependence isn't too far from addiction, though in many cases the terms are used interchangeably. I know people who smoke pot everyday, claim that you can't be addicted to marijuana, yet they don't know how to function or be productive if they haven't had their fix for the day. What does that even say?

I'm not trying to say that marijuana is "bad" or should be illegal, but I'm not really trying to promote it at the same time. I guess I'm just pretty indifferent to how I feel about people using it, but this was specifically to talk about whether or not it is a gateway drug. Everyone has a right to their own opinion and to make their own decisions in life. Every action has a reaction. To all my green-smoking friends, have fun, chill, relax, get creative and all of that jazz, but don't be too quick to discredit your favorite plant as a gateway drug when you haven't been seriously/clinically depressed, abused by family or other loved ones, bullied, or dealt with other serious problems in your lifetime. Smoking pot isn't going to solve someone's problems forever. In fact, it won't solve them at all, but it might help calm someone for awhile.

This is one of the main reasons why I personally choose not to drink or do drugs- I'd be using them to escape rather than to just have an enjoyable time or be "social". Maybe that makes me slightly biased on the topic, but I'm not trying to change people's opinions on pot altogether. I'm just trying to provide a different perspective on the effect it has on some people who smoke pot and not all people who do.