yes i do but its not like that for everbody ive had good friends who started smokin pot snd moved on to worse things but i think that irs only like that if you dont have the will power to not move into the more powerful stuff

Nope. That drug would be cocaine.

No i dont. I somke it and i have not done any other illegal drugs

I definitely think so. It happened to me as a teenager. I always said I would never do drugs including pot (and I truly believed it). Then I started sorrounding myself with the wrong crowd and for a while all we did was smoke pot. After a while we started experimenting with other stuff and we got pretty crazy. I think once you cross that line its hard to say no to the other stuff.

NO, No it was beer and cigarettes that opened that "door" for me, I quit smoking cigarettes though!

It threw me into all sorts of other things I usually didn't indulge in: -Bob Dylan's music -Subway sandwiches -Cooler Ranch Doritos -Nature walks -Storm watching -Astronomy(not astrology!) -Fish taco -brownies

I think thats different for everyone, I smoked for 10 years and stopped just cuz I was immune to it and didnt get high anymore, whereas my best friend didnt get high anymore so she went on to bigger drugs. She overdosed and passed away from herion 8 months later. I think it has alot to do with will power and personal strength. if you feel like your bodys just done with it and you want to stop then you wont go onto bigger and worse things but if you still have that need to get high then you feel like you needa stronger drug to get you there.

I've always been told it was, but I've never done other drugs. Well, enless the doctor gave them to me... Drugs are bad for you. But weed is not a drug, its a herb.

Nope from personal experience of a good few months heavy smoking, I stopped smoking one day and haven't taken any other drugs or anything or even thought about it. Suppose everyone is different though I guess

no, considering that most people smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol before smoking pot. that would make THOSE the gateway drugs.

For some, it could be a door leading to other drugs. Influence and peer pressure could be involved, along with a depression or some sort of internal problem. You have to be strong, and say NO to drugs.

no, how silly. I think there's a correlation, certainly, a lot of people who are weak enough to start up with weed are also weak enough to get dragged into other things. But, some people choose to smoke pot and only pot, and I've seen people in their 50's and 60's who still haven't tried anything else. So no, I think it's related, but one doesn't cause the other.

I honestly don't think so. I've smoked pot, but I've never even considered doing any other kind of drug and I can't imagine that I ever would. I think it's all about your mind set and will power.

I saw the ondcp claim that it is due to the fact that a large % of people in treatment are there for pot or have tried it first. The info is twisted, its true but I was given a possession ticket and the next week at school the guidance counselor spent an hour trying to convince me to go to treatment and even sent my parents the info on rehab. Some people can actually avoid tickets by going to treatment. Sometimes treatment really is an easier route than the community service. [EDIT]A great alternative would be an education class for minors. If the teachers were objective and were there for educating you, everyone would walk away with no criminal record, no fine, and most importantly knowing the facts. In the U.S. 70 million people have tried marijuana.... and most likely they didn't go on to harder drugs or we would see a hell of a lot more cocaine and heroin addicts than we do now.

yeh i have to say no on this one i mean everyone is responsible for their own actions which is what someone already said but yeh i been smoking for like 6 years now and i haven’t been temped to try other drugs pot is not forcing you to try something new i say stick with the all natural

well i don't think so. http://www.skincarefairy.com

smoking pot is a gateway to 7 11 runs for cheetos, little debbies, and chocolate milk...if it leads to other drugs, my guess is you were headed there in the first place

S.W.E.D......dont think its a gatewayy....its just how u look at drugs...many people i know have done otha hard core drugs b4 doing weed....

