Comment on The way my daughter's middle school health class classifies drugs is insane.

• HelixDab2@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

  The question is whether Marijuana use in and of itself encourages or preface additional drug use.

  I would argue that in many ways it does. Marijuana is–or was–illegal. Alcohol is legal, but age restricted. If you are willing to use a substance that is (was) entirely illegal, you are more likely going to be willing to try other drugs that are legitimately addictive, because you’ve already crossed one of the major hurdles. If alcohol had been illegal for the same amount of time that marijuana had been, then I would agree that alcohol was likely a gateway drug as well.

  I’m in favor of de-scheduling marijuana entirely. But I think that it’s disingenuous for people to act as though there weren’t serious problems with chronic and underage marijuana use.

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  • HopingForBetter@lemmy.today ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

    After a quick search through us history, alcohol was banned around a decade before marijuana and lasted for about 13 years. The marijuana ban that we all know of happened, get this, in 1970, and states began pushing back only 3 years after. So, alcohol was banned far longer than marijuana. The d.a.r.e. campaigns and other propoganda coupled with the inability to do scientific studies on the drug created the mass panic. There were not serious problems, other than some politician needing a platform.

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    • HelixDab2@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

      So, alcohol was banned far longer than marijuana.

      …What? The 1970s were 50 years ago. And marijuana was illegal long before it was classified as a schedule 1 drug under the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970.

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      • HopingForBetter@lemmy.today ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

        You’re going to have to provide some source for it being illegal. Arguably, it was contentious in the 30s, but the first official ruling was 1970.

        It also seems like you don’t understand that it being banned 50 years ago is not the same as it being banned for 50 years.

        It was banned in 1970, but 3 years after, states pushed back.

        Alcohol was banned in 1920, and 13 years later, it was unbanned.

        You are coming across as very emotional about this, but you are showing how little you have researched. I don’t have time to bring you up to speed if you are only going to keep your fingers in your ears while you shut your eyes and scream how right you are.

        Have a good day.

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  • IzzyScissor@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

    You’re saying that it has nothing to do with marijuana itself that make it a gateway drug, only that we’ve made it illegal.

    That means anything we make illegal is a ‘gateway X’.

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  • Dasus@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

    If you are willing to use a substance that is (was) entirely illegal, you are more likely going to be willing to try other drugs that are legitimately addictive, because you’ve already crossed one of the major hurdle

    It’s honestly rather ludicrous to still see 60’s propaganda being parroted. You’re on the internet, dude. There’s no need for you to be that ignorant.

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