Teens trying out soft drugs isn’t so bad for them - or for us

???
I think drugs and smoking are bad, it would be ok if they werent so expensive lol

JackHerer:
Since you are obviously a Fan of hemp and/or other Drugs, it is evident you would post something like this, but you see:
1. Kids try pot first, then something stronger.
2. The drug is illegal, you are encouraging something Illegal. Is that a good example? :) OK.
3. Because you like drugs, it doesn't mean you have to encourage people into it, even less, Kids!

Please use the "less addicts, more for me" theme. Thanks!

Hell Yeah! Kids trying pot is not the worst thing in the world I would hope that when we are saying kids its at least 16 and up, but I don’t know any parent who would rather their daughter be knocked up over trying a little grass. All my life I have heard people say “oh no if you smoke a little pot then you are going to want to do really bad drugs” and it is just not true! Why would I wanna shoot heroine when I’m already having a really good time with what I’m doing? This is really dumb logic, it would be the same as saying if you eat hamburgers, then you are going to want a t-bone steak, then filet mignon, then you will just start attacking and killing cows!!!
Its natural, from the earth, a little gift from god. I try to do my part for the planet, but pot is definitely my favorite way to go green.

That's great if you want your kid to be a lefty-communist media type.. I'm more interested in my kid being a big shot wall street type so we're starting him out on coke and maybe a little meth during exam week...

Don't forget to make him watch lots of Wall Street and The O'Reilly Factor...

India Knight is a COLUMNIST. Therefore this is an opinion piece, and not really news. Voting it doooowwwn.

Neither will the odd skunk joint or even the frequent skunk joint, for that matter.

there has never been any credible scientific evidence suggesting that marijuana leads to harder drugs. while it may be true that the majority of cocaine and heroin users first used pot, it's largely due to the ease of obtaining it and doesn't necessarily mean that a person's exposure to marijuana will eventually result in him or her craving other drugs.

I'm not a pot user or a proponent but the truth is the myth of marijuana being a gateway drug is nothing more than that. A myth. There is no evidence and there never has been any. It was made up by politicians to get votes and fatten budgets. I live in northern California. If pot were a gateway drug to other drugs, I'd be surrounded by ghetto. Fortunately it isn't, and my town has very little crime and is a great place to live even though probably 30% of the population smokes weed.

i dont know my opinion but its illegal and people are fighting that but until then stick to the rules.

I dont think smoking weed is a bad thing but I have a question for you, Which drug do you thing a crackhead or heroine addict tried for the first time? Well most of the time its marijuana but it doesnt lead to harder drugs it just depends on the type of person I guess

Weed is a gateway to the munchies.

weed is harmless unless you're weak lol

I smoked everyday through high school and college, never took it to drugs beyond weed and never had a problem attaining my diploma and degree. I will have no problem with my children smoking because I will educate them about using it responsibly. Having marijuana under the category of an illegal drug puts a constraint on the knowledge people attain and the younger you try it the more you will learn. People like petarro have bitten into (and not by their own fault) the negativity and propaganda surrounding marijuana.

• A fascinating thought, my parents although religious were liberal in the sense that they smoked and drank. We are Italian so I remember getting my own glass of wine a few times a week by the age of 14. By the time I was 18 I was drinking a few glasses of "boxed wine" almost every night. Is alcohol worse than marijuana, I was always under the impression that the consumption of either one would result in some brain cells being affected. However, in regards to the parents, let them make their own decisions as they are adults. Likewise, if the teenager really wants it, he will get it to try anyways. I could go on and on about the ethics of how many might think it is a wrong decision the parents are making realize that if something life threatening happens due to bad drugs or if worst case scenario, he smokes so much that he starts to get paranoid in which case being in a safe environment would be more comforting. No one will ever know how someone reacts to a drug for the first time and deaths happened in the past and will happen in the future and just maybe his parents are very aware of the dangers of doing drugs because they lived though the 1970's. In fact, a lot of different factors from their own experiences probably placate the final decision. Or maybe the parents smoke too and want to share the experience with their teenager. It wasn't too many hundreds of yeas ago when our Native American Ancestors were passing the pipe with the intention to bond in a ritualistic ceremony of expansion of the mind and the journey to paradise. now a days, that’s just called "totally baked" So have I babbled enough? One last thought, don't burn mom and dad's couch.

