You never hear about the legal drugs as being problems. If people are going to be up in arms about harmless drugs and label them gateway drugs, then let's examine the largets gateway drug on the market... Caffeine. Caffeine is what the speed demon meth junkies usually start with. It is that articifial need to keep going and feel charged up that leads to the amphetamine usage. Think of legal pills like no-dose or vivarin. Coffee is a dasterdly villian in this drug war we face. Sounds silly right? I agree, but if you are going to atack a harmless mood alterer like marijuana, then you should attack all harmless drugs. Aspirin should be next...



... stupid people, I tell you...

I fale to see how caffeine would be the horrible. Caffeine, coffee and
sodas do not harm families and cause accidents like being high and
drunk will.

They are completely different problems. With caffeine, you literally
are harming only yourself, and the effects properly managed aren't all
that bad.

I'm sorry, but if I'm driving down the road or spending time with
family and friends drinking caffeine, my mind is still my own mind.
With smoking a joint or doing drugs, you can't say that. To many people
have flown into drunken rages and hurt others, or killed people on the
road. to many people have been high and hurt others both physically and
while driving.

I am a big guy, but my old college professor actually got high on a
calss trip we took and assaulted me, which I then almost put him in a
world of hurt.

They are not the same thing.

bloemmarc, you are clearly a retard. I think you are a liar about your experiences with marijuana. I don't believe you were attacked by a college professor while he was high on pot. You are obvioulsy not educated enough to form an intelligent opinion. Do your research. You will find that caffeine is well know to be more addictive than marijuana even in it's strongest forms. Also caffeine is also more physically harmful.

Also, yes, your mind is your own when you smoke marijuana. I think you have seen reefer madness too many times. People don't become someone else or lose themselves when they get high. It is no different then say taking a mild tranquilizer. For instance it isn't illegal to drive while takin valium. Valium is much stronger than marijuana.

Also, I dare you to find one "actual-factual" car accident that where marijuana was the only factor. (I don't mean they were lighting their joint or pipe when they crashed either. That doesn't count.)

You won't be able to. It hasn't happened.

So pull your noggin out of your rectum and don't sound off about things you don't know anything about.

COFFEE KILLS!!!

This post is weird, because I have been addicted to caffeine and it has not been a gateway to other drugs. Neither is marijuana if you want my opinion. As the comment early stated if that were the case you would surely have more junkies out their in the Baby boomer age. But that is not the age of the junkies.

caffeine is a drug for sure there is not two ways about it , as a gate way drug i don't know but marijuana as a gate way drug I would have to say yes on that one

You are a total jerk. You come on here and instead of debating, you attempt to belittle people, but the only person you're really belittling is yourself. You keep claiming you know facts and everyone else is stupid. Then you say go find one article about an actual-factual car accident, anyone can find that article (see below). Instead of acting like a little kid, pull your head out of your butt and stick your foot in your mouth.

Smoking Pot Doubles Risk of Fatal Accident
Larger Doses Can Triple the Risk, Study Finds

Driving after smoking even a small amount of marijuana almost doubles the risk of a fatal highway accident, according to an extensive study of 10,748 drivers involved in fatal crashes between 2001 and 2003.
A study by the French National Institute for Transport and Safety Research published in the British Medical Journal found that seven percent of drivers involved in a fatal highway crash used marijuana.

The researchers estimated that at least 2.5 percent of the 10,748 fatal crashes studied were directly caused by the use of marijuana.

The researchers concluded that the risk of being responsible for a fatal crash increased as the blood concentration of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, increased. Even small amounts of marijuana could double the chance of a driver suffering an accident, researchers said, and larger doses could more than triple the risk.

The number of highway deaths contributed the smoking pot were significant, even though they were dwarfed by the number caused by drinking alcohol. Of the drivers involved in fatal accidents, 21.4 percent tested positive for alcohol consumption. Alcohol was estimated to be responsible for 28.6 percent of all fatal highway accidents.

The French research found that 2.9 percent of drivers involved in fatal crashes tested positive for both marijuana and alcohol. Men were more often involved in fatal crashes than women and were more often tested positive for both marijuana and alcohol.


Totally Irresponsible
Young drivers and drivers of motorcycles and mopeds were also more likely to test positive for both substances.
"Research like this proves just how dangerous it is to take drugs, and then get behind the wheel of a car," Roger Vincent, of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, told the BBC. "It is totally irresponsible, as taking drugs such as cannabis does affect your reactions."

Source: The study was published in the Dec. 3, 2005 issue of the British Medical Journal.



Created: December 5, 2005

ableNready wrote
You never hear about the legal drugs as being problems. If people are going to be up in arms about harmless drugs and label them gateway drugs, then let's examine the largets gateway drug on the market... Caffeine. Caffeine is what the speed demon meth junkies usually start with. It is that articifial need to keep going and feel charged up that leads to the amphetamine usage. Think of legal pills like no-dose or vivarin. Coffee is a dasterdly villian in this drug war we face. Sounds silly right? I agree, but if you are going to atack a harmless mood alterer like marijuana, then you should attack all harmless drugs. Aspirin should be next...
 
... stupid people, I tell you...

You never hear about legal drugs as problems?! Are you kidding me?! I guess you never hear about smoking being a problem or drinking or presecription drugs?! Do you live under a rock?

Harmless mood alterer?! Are actually comparing the affects of caffeine to pot?! Caffeine is proven to make a person more

I used to drink coffee everyday and I'm sure it was an addiction but society wouldn't go for getting rid of it. I'm sure eventually they will legalize marijuana, although I don't agree they should, when more people demand they do. There are lots of things they need to get rid of. All those chemicals that people use to clean their house are far more harmful than caffeine.

Well, caffeine is addictive, I won't deny that. I'm useless on a
morning without a few cups of coffee, and if I have to go without for a
while I get a stonking headache. I even hate it if my 'strong'
brand is out of stock and I have to drink a different brand with less
caffeine in it. Decaff scares me too :-p



That said, I've been hooked on caffeine for years, and it hasn't driven
me to start taking some other stimulants. I don't think it ever
will.



I don't think that any soft illegal drug is a 'gateway' to a harder
drug either. I have no proof of this, but my opinion is that
people taking Cannabis who move on to harder drugs were only
'gatewayed' in that they took the choice to do something illegal, and
have contacts who can provide drugs. Once you've broken the law
and met some shady characters once, it's harder to resist breaking the
law again, and, the people who can supply cannabis can supply other
drugs too. If cannabis was available next to regular cigarettes
at the newsagents, I don't think people would still move on to harder
drugs.



If anyone has any stats from countries where cannabis is legal that
prove otherwise, I'm open to hearing them - as I said, I have no facts,
I'm just guessing.