No, that's just something you're told. If people are into harder drugs, chemical drugs, they're into chemicals. Usually these people are willing to take them in a lot of forms, including abusing perscription medication. Weed, something that grows naturally, and mixing a bunch of chemicals together for a high are two completely different things. I smoke weed and cigarettes, I won't touch any chemical drug and I don't drink. I would do mushrooms on occasion. I know a few people that smoke weed and do nothing else, I know a lot of people who do other drugs and don't like weed.

i think it can be but only if there's more influence from other people to do other druge. i think being in a bad situation whether its family problems or just bad friends, can make it a gateway drug. but i know people who use it for recreational purposes. supposedly that's what they say but they dont do it often and when they do its not alot. so yes and no

nope.its just as much of a gateway to other drugs as alcohol or tobacco is.

marijuana does not phisically push you toward other drugs, but if marijuana is your first drug it does in fact make you curious about other drugs, anyone who says otherwise is lying because they probally have done drugs other than marijuana as well.

yeah...... gateway to fun. no but really i believe that it is. well, i mean we are all responsible for what drugs we take. but i mean, the marijuana high gets weaker after time. you build up a tolerance, and sometimes unable to achieve the high feeling. leading to the search of some other new kind of kick.

if you can control it ,no

Nope. That's like saying masturbation is a gateway to bestiality. :p

Only as much as beer is a gateway to moonshine.

Yes, but only because the federal government made it that way. By criminalizing it they made it a blackmarket product. By doing this they put pot in the exact same class as other hard drugs. You don't see every person in Amsterdam addicted to coke do you? No, because the stuffs legal, and normally does not go in the same circles are harder drugs.

Maybe if you have a weak will and are too stupid to realize how bad the other shit is for you.

In a way, yes. Not in a physical way, but I think that it set up a mindset that drugs are okay. That it is an acceptable way to relieve your anxiety, help you relax or have a good time, make you more one of the gang, make you perk up and have more energy, whatever. Not everyone but enough of a danger for some that it's almost better to not go down that road.

yes and no cause i would have never done xtc i think if i had never started smokin pot...but what the hell live right party hard

Yes. In fact I think ANY drug is a gateway to other drugs.

No more than aspirin is a gateway to getting hooked on prescription drugs!

No. Although a person with a propensity to do other drugs may be more likely to try pot as well, I don't believe there is a causal relationship between pot and anything else (except maybe Doritos).

Not at all.

No. I've known people that never smoked pot and yet did more cocaine then scarface and people that smoked pot that wouldn't even look in the direction of alcohol.

For certain people, it can be. I think certain personality types are more likely to be influenced by others to try other drugs while high. On the flip side of the coin, alot of people can be fine with just smoking pot, and have no interest in other substances. It really just depends on the person. I have been smoking pot for 23 years, and I have seen examples of both types of people.

Not for me. When I was high on pot what I wanted most was music, visual entertainment, sex, and food; not some other drug messing with my buzz.

not for me it was quite the opposite i skipped right to lsd and doing acid and drugs like that led me to eventually smoke a little pot though i didnt like it much

NOOO if anything it replaces to urge to do any harder drugs. its natural :)

not for everybody, most people, no....for some people it is the beginning of a downward spiral

yes I do and if you ever sit in arraignment court lots of those folks will tell you their downfall began with weed and the wrong friends

I never use too, but now I definatly think so. I always thought id only smoke pot but it lead to other drugs to get a better high.

I think it is dangerous and it could very well be a gateway to using other drugs. Yes it could be.