Think about every dad having his first beer with his son, of age or not. Now, replace it with a joint. This is admittedly very nonacademic, but the results would be magical to say the least. Dank.

Weed is a gateway drug, you dont need scientific research and evidence to prove it, you just need logic.

I was in High School and College between 1972 and 1980.

I NEVER SMOKED DOPE and never did COCAINE.

I just felt that messing around with your brain is not a very smart thing to do.

Why do you think they call it

DOPE????

Being a social worker and quite experienced in the substance department, professionally and (past) personally, weed is not a gateway drug. Give me some reasons why people first try weed then move on to harder substances? Lack of education, severe emotional/MH problems that weed cannot fix or numb, curiousity? In my experience it seems that people end up using hard drugs because they don't REALLY understand the ramifications or risks of using it. Also, many of the addicts I come into contact with have some trauma or severe problems in their life that they are numbing. Weed is not strong enough to numb these issues. Eventually, people need a stronger agent to numb. They do something highly addictive and BAM! Their life is down the tubes. If you are curious, educate yourself before you use any substance, not just illegal drugs. I never experimented with heroin or crack, because I knew it could kill me. Kids today are uneducated about drugs and feel invisible and entitled. Also, I have known people to do cocaine because they have to quit smoking weed for drug tests because coke leaves your body quickly. We are all responsible for own behavior, but this is essentially a forced decision to make. Not one adult can state they have never felt the urge to "escape" whether it be through drugs, sex, exercise, talking, vacations, etc. The lethality of drugs have nothing to do with legality. Look at the death tolls for each drug. PatrickEdwardMurray....find out who originally named it dope.

It's the first step down the wrong path.

It's routine for a kid to be scared of marijuana when growing up because throughout their whole life they are tought that weed is bad and could kill you because it's a drug. Which those that smoke know is not true. If you smoke a joint for your first time odds are you're not going to die...unless it's laced. If kids could see what marijuana is really like their would be a different attitude towards it...it's all about being responsible and knowing what you're smoking or putting into your body

It's not the worst thing in the world doesn't translate to being good.

It's not the worst thing in the world that he kicked a six year old. It's far better than him stabbing him almost to death.

That phrase is so dumb.

okay well if you haven't smoked pot you obviously shouldn't have something to say on the topic. there are some people on this planet who can maintain a 3.7 GPA and smoke pot on weekends to kick back. like he said, not everyone who smokes pot is going to turn into a raving scabby crack addict.

Yes and not everybody who kills their first person turns into a serial killer.

I guess until you rape someone or kill someone you shouldn't have an opinion on that either.

Even those that do that can maintain a high IQ.

I'll have to disagree with the teens part. While Marijuana is good for adults, it will screw with your brain development as a minor. Wait til you're around 20, I will.

I have a question. Why are they called soft drugs? Is it because you could rest your head on a bale of marijuana, like a pillow? Unlike crack cocaine, which would be very uncomfortable to sleep on

I take the Katt Williams stance on this: weed is just a plant and if you should so happen to set it on fire, there are some affects. It's not a drug.

well said amilli23

How amusing these debates over the use Marijuana must be to the American Indians. The moderate use of it has long been a part of their culture. Look what happened when they were introduced to Alcohol. Young adults fine, children no.

i pretty much agree with this article, i mean, teens are probably going to try drugs, i have, and so have a lot of people i know. THe statistics of a teenager that starts drugs with pot then goes on to be a hardcore junkie are probably pretty small. i mean yeah, there are those cases, but compare the number of those to the number of people who smoked weed, or drank alcohol when they were younger.

Weed doesn't lead people to harder drugs. People lead people to harder drugs.

nonskunk??!...
the don't want that garbage!!

Weed is fun and interesting, but you gotta face the fact that it does make people a little slow. C'mon cant say it makes us smarter cuz it dont. Ah well with this new generation of younger folks coming up this problem will be going on for ages. I'm part of it- but I have realized that its not the best thing to do with my time, there is so much more out there than to getting high nowadays. But getting high will make things seem better at the moment... THE MOMENT- not 5 or 10 years down the road.

I support the legalization of pot. That being said, I'm getting tired of seeing so many posts about pot. Spread it out a bit.