Facts Disproving Marijuana a Gateway Drug

6 Facts Disproving Marijuana a Gateway Drug

Many gateway drugs exist, and if you believe the wrong folks, you might think marijuana a gateway to hell, too. Opioids, heroin, meth, cocaine, and various chemical drugs send many spiraling into nightmares of death, despair, and chronic addiction. However, cannabis is certainly not one of them, and to back up this statement, here are six facts explaining why weed is not a gateway drug:

1. Insufficient Evidence

There is no conclusive evidence anywhere proving marijuana a gateway drug, and authorities are on record admitting this fact. Rats have substantiated the theory that weed precedes hard drug use, but conclusions remain assumptive. Real science may not assume that addiction occurs because somebody tried one drug before another. This thinking is fallacious, scholarly called “post hoc ergo propter hoc.”

“The majority of people who use marijuana do not go on to use other, ‘harder’ substances,” reports the National Institute of Drug Abuse. “An alternative to the gateway drug hypothesis is that people who are more vulnerable to drug-taking are simply more likely to start with readily available substances, such as marijuana, tobacco, or alcohol, and their subsequent social interactions with others who use drugs increases their chances of trying other drugs.”

2. Cannabis is an Exit Drug

The University of British Columbia conducted research in 2016. Its findings indicate that using cannabis could help people suffering from addiction to potentially dangerous substances, such as opioids and alcohol. It relieves withdrawal systems and helps addicts cope, but most importantly, it provides a positive and healthy alternative to treating root problems, such as depression, PTSD, and anxiety.

3. No More Lies on DEA Website

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency’s website no longer has misleading claims on its pages. The site used to be a hub of federal propaganda, but under the mounting evidence and public pressure, it now makes more accurate claims, such as this one, “The federal government now admits that cannabis is not a gateway drug,” or that pot “does not cause long-term brain damage or psychosis.”

4. Scientific Inaccuracies

The academic community admits the necessity of more research, but reports such as those in the 2013 Humboldt Journal of Social Relations, challenge the gateway theory. It says, “While the gateway hypothesis is useful for describing possible linkages between early substances that are used and later ones, it is problematic for a number of reasons.”

It further states, “Variations in patterns of initiation are progression, and changes in drug involvement in later stages of the drug user’s career are likely to be overlooked by those promoting the validity of the gateway hypothesis.” Using science for politicking is becoming increasingly obvious to anyone following the results of recent research demonstrating the medicinal properties of the marijuana plant.

5. Correlation Does Not Prove Causation

It should worry us when the AAP News & Journal Gateway makes claims such as, “marijuana smokers are 104 times more likely to use cocaine than those who have not tried weed.” There is a strong possibility that the two are unrelated. For example, it is also true that we have more autism despite more people eating organic food. With no proven cause and effect, claiming correlation is impossible.

6. Alcohol More Likely a Gateway

Extremely well-supported research is available from Rice University’s Baker Institute on Public Policy’s Brian C. Bennet Drug Charts. The Bennet Charts provide a detailed analysis of society’s use of “alcohol, amphetamines, cocaine, crack cocaine, hallucinogens, heroin, inhalants, LSD, marijuana, MDMA, methamphetamines, nonmedical prescription pills, nonmedical prescription painkillers, OxyContin, PCP, sedatives, stimulants, and tranquilizers.” There is no better research.

The Bennet Charts, according to Medical Daily, “also show that alcohol causes significantly more personal and social damage than any other substance, and marijuana’s reputation as a ‘gateway’ drug is not supported. Interestingly, traumatic childhood experience, mental illness, and economic insecurity are more telling predictors of substance abuse than the availability of the drugs.”

What Does This Mean?

Marijuana is not a gateway drug. Psychiatrists admit this fact, and common logic, good sense, and scientific data say it is not. Despite outspoken opponents of cannabis, such as New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, perpetuating the lie and threatening to destroy legalization, their untrue claims have their basis in unproven assumptions.

According to assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard University from Massachusetts’ McLean psychiatric hospital, Dr. Kevin Hill, “I do not think of it that way. People with addiction problems often describe initial use of marijuana, alcohol or nicotine at an early age. I think, then, that early use of any of these substances increases the likelihood of further addiction. Any use among young people is serious, but I do not think that early marijuana use means a child is doomed.”

Ordering Marijuana in Culver City

Studies are now proving how cannabis helps treat addiction. It manages withdrawal symptoms and associated side effects. Patients find it easier to get off drugs when using marijuana and it heals their minds and bodies in the process. If you are a recovering drug or alcohol addict, then discuss treatment with your doctor before ordering marijuana in Culver City.

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