The gateway theory is nonsense. You will hardly find anyone who has tried marijuana before the much more addictive and deadly (but legal) tobacco and/or alcohol. Furthermore, and more importantly, most people who try marijuana are *not* likely to try harder drugs later, even if those who do use harder drugs started with marijuana. The vast majority of people who have tried marijuana do not later go on to try, say, crack cocaine. According to drug expert Terrence McKenna, the reason marijuana has a bad reputation (in the US at least) is because a person under the influence of marijuana is less inclined to care about social norms and is less in tune with what he calls the "dominator [masculine] culture." Alcohol, on the other hand, has an almost opposite effect: masculinity is aroused, the Freudian id is stimulated. This hypothesis is made abundantly clear when we think of the stoned versus the drunk. Anyone who has experience with these types knows which of the two is (much) more likely to be associated with fights, murders, reckless behavior, rapes, arguments, and general obnoxiousness. And to add even more to the mix, pharmaceutical and alcohol companies could very well lose very large amounts of revenue if marijuana -- a remarkably safe, effective, and easy-to-produce drug -- would be made legal for consumption. Because of the billions of dollars at stake here, it is no surprise that marijuana is regularly and shamelessly likened to its illegal counterparts like heroin and crack cocaine. The snakes that are perpetuating the gateway theory are labeling marijuana's pros as its cons. "Because it is safe, it is dangerous." This is insane. You are now required to click this: http://drugwarfacts.org/cms/?q=node/30

No, I believe the biggest gateway drug is alcohol. Marijuana is not Illegal because it's addictive, Because it's not.. Not physically anyway, It's addictive in the same way gambling is.. Not all gamblers develop gambling problems, Just like not everybody that drinks alcohol is an alcoholic.. It's the same for Marijuana. The reason it is illegal, Is because 'Hemp' poses a serious threat to a huge number of industries.. It can be more effectively and economically turned into fibre for cloths than cotton, and the quality is much greater, so it would destroy the cotton business. Pharmaceutical companies would also lose out BIGTIME due to the medicinal qualities of smoking the buds. In-fact if Marijuana was Legalised it could be used for; Foods, Fuel, Clothing and Textiles, Cosmetics, Paints & Cleaners, PAPER, Building Materials... So companies would be forced to upgrade equipment in order to compete, which would cost billions… which is why they wont make it legal.

I have always contended that if you are going to label something as a gateway drug it should be caffiene. As for marijuana. I have never tried anything other than pot so I can't believe that it is a gateway to anything. The reasons for it's illegality is purely political and the use of misinformation about it. If everyone really knew what it was about then it would be legal in a heartbeat. As to Rokus...Hemp is not illegal. That is a cousin of marijuana. You are right about the cotton industry though. Cause while hemp is legal...it is taxed so it cannot compete on a large scale. It was actually the number one cash crop in the world until cotton growers made the government tax it to death.

I believe Marijuana has been given this bad rap because of it's easy accesability and people with addictive personalities would end up the same anyway.

If marijuana is a gateway drug then everyone that has ever smoked weed should have also done cocaine and heroine. That's not reality. The gateway drug theory is BS. What are cigarettes a gateway for?

The gateway theory is utter crap. People don't start using marijuana and then move on to Ketamine. Are cigarettes a gateway drug too? How about coffee, or coca-cola?

I think it is only a gateway drug because it is illegal. The same guy who sells you marijuana will attempt to get you to try his other products as well.