Marijuana: Gateway Drug?

The other day, I was speaking to an older gentleman about the use of cannabis by young people. His opinion was one that I come across quite often: If youths are allowed to smoke marijuana, what stops them from experimenting with other drugs, such as heroin or cocaine, that (unlike marijuana) can result in permanent, if not fatal, damage to the user? (this kind of thinking is what causes marijuana to be called the “Gateway Drug”)

Here’s what I told this person, and what I think you should tell anyone who thinks that using marijuana would lead people to try using life-threatening drugs such as heroin and cocaine.

1. While scientists have long held the “gateway drug” theory to be erroneous, a study at the University of Pittsburgh in December 2006 proved that “the likelihood that someone will transition to the use of illegal drugs is determined not by the preceding use of a particular drug, but instead by the user’s individual tendencies and environmental circumstances. The use of marijuana is no more an indicator of further drug use than cigarettes, chocolate or coffee.

Teens that use cannabis may function better than teen tobacco-users, and appear to be more socially driven and have fewer psychosocial problems than those who do not use either substance, according to a Swiss survey.

Researchers at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland surveyed 5,263 students, including 455 who smoke marijuana only, 1,703 who smoke marijuana and tobacco and 3,105 who smoked neither one.

The survey, which will be published in the November issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, found that marijuana-only smokers had better relationships with friends, better grades and were more likely to play sports than teens who smoked tobacco and those who abstained from both substances.

A U.S. substance abuse expert disagreed with the study and said U.S. teens should not be encouraged to use marijuana, particularly since teenagers’ brains are still developing at this time.

“Switzerland is very liberal compared to us in many ways,” Dr. Edwin Salsitz, senior physician of chemical dependency at Beth Israel Medical Center. “In general, it’s not a good idea for teenagers to use psychoactive drugs. The brain is still developing until the age of 21.

“Maybe (there’s) a cultural bias there that says it’s ok to use marijuana once or twice a month,” he continued “But from what I know, I’ve never heard that anyone thought it was beneficial. Most experts here would say that it’s not a good idea to use cannabis before the age of 15, because it interferes with school and the development of brain.”

It's 2010 lets face the facts marijuana is HARMLESS RELAX! See Bill Hicks comedy post for more details on this topic.

By Liam Harkin
Edited By Jo Anne-Patricia @MzFilterless
Follow the BlogBot @JoJoSaidIt

Bill Hicks: Marijuana Deficit

It's not the funniest video I've seen but it sure as hell made me laugh!

10 Interesting Marijuana Facts…


1. In 19th century Nepal, the marijuana harvest was performed by men who ran naked through fields of flowering plants and then had the sticky resin scraped off their bodies and formed into bricks of hashish.

2. Marijuana is known for its mellowing effect, but it has fueled many warriors in history. The word “assassin” is believed to come from the hashish taken a millennium ago by Arab killers (called “hashshashin” or “hashish eaters”), though some historians doubt they were under the influence while on their missions.

3. Louisa May Alcott, author of “Little Women,” wrote a short story called “Perilous Play” about marijuana. In it, a character declares, “If someone does not propose a new and interesting amusement, I shall die of ennui!” Another character produces a box of hashish-laced bonbons, and hedonism ensues.

4. Around 1900, the U.S. government briefly grew marijuana along a stretch of the Potomac River to study the plant’s medicinal value. Today, a more potent plant has risen on that site: the Pentagon.

5. A white Chicago jazz musician named Milton “Mezz” Mezzrow moved to Harlem in 1929, declared himself a “voluntary Negro,” and began selling marijuana. Known as “The Man Who Hipped the World” and “The Link Between the Races,” Mezzrow sold fat joints called mezzrolls. Soon a new piece of Harlem slang emerged: Something genuine was described as “mezz.”

6. Marijuana interferes with short-term memory so that users forget what they just said or did. Not only that, marijuana interferes with short-term memory so that users forget what they just said or did.

7. Before Congress voted to ban marijuana in 1937, the birdseed industry got the bill amended to exempt marijuana seeds (known as hemp seeds) as long as they were sterilized and could not be used to grow plants. An industry spokesman denied that the seeds made birds high, but an ardent marijuana foe, Dr. Victor Robinson, had previously written that the seeds had caused birds to “dream of a happy birdland where there are no gilded cages, and where the men are gunless and the women hatless.”

8. Billy Carter, the late brother of former President Jimmy Carter, believed the illegality of marijuana was part of its attraction. “Marijuana is like Coors beer,” he said. “If you could buy the damn stuff at a Georgia filling station, you’d decide you wouldn’t want it.”

9. One of the least typical supporters of the decriminalization of marijuana was conservative icon William F. Buckley, who died in February. Buckley once sailed his yacht into international waters so that he could smoke pot without breaking U.S. laws.

10. Bill Clinton said famously that he smoked marijuana but “didn’t inhale.” President Bush has never admitted taking the drug, but his drug use was strongly suggested in recorded conversations between him and a friend — the interestingly named Doug Wead. Only one of the three 2008 contenders is an admitted ex-doper.
Barack Obama has said, “When I was a kid, I inhaled frequently. That was the point.”


Researchers in Spain have revealed that Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, the main physcoactive component of marijuana) can have anticancer properties that may inhibit the growth of cancer in human beings.

Active Component Of Marijuana Has Anti-cancer Effects, Study Suggests

ScienceDaily (Apr. 9, 2009) — Guillermo Velasco and colleagues, at Complutense University, Spain, have provided evidence that suggests that cannabinoids such as the main active component of marijuana (THC) have anticancer effects on human brain cancer cells.

In the study, THC was found to induce the death of various human brain cancer cell lines and primary cultured human brain cancer cells by a process known as autophagy.

Consistent with the in vitro data, administration of THC to mice with human tumors decreased tumor growth and induced the tumor cells to undergo autophagy. As analysis of tumors from two patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (a highly aggressive brain tumor) receiving intracranial THC administration showed signs of autophagy, the authors suggest that cannabinoid administration may provide a new approach to targeting human cancers. Cannabinoid action induces autophagy-mediated cell death through stimulation of ER stress in human glioma cells.

Video and fun facts submitted by Liam Harkin

Courtesy of YouTube