Here is a link contaning information on smoking marijuana from the Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/25/AR2006052501729_pf.html By Marc Kaufman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [Excerpt from this article] Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, May 26, 2006 Study Finds No Cancer-Marijuana Connection The largest study of its kind has unexpectedly concluded that smoking marijuana, even regularly and heavily, does not lead to lung cancer. The new findings "were against our expectations," said Donald Tashkin of the University of California at Los Angeles, a pulmonologist who has studied marijuana for 30 years. "We hypothesized that there would be a positive association between marijuana use and lung cancer, and that the association would be more positive with heavier use," he said. "What we found instead was no association at all, and even a suggestion of some protective effect." Federal health and drug enforcement officials have widely used Tashkin's previous work on marijuana to make the case that the drug is dangerous. Tashkin said that while he still believes marijuana is potentially harmful, its cancer-causing effects appear to be of less concern than previously thought. Earlier work established that marijuana does contain cancer-causing chemicals as potentially harmful as those in tobacco, he said. However, marijuana also contains the chemical THC, which he said may kill aging cells and keep them from becoming cancerous. Tashkin's study, funded by the National Institutes of Health's National Institute on Drug Abuse, involved 1,200 people in Los Angeles who had lung, neck or head cancer and an additional 1,040 people without cancer matched by age, sex and neighborhood. They were all asked about their lifetime use of marijuana, tobacco and alcohol. The heaviest marijuana smokers had lighted up more than 22,000 times, while moderately heavy usage was defined as smoking 11,000 to 22,000 marijuana cigarettes. Tashkin found that even the very heavy marijuana smokers showed no increased incidence of the three cancers studied. "This is the largest case-control study ever done, and everyone had to fill out a very extensive questionnaire about marijuana use," he said. "Bias can creep into any research, but we controlled for as many confounding factors as we could, and so I believe these results have real meaning." Tashkin's group at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA had hypothesized that marijuana would raise the risk of cancer on the basis of earlier small human studies, lab studies of animals, and the fact that marijuana users inhale more deeply and generally hold smoke in their lungs longer than tobacco smokers -- exposing them to the dangerous chemicals for a longer time. In addition, Tashkin said, previous studies found that marijuana tar has 50 percent higher concentrations of chemicals linked to cancer than tobacco cigarette tar. While no association between marijuana smoking and cancer was found, the study findings, presented to the American Thoracic Society International Conference this week, did find a 20-fold increase in lung cancer among people who smoked two or more packs of cigarettes a day. The study was limited to people younger than 60 because those older than that were generally not exposed to marijuana in their youth, when it is most often tried. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Somewhat but depends on personal will power 2 say no 2 things that you probly know you yourself shouldnt be touching.

According to the hard core drug addicts i have arrested, yes. They tell me they started smoking pot and gradually stepped up to other hard core drugs. I must say, this is not the case with all pot smokers. for some, this is their limit. smoking pot and drinking beer, only.

I think that, generally, this is a ridiculous scare tactic of the war on drugs. Marijuana is much less addictive, and much less likely to cause physical or psychological harm to yourself or others, than alcohol. Of course, the same can be said of other drugs, such as ecstacy, but I digress... However, to be fair, if someone has a predisposition to crave euphoria by jacking up dopamine levels, constantly looking for a high (a naturally addictive personality), then smoking pot could be a first step towards other drugs. You could even go so far as to say it would be the "gateway", since getting access to pot is easier, there is a perceived lower seediness to it, and it might connect you with some dealers who have stronger fair. But I think if there was no marijuana, these people would often find there way to harder drugs in the end anyway, or, just become alcoholics, if they aren't already. I tend to think alcohol is many many times over a bigger gateway to other drugs than marijuana ever could be.

I would say yes and no. I myself smoke and have tried only a few perscription drugs but nothing else, but I do know plenty of people who smoke on a daily basis and have done other drugs as well.. I wouldnt necessarily say that you'll get addicted to other drugs, but getting stoned all the time may lead u to just try other drugs to see what the feeling is

No. There are millions of marijuana users today who have been using for many years and it has not caused them to use other drugs.

Only if the person chooses for it to be. The person chose to smoke pot, if that person wants to have that lead to other drugs, they will. If they decide that pot is the limit, then that's all they'll smoke. My advice, they should stop doing drugs altogether.

NO, I smoke weed. The other drugs I don't need. =] smokeing pot is just enough.

Good question, NO I don't, not at all, in my opinion there is nothing wrong with smoking pot as long as you don't do it with children around. I think the it should be legal in fact I will be voting to legalize it!! I think that what it does is mellow people out and relaxes them, it doesn't cause violence.

No, not at all. I've been smoking pot for 38 years and I have no desire to do any other drugs.

definitely not. its only a gateway drug if you make it a gateway drug. stay safe and stick to weed

Yes without a doubt, I grew up in a drug area in the inner city. I have seen it happen first hand, not to all but to enough.

From personal experince NO, I know one person (other then myself) who tried marijuana before alcohol or tobacco, over half the pot smokers I know have never experimented with other illegal drugs, and all save one or two after trying other drugs hard or soft decided they prefered to stick with the herb

I haven't seen it that much, myself, it's never given me an urge or whatever you would want to call it, although when i have seen it, there is usually underlying causes like depression or anything else...personally i dont recommend anything other than herb.

