Cannabis: Gateway drug? |
| The theory that cannabis is a gateway to
heroin is not supported by any evidence. Almost 70% of young people (and 40% of
Australians of all ages) have tried pot. Only around 2% of Australians have ever used
heroin. 96% of cannabis users have never tried heroin. That’s a tiny gateway!
The pot culture is generally very anti-heroin. Pot and heroin are only joined at the hip (the wallet) by Prohibition—the black market is their common ground. Cannabis can certainly be a gateway . . . to jail, alienation, tobacco, and to the black market and all its illegal drugs. Desperate people will use anything to ease their pain, and a small percentage of people will experiment with anything out of curiosity. "There is no conclusive evidence that the drug effects of marijuana are causally linked to subsequent abuse of other illicit drugs," says a 1999 US Institute of Medicine report (p.11). Most heroin users also use alcohol, amphetamines, prescription pills, tobacco and cannabis. An alcohol user is just as likely to progress to heroin as a cannabis user. In fact many ex-heroin users help overcome long-term withdrawal by using cannabis. Cannabis is popular as a gateway drug AWAY from heroin, cocaine, alcohol, speed and many addictive prescription drugs for those who can’t afford or obtain rehabilition. Current pricses of cannabis make this an obvious nightmare for most people. Heroin is available everywhere now for as low as $10—it’s tiny, easily concealed, odourless and purer than ever, and increasingly popular. The smallest deal of cannabis is usually $25, which is barely enough to roll one small joint. Cannabis is now $300–500 per ounce, dearer than gold! Buying $25 deals off the street makes it more like $1000 an ounce! The heroin deal is obviously more attractive for the poor, the desperate, and those who don’t know better. Hard and soft drugs must be separated. IT’S URGENT! Cannabis: Gateway to Tobacco? Most Australian
cannabis smokers nowadays use bongs (water pipes) primarily because you get maximum effect
from the very expensive pot. The group ritual, "the chop", is a sacred ceremony
of sorts, like sharing a joint used to be. One person makes the mix (chopping up tobacco
and pot finely together), ready for the bong which is then used in turn. The art of
rolling joints is disappearing. A bong can be made out of waste which costs nothing (a
plastic bottle, foil, piece of hose). The Hemp Embassy is seriously concerned about cannabis being a gateway drug to tobacco, especially for youth. Because of the expense of cannabis, most Australian smokers mix their pot with tobacco, usually breaking a cigarette open. This stretches the mix twice as far. With regular use, this of course leads to a nicotine habit. Nicotine has killed more Australians than heroin. A classic example is a recent health worker’s story of a client who came for help with a 60-bongs-a-day habit. Quickly staff realised it was the nicotine cravings which drove him back to the bong each time. He believed he was a non-(tobacco) smoker! We are sure this contributes to high teenage tobacco smoking figures which won’t go away. |
