Replies to post #4905 on American Addiction Centers, Inc. (fka FTER)

[decouverte d Elbe]

I agree with your astute observations of the effects that marijuana has on our youth, and as I have stated, the healthiest way to live is to be free of all addictions. The only issue that we disagree with, is that marijuana usage is a gateway towards using more powerful drugs. In fact the argument that it does, is made that this is because of desensilization (depression, paranoia), when this study that I cite here shows that sensilization(pleasure enhancement) actually increases with more frequent usage, by the marijuana user. Another contributing factor, is that the youth that purchases marijuana, sometimes buys from a source that may be selling other illicit drugs. This author, a sociology professor, cites that there is no direct correlation between the frequency of marijuana use, that would lead to harder drugs, but rather by the association the pot user has with the seller of harder drugs, and not of the marijuana usage itself, that would lead to use or expermintation of harder drugs. The two factors they cite for the greater usage of dangerous drugs among marijuana users in comparison with non-users are the process of selective recruitment, and the process of selective interaction and socialization, hence not the usage of marijuana itself as the catalyst, but the socialization process involved in the procurement. Don't mistake this as advocacy for ANY drug usage! This is purely a scientific observation I am debating, I am in no way minimizing the effects that marijuana has on the brain, particullary the detrimental effects it has on youthful development. These effects do tend to became less drastic as the subjects age, yet the subjects do not become less sensitized towards marijuana, causing them to seek a bigger "high". The subjects that seek the stronger "highs" from the harder drugs, like heroin, already have that blueprinted into their personality harddrive. Therefore I conclude that it is not a correlation between marijuana usage and usage of harder drugs, but rather a casual relationship, as well as a more inclined subject. http://www.druglibrary.org/special/goode/goode2.htm

[The_Free_Nebula]

There probably is a case to be that folks who lose motivation would have lost it anyway and that is why they got kicked out of school....It is a circular argument...the one think that I do know is that turning pot users into unproduction lifetime citizen because of a criminal recors is assnine...And the country is not best served spending billions because folks have a nickel or dime or quarter pound bag habit...