[Canadian_Mind]

OnTheIce OnTheIce:

I didn't suggest 'teenagers', I said teens under the age of 16.

Not in your original post.

OnTheIce OnTheIce:

Nobody is saying "addicts". Just the use of weed prior to 16 makes you likely to use, not abuse, cocaine.

Sorry, but when it comes to hard drugs, there is no difference between "use" and "abuse." Cocaine, Meth, Heroin, it doesn't matter. One high or twenty, it's an abuse of a substance that shouldn't be used at all.

Had you said "used" instead, then I may be more inclined to agree. Lots of people try many things once. Still a one time abuse in my opinion.

$1:

So you talk on one hand about shady parents and on the other, you promote parents providing weed to their under-age children to avoid harder drugs?

Really?

I'm going to answer your question with a question. Who is a better source for pot; the parents of a child who can be reasonably certain of what's in the drug their child is using (ie it isn't laced), or some random 13 year old selling the bargain-brand full of all sorts of shit he found in his down-trodden mothers basement?

And even then, who is to say the parents willingly let their kids smoke pot? Just like stealing alcohol out of the cupboard from under their noses (and for those of you who smoked as teens, cigarettes), stealing pot from an unsuspecting parent wouldn't be all that difficult.

At the end of the day, if pot was legal and regulated the same way alcohol is, 9 times out of 10, at least when the kids steal their parents' shit, it isn't going to kill them when they do. And they also likely wont have to go to the kid from the downtrodden house anymore. This would significantly lower the risk of them getting hooked on harder drugs, which as far as I can recall was your primary concern.



For the record - I'm not arguing against the current laws. Frankly I don't care either way because I don't do pot, and most likely wouldn't if legalized. Just not my thing, just like smoking isn't, nor was drinking (till I came of age anyways). If it stays illegal forever it isn't going to hurt my feelings. But I find your opinions and the (lack of) basis for them flawed, and I will continue to do so until you provide a rational explanation for why legalizing pot would be a bad thing.

[PublicAnimalNo9]

OnTheIce OnTheIce:

Yogi Yogi:

Nope! I really don't think so. Simply because any teen who has had the desire to try it already has!
Some will continue to smoke,regardless of the laws, just as they already do, and others won't care for it. ( such as myself).
No point in continuing to stigmatize them by saddling them with a criminal record just for being in possession of a few joints/grams. It's very clear that the status quo is not working. Never has. Never will. The money currently being wasted by all levels of govt in this mindless persuit would be much better spent elsewhere.

Well, I happen to feel differently, as do many studies out there.

When you drop the price of pot dramatically, you make it more affordable and easier to abuse...while we may not see a spike in users, current users will probably opt to smoke more with the price being considerably less (Some say it could drop to 80% less). Parents who smoke weed may do so in the open, in front of children just as they do drinking.

Personally, if they don't fuck with the active ingredient and with the quality of weed out there these days, I just don't see myself lighting up more frequently cuz it's cheaper. Unlike booze, you can only get so high on weed.

OnTheIce OnTheIce:

Getting this into teenagers, especially those under 16 has some damaging effects. 60% of teenagers under 16 who use marijuana go on to use cocaine.(American Council for Drug Education)

And in all likelihood, they got that cocaine from dealers that would rather sell them coke than pot. Do the math, $10-15 for a gram of pot or $80 for a half gram of coke. And since coke can be "stepped on", unscrupulous dealers can increase their profits. Mind you, I've seen the odd pot dealer spray his weed down with sugar water to make it weigh heavier, but those idiots are very few and far between, unlike the coke dealers.
I can honestly say I've yet to meet a pot smoker that decided of his/her own volition that they weren't getting high enough anymore and decided to "move up" to something harder.

[ShepherdsDog]

I honestly don't see the connection between pot and coke use. Most pot smokers are looking for the opposite effect of the buzz coke is supposed to impart.

[Strutz]

ShepherdsDog ShepherdsDog:

I honestly don't see the connection between pot and coke use. Most pot smokers are looking for the opposite effect of the buzz coke is supposed to impart.

Well, I have personally known people who have moved on to coke after being pot smokers. For an even "better" buzz. Not a pretty picture.

[andyt]

How many of them moved on to pot from cigarettes or alcohol? Cigs are the biggest gateway drug there is. To make the statement that pot smoking causes you to lust after cocaine is just nuts. Some people will try anything to get high, so they drink, smoke pot and do cocaine or what have you. But to somehow make it seem that the pot caused them to go for cocaine, and they wouldn't have ever touched cocaine if pot wasn't available is crazy.

And with cocaine, there are still a lot of casual users - you just don't hear about them. Crack, OTOH is a different story.

[SteveK]

Strutz Strutz:

ShepherdsDog ShepherdsDog:

I honestly don't see the connection between pot and coke use. Most pot smokers are looking for the opposite effect of the buzz coke is supposed to impart.

Well, I have personally known people who have moved on to coke after being pot smokers. For an even "better" buzz. Not a pretty picture.

Most of the time, they'll only end up getting access to harder drugs BECAUSE of the fact they have no choice but to interact with a drug dealer to get their pot.

I smoke weed occasionally myself and so do many of my friends (college). I'm lucky enough to get my weed directly from a trusted friend so I've never been offered anything worse than pot. However, one of my other friends, who was a frequent pot smoker, is now moving on to trying shrooms because he used a dealer who slowly convinced him to buy some. Obviously shrooms aren't the worst thing out there...but who knows what he might move on to next - it all depends on what his dealer has in stock.

If pot is made legal, there would be no need for dealers. Which is why the whole "gateway theory" points to yet another problem of prohibition - not legalization.