To some, yes.

only to those who want to go on and experiment with other forms of stimuli

Yeah pretty much!

for a lot of people, unfortunatley, it is. I have worked in the health sector for 20 years, and seen soem of the most horrendous effects that drug use has had on people, sadly, the mentally insane. over 80% of those criminals, were mind affected by drug use, s=often starting with cannabis, and eventually leading to LSD and P anad such like, its the gateway to nowhere but down, often..............

Back in the '70s it was cigarettes to pot and pot to speed and speed to LSD and Mushrooms..so yes,it was at least for me and the people I ran around with.Don't do any of them anymore,I think tough for a lot of people it does stop with pot..also if pot were legal it probably wouldn't of been or would not be such a gateway drug.Of course the government makes to much $ on it to legalize it.

I feel that the only reason marijuana is a "gateway drug" is because of the reputation it's been given. Those who are curious about drugs start off with cannabis, thinking it's a "starter" high. When they find out it's not all that dangerous, they think other drugs will be the same. At least that's the most common way I've seen it go down. If pot weren't considered so taboo, usage of it and other drugs would be deterred. Guaranteed.

Every single reputable study done on this issue has shown that Marijuana is not a 'gateway' drug. One study found for example that many of the false claims and myths around marijuana use can also be made of other substances, which highlights the sheer absurdity of marijuana being a gateway drug. For example, there is one stimulant over that over %97 of UK criminals use on a regular basis and have admitted using. If there is anything that qualifies as a gateway drug, this surely fulfills the criteria right? You know what that stimulant is? TEA!

No I don't, it's just the easiest to get. If you have the mentality to try drugs, and the urge, you will do whatever drug is infront of you, and since weed is the most common drug to find, chances are the user is going to start there.

I think life is the gateway to other drugs.

No, honestly I don't. I've heard that so many times but all the pot smokers I know ONLY use pot, nothing else so No, I don't

No. If anything, the environment you're in and people you're around are a gateway. Ultimately though, it's your decision to go through that gateway.

I think it is the gateway to alcohol. when pot isnt available one goes for what is. and beer is so very available.

yes you smoke it get high want to get higher and do other drugs some people dont most people do

Why? You holdin'? ;-)

I don't think so.

Fuck no as long as u have a human brain and it works we make out own choices thats the beauty that ppl have the freedom of choic just cause a person drinks a beer or smokes a bowl dosent mean u will live under a bridge shooting up meth

Abdolutly NOT!!! I have never moved to harder illegal drugs... and it is safer that many FDA approved drugs!!!

No, I don't think so. I know pot smokers who never use anything else. I've also known plenty of people who never used pot but have abused painkillers and used cocaine and crack. If anything I would say prescription pain killers are the gateway drug.

No. No more than alcohol is a gateway to other drugs. They had to make up some excuse as to why not to do dope.

No, I don't think so I think the (fallible) gateway theory got blown out of proportion, and though I have seen kids move from soft to hard drugs. I don't see it as a gateway effect because the cases I have seen arise not from moving on to the next best thing, but out of curiosity, and I think that is very natural. I remember being in 7th grade and though I was indoctrinated to be afraid of drugs, the thought of taking ecstasy or coke at a party excited me just because of the unknown. The kids I know who have tried harder drugs did not continue use after one or two tries. Not to mention this was only a select few kids I have encountered out of many who have tried or have chronically used marijuana (and there are plenty of people who have only tried pot once)

Yes definitely. I have seen lots of people starting with that and then trying more **interesting** drugs.....

It's pretty much proven that it is. That's why they call it the Gateway Drug. When people smoke it and see that the effects are not that bad/strong, they think that harder drugs won't be very damaging either (or they are looking for a drug with bigger effects). The fact that marijuana is illegal puts it in with the harder drugs but the fact that it is fairly mild makes it easy to handle. It makes people curious about other drugs and gives them a false security. Of course, many peole who do smoke it become lazy and lethagic and wouldn't put in the effort to get harder drugs so it's not always going to lead to other drugs.

