re: #709 garden18

Marijuana is a gateway drug. Most heroin users got their start on marijuana. Some people smoke marijuana for years before getting into heroin, from which they can die and often do as a result of overdose. I work in a rehab center for men with drug abuse problems. I have seen many heroin addicts who smoked marijuana on a daily basis before they got into heroin.

I’m not seeing any proof of causality here. Most heroin users wear socks; does sock-wearing lead to troubling behavior later on? Most of them drive cars. Most of them drink water, at least occasionally. A disturbing number of heroin addicts wear glasses. Should we conclude, therefore, that all of these substances, behaviors and objects inevitably lead to heroin addiction?

It’s a more compelling argument that marijuana’s illegal status puts users in contact with an unsavory element that is likely to offer other, more harmful drugs, and easy availability makes for easy consumption. Note that removing the illegal element from marijuana short-circuits this particular pathway. It is therefore more likely that legalizing marijuana would lead to a decrease in heroin addiction, since fewer people would be exposed to the drug underworld.