Is Marijuana a Gateway Drug, or is this just propagandist phrase used to induce fear without fact?

Highway 66...back in the day..
I worked since I was 9.
My first drug habit was Meth. I was a Meth Addict for 7 years, by Doctors prescription.
He thought I was low on energy.

Meth was legal then to have, and people used to drive to TJ, 90 miles away, and load up on duty free jars of methamphetamine, tequila and barbiturates, and bring them home.
The Happy Days.
Pot was long outlawed.

When my addiction to meth had grown I discovered I could buy them easily. All the waitress's at all the coffee shops carried tin foil rolls of 10 whites, for $1.00, for their regular customers. I usually picked up a 'nickel' of 5 rolls for the weekend. I was in HS by then.

I watched people go slowly insane from red and white overuse. And booze.

It was Nixon who cracked down, and made it illegal to bring controlled drugs across the border without prescriptions, and enforced it.

I tried pot at 18 and liked it, it helped me sleep with no side effects. MUCH better than reds (barbiturates), which always made me drunk and want to fight anyway... Pot helped me break the addiction to reds and whites when I was 19. By 21 I was bored with pot and at the clubs.

Pot is useful, and non addictive. It really helps in tolerating pain for example, with no ill side effects. I have seen this first hand with cancer patients, who drastically cut back on morphine use when given pot laced brownies with their other medications, and clearly brought a improvement in the quality of their lives.

One thing about pot. it makes your appreciation of music skyrocket. During Prohibition many night clubs offered free pot to keep people coming and them in business. It was these clubs, I was told, that Jazz was really taking off.

Most studies I've read indicate the majority of people who gravitate to drugs begin with alcohol. Smoking is on the decline so nicotine may not be a high percentage gateway drug today. In actuality those who want to experiment with drugs will start with whatever is available. When I was a kid, before marijuana became popular in the mid '60s, sniffing model glue was a serious problem among young people. Eventually the glue in stores had to be kept behind the counter. Minors were prohibited from purchasing the glue. Use of inhalants is increasing among teens today. They are becoming a more common "gateway" drug. http://teens.drugabuse.gov/fa...

If marijuana ceased to be available drug use wouldn't decrease one bit. Those who wanted to get high would use something else. Do some open-minded research and one will find marijuana is safer than most other drugs. Much safer than alcohol and virtually all legal prescription drugs. I've been smoking recreationally for 42 years. Despite all the bs marijuana is not at all physically addictive. Anything, including food, can be psychologically addictive so psychological addiction works as an argument against nothing. Today I smoke a couple nights a week. Back when I smoked daily there would be times when marijuana was unavailable for days. The body never missed the drug. Mentally we'd miss the weed but no big deal. Lack of marijuana had no affect on our daily lives.

If a teen is going to get high marijuana is the safest drug. Parents better not consume any alcohol or other drugs, including legal prescriptions, if they plan on lecturing with any credibility their kids on the dangers of drugs. Nearly all prescription drugs have a much safer natural alternative that would work for many prescription users. Often these prescriptions become the gateway drug when teens steal them from parents. Don't complain about young drug use if teens see you as an example that drugs aren't harmful.