I know two veteran sheriffs personally, one from a county in Florida and one from a county in northern Illinois.
They both told me emphatically that Mary Jane IS a gateway drug.
They stated that virtually ALL the hopheads and hard drug addicts they tossed in the county jails started their illustrious careers as marijuana users....in fact, almost without exception.
It's not necessary to cite alcohol addicts as being equal to or more dangerous than druggos. I don't think anyone disputes that. But why add drug addicts to the alkys on the road? It's adding insult to injury. Are libertarians nuts or something? Two wrongs don't make a right.
Leni
I don’t know how much weight the arguments of two sheriffs (even veteran sheriffs) have on the argument of whether or not pot is a gateway drug. Such a question can only be determined by nonbiased studies... probably not so easy to come by.
However, if you consider the historical evidence: the scientific revolution, the industrial revolution, the political revolutions of democracy and freedom all came about in western societies where alcohol use was high and drug use repressed or low.
What I’m saying is, the history of western advancement was not impeded by the fact of highly prevalent alcohol use.
If you look at societies where cannabis is prevalent and tolerated, you don’t find revolutions in science, industry and political freedom.
I believe there is a negative correlation to western development and marijuana, at least historically.
My personal hunch for this negative correlation is that it has something to do with the fact that unlike alcohol, which is water soluble, cannabis is fat soluble and accumulates in the body with regular use. Just a hunch on my part.
But whatever the reason, the historical record is clear.
They aren't anymore qualified than anyone else to be saying what is or isn't a gateway drug. Alcohol is just as much a gateway drug. Do you seriously think that hardcore drug users smoked anymore more pot than they consumed alcohol? Just because one drug is legal and one is illegal doesn't make in any less a drug.