I think people who think it is a gateway drug are idiots and probably going to use other drugs anyways. It is all in the persons mind set and you will either use others or you won't. weed is great and does nothing to you except releave some stress and give you the munchies. I hate the stupid comercials on it because that is not what it does to you. anyone who has used it can tell you that. one day they will legalize it and it will be a good day.

NOOOO. unless you smoke like 24/7 and get bored of it and want to try new things.

LOOK!! like Marley said...this will happen only if you smoke too much that your sytem becomes immune to cannabis...this means you wont get high so easily or you wont get high as much as you used to... so, when this happens, you have to do stronger drugs to go high, thats all..... If you dont go high on your regular weed, try some stonger strands. like ak-47 or the g-13... PeAcE!!

it just depends on what is available if pot isnt available. and how much money is available to spend. usually the dealer has other stuff to sell. some coke, or some lsd,or some shrooms.

no alcohol and tobacco are

In the society we live in, there are hundreds of supposed gateway drugs. Most people blame Marijuana as one of the most notorious causes for a deeper addiction into other, more dangerous drugs. This is simply because its one of the most benign illegal substance out there. If tobacco was illegalized, it would immediately trump Cannabis as the leading gateway drug. People are going to smoke cigarettes if they want to, some people are going to smoke crack if they want to...The problem lies much deeper than just blaming a simple plant.

In some cases, no. I've had friends that have been major pot heads for years and have no desire to try anything else. But I can definetly see someone wanting to experiment with other substances trying to reach a new high.

i actually disagree with the others. i started off just smoking weed.. after a while of doing it on a regular basis.. the high wore off, and i began getting curious about other stuff, whereas before, i always said i'd never touch anything but pot.. not that i'm a junkie now.. just since then i've been mor experimental like i said, i smoked it more frequently.. if you're just doing it once in a while, it probably won't be a gateway drug.. at lest not yet, until it stops giving you the same lovely, munchie, sleepy giggly high that i miss oh so much

no every time you do a harder drug your makeing a choice i know people who do weed who would never touch other drugs.

No, I don't yo...

yes

Aye.. indeed. The question becomes "if this then why not that".

It can be. If we told the truth about pot to our kids in school, we would have less kids using harmful drugs. People who try pot usually realize it is harmless. Then they wonder how harmful other drugs really are. They become curious and are more likely to try hard drugs. The problem is that our attitude in the much of the US is that if you do drugs you are a loser, and pot falls into that stigma. People need to know that just because pot is illegal and considered a drug, does not mean that using it comes anywhere close to being as dangerous as using other, truly harmful drugs. If we just made it legal, we would all be much better off.

This largely depends on the person. I know people who smoke pot but never was attracted to drugs and I also know some people who never smoke pot but were addicted to drugs. Self-control is the biggest factor that plays in here.

no way, not for me. some people just cant do anything because they have NO self control. people say it's a gate way drug, but i just see a gate around me and i'm happpy with just weed in my fence. there is no evidence that weed is a gateway drug. there won't ever be anything that says or shows weed is responsible for people doing crack or heroin or meth. i think pharmaceuticals are more of a gateway drug to worse shit- adderall, ritalin can lead to coke or meth use. benzos like xanax or anxiety medications can lead to heroin just because they want a more intensified effect of either speeding up or just passing out. i never get the question of "oh should i try smoking crack because i like weed so much?" no. just for the fact that i see addicts like that and it's like, why would i wanna be like that? and another reason has to be because my dealer doesnt deal or hold anything other than weed. i dont know or want to know where to get crack easily, weed its like always available, why would you ever want anything else? its perfect.

ya. atleast thats what they told me in school.

hey man' pot is pot man an it does'nt make you want badder drugs , i never went to badder stuff' like acid i only did it like twenty times man, not like i was liking it' done qualudes to but was'nt because of pot' it was because i was out of pot ! haha. so you be the judge an enjoy what ever you do''

it depends on the person but if someone is someone is smoking it regualy and the person wants more there going to go on to harder drugs. i ve seen it happen they startd on weed ended up messed up on smack its no good!!!

I Think it is, I'm not passing judgment in any way.

no its not.

eggzackly. if your morals are so fractured that you would disobey the dont smoke pot law, then you are open do doing other drugs as well, depending on the availability of what other drugs are available.