[Cannabis-Myths] Cannabis as a gateway drug

Hello everyone,

everywhere were cannabis is illegal it's considered a gateway drug - but is that really the case?

First, what is a gateway drug?
A gateway drug is a substance that, when used, after a while it leads to the use of other substances. Mostly to substances with a stronger effect than the gateway drug itself. Like crack has stronger effects than cocaine, heroin has stronger effects than opium and fentanyl is even stronger than heroin.

When you're addicted and consume everyday, you will build up a tolerance and the substance doesn't get you that high anymore. So you need something stronger to get high again.

Let's come to the myth: Cannabis as a gateway drug.
I have often heard that cannabis is considered a gateway drug because (have in mind that's illegal where i live, so) you have to go to your local dealer to buy some weed. And suddenly one day he tells you he also has some ecstasy, cocaine, heroin, what ever in his sortiment. "It's great, i tell you! The most powerfull feeling you will get! And it isn't that harmful/addicting as everyone tells, i use it myself too sometimes" So you get curious and he told you it's not that bad; i mean, even he uses it sometimes (like he says "sometimes" but means "everyday use") and he seems to be fine, so it can't be that dangerous. So you buy your first cocaine for example, try it and get addicted to it.

So in that case it sounds logical that cannabis is a gateway drug. Without your use of cannabis you wouldn't have come in contact with cocaine, in that example.

In my opinion that example above has some point, it's technically correct, like if you wouldn't gotten it from your dealer he wouldn't has offered you some cocaine and you wouldn't been addicted to it now.

But, let's be honest, it's just an unfair comparsion and lazy excuse to tell everyone how dangerous cannabis is, in countries where it's illegal.

So, let's tear this down!
First of all: It's the weeds fault, that you can't get it legally and therefore you are forced to buy it from a shady dealer, or it's the states fault for not legalizing weed? Like, let's switch our perspective - let us assume weed would be everywhere legal: That person in the example above wouldn't has to visit a dealer with more substances in his sortiment, but could has also gone to a local shop, buy his herbs, go home and smoke them. He wouldn't has come in contact with the shop dealer telling him he would also has some cocaine, if someone wants to try that out. Because in that case the shop would loose his license and the dealer gets arrested (or at least gets a big penalty he doesn't want).

Second, it's not that when weed doesn't gets you high anymore, as it used to do, you isntantly think: "Maybe i should switch to heroin" It's just... Nope... It doesn't work like that. I have known many people who only smoke weed and aren't interested in other substances. They just stick to their weed. And if it doesn't get them high anymore they just try to make some "tolerance"-break for a while and then they get high again from it.

So in conclusion i would say: It's not the cannabis' fault, but the states fault to not make cannabis legal - therefore: Myth bursted!

Have a nice day and stay safe,
@dissi