info rebutting the idea of that smoking pot leads to heroin

[Anonymous]

Can anyone referr me to studies debumking the myth that smoking pot leads to using heroin and anything re. to that?
thanks.
thes earch doesn't work too well.

[psy]

No need to use this site for that.  Search on google for marijuana gateway myth.

Here are a few links for your convenience:
http://www.druglibrary.org/Schaffer/library/mjgate.htm
http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/lib ... y_myth.htm
http://www.drugpolicy.org/marijuana/factsmyths/
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n2213.a06.html

Also see norml.org which has a FAQ question mentioning it:
http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=3418#question7

Critics claim that marijuana is a "gateway drug." How do you respond to this charge?
There is no conclusive evidence that the effects of marijuana are causally linked to the subsequent use of other illicit drugs. Preliminary animal studies alleging that marijuana "primed" the brain for other drug-taking behavior have not been replicated, nor are they supported by epidemiological human data. Statistically, for every 104 Americans who have tried marijuana, there is only one regular user of cocaine, and less than one user of heroin. Marijuana is clearly a "terminus" rather than a gateway for the overwhelming majority of marijuana smokers.

For those minority of marijuana smokers who do graduate to harder substances, it is marijuana prohibition -- which forces users to associate with the illicit drug black market -- rather than the use of marijuana itself, that often serves as a doorway to the world of hard drugs. The more users become integrated in an environment where, apart from cannabis, hard drugs can also be obtained, the greater the chances they will experiment with harder drugs.

In Holland, where politicians decided over 25 years ago to separate marijuana from the illicit drug market by permitting coffee shops all over the country to sell small amounts of marijuana to adults, individuals use marijuana and other drugs at rates less than half of their American counterparts.

Of course, whoever you are arguing with will probably just call you a druggie, attack the facts with "you can find anything on the internet", or something like that rather than actuallly rationally think this out and/or do the research.

[Anonymous]

No need to use this site for that.  Search on google for marijuana gateway myth.

Here are a few links for your convenience:
http://www.druglibrary.org/Schaffer/library/mjgate.htm
http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/lib ... y_myth.htm
http://www.drugpolicy.org/marijuana/factsmyths/
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n2213.a06.html

Also see norml.org which has a FAQ question mentioning it:
http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=3418#question7

Critics claim that marijuana is a "gateway drug." How do you respond to this charge?
There is no conclusive evidence that the effects of marijuana are causally linked to the subsequent use of other illicit drugs. Preliminary animal studies alleging that marijuana "primed" the brain for other drug-taking behavior have not been replicated, nor are they supported by epidemiological human data. Statistically, for every 104 Americans who have tried marijuana, there is only one regular user of cocaine, and less than one user of heroin. Marijuana is clearly a "terminus" rather than a gateway for the overwhelming majority of marijuana smokers.

For those minority of marijuana smokers who do graduate to harder substances, it is marijuana prohibition -- which forces users to associate with the illicit drug black market -- rather than the use of marijuana itself, that often serves as a doorway to the world of hard drugs. The more users become integrated in an environment where, apart from cannabis, hard drugs can also be obtained, the greater the chances they will experiment with harder drugs.

In Holland, where politicians decided over 25 years ago to separate marijuana from the illicit drug market by permitting coffee shops all over the country to sell small amounts of marijuana to adults, individuals use marijuana and other drugs at rates less than half of their American counterparts.

Of course, whoever you are arguing with will probably just call you a druggie, attack the facts with "you can find anything on the internet", or something like that rather than actuallly rationally think this out and/or do the research.

thank you for that info, i am dealing with someone who said precisely "you can find anything on the internet." They said the same thing to my telling them that a lot of diagnoses kids are dealt are not real (o.d.d, Rad) This person is peripherally connected to the troubled teen industry.....i feel if i can make him understand.

I actually had found those links by searching, so you were right about that too.

Here's something I can't find: Anything but C Huffine's paper about oDD, CD not being legitimate diagnoses. Can you help me with that?

[psy]

thank you for that info, i am dealing with someone who said precisely "you can find anything on the internet." They said the same thing to my telling them that a lot of diagnoses kids are dealt are not real (o.d.d, Rad) This person is peripherally connected to the troubled teen industry.....i feel if i can make him understand.

I had a feeling when you asked the ridiculous question about pot-->heroin it was somebody from the TTI you were trying to convince.  It's one of the few places where the gateway myth still exists (and it's very profitable).  I've had the discussion many times before.  Long story short: your success in convincing this person depends on how much time you have with him/her.  Right now, he/she is indoctrinated.  You have to cause the person to doubt their "faith" by presenting evidence.  It just takes time.

I actually had found those links by searching, so you were right about that too.

Here's something I can't find: Anything but C Huffine's paper about oDD, CD not being legitimate diagnoses. Can you help me with that?

Follow the big link and you can download the paper:
http://www.rtc.pdx.edu/FeaturedDiscussions/pgFD34.php