Hoping Marijuana proves to be a gateway drug..

[MoxieGirl]

The article linked below highlights a recent report that clearly shows legalising marijuana reduces crime.

Although this doesn't directly impact people with cluster headaches, it does demonstrate that recreational drugs may not actually be the spawn of Satan that so many people make them out to be. Better yet, the article shows the growing acceptance of marijuana use in the US, and how it is actually better (at least in some ways) for society than alcohol.

So how might this be to be a gateway drug, and why is that a good thing?

I believe one of the key steps in making drugs like psilocybin easier to study and develop into medicine is to change people's perceptions of these drugs, and reduce legislation restricting access to them. If we can do this for marijuana, it only improves our odds of doing the same thing for psilocybin.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/27/medical-marijuana-crime-study_n_5044397.html

MG

[1EYEcries]

So how might this be to be a gateway drug, and why is that a good thing?

The only instance I see it being a gateway drug is that users are forced to go on the street looking for it and coming across other things in their path. If your guy doesn't have Cannabis (marijuana is slang, and is actually the name of a wild mexican tobacco) that you want but has something else, and you need to be the cool kid at the party this weekend... well there you go.

Its a good thing... well for a certain group of people. It's good for the dealer, and if you know any thing about Rick Ross (not the fat rapper guy). You will see its pretty good for the CIA too, and of course the prison industrial complex.

[MoxieGirl]

Um... did you even read my post, or where you intentionally going off topic?

Yes, I was using the old (and I believe incorrect) cliché on purpose, but to mean something completely different.

I don't believe marijuana  (420, pot, joint, cannabis... whatever word you choose to use) is any more a gateway drug to harder drugs than wearing socks is a gateway to hard drugs. One could, after all argue, that drug takers wear socks, therefore wearing socks is a sign that one is inclined to take drugs.

However, if the societies and governments of the world can come to understand that Cannabis has beneficial properties, and isn't as evil and dangerous as we've been led to believe for 40 years or so, then perhaps they can come to the same conclusion about psilocybin. And in that sense, perhaps pot will be a gateway to reducing restrictions on our magic medicine.

MG

[tanner the first]

I am with you Moxie! I live in a state where it has been legalized much to the delight of my law enforcement friends.

Legalization allows them to save a ton of money and spend their resources and time on much more serious issues. I live in a house with a sister-in-law that has MS. If anyone thinks that cannabis does not work for pain and sleeping they should talk to a few people that get it prescribed.

Tim

[MoxieGirl]

I couldn't agree more Tanner.

I'm currently reading a book called 'This is Your Country on Drugs' by Ryan Grim (also a senior reporter at the Huffington Post).

It is a very interesting read, and I find it interesting how society approves of certain 'drugs' and strongly disapproves of others. In Ryan Grim's history of drug use in America, one can spot the trends and influences over the years.

But think about it, all of the following substances have a chemical impact on the body, all are essentially 'drugs' and some are more addictive than others.

alcohol

caffeine

chocolate

THC

psilocybin

nicotine

LSD

Why are some legal and others not?

Why does society or the government have a right to say which I can, or can't, use to get a high from?