In this post I am going to write solely on my personal experiences. I feel that I fit the description of the average young adult in America. The average young adult that has been faced with trials and tribulations in the drug and alcohol world. I am twenty one years old and was born and raised in orange county. In high school there were many times I was introduced to drugs and alcohol at parties and events. When I was younger and in high school everything was illegal; alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes were beyond my legal reach. They were beyond my reach legally, but not completely out of reach illegally. Everything was accesible from alcohol and marijuana to cocaine and shrooms. There is this idea that adults and parents have that if the law prohibits something than kids won't touch it. That's completely false....kids are curious about EVERYTHING.
The reason why I am talking about this young curiosity is to bring up a common misconception; the idea that marijuana is a gateway drug. A gateway drug is defined as being a drug that introduces people to harder, unsafe drugs. I do not think marijuana is a gateway drug for young adults, especially under the age of eighteen. When a kid is under eighteen marijuana is not the only illegal drug that will introduce them into the world of buying illegal substances. Alcohol and cigarettes are usually the first thing a teenager tries before maybe moving on to marijuana. Therefore alcohol and cigarettes are the true gateway drugs.
My reason for acknowledging this misconcepetion is not to try to get marijuana legal for all ages, but it is to take a sour spin off of marijuana. The term gateway drug for marijuana is just another way to brainwash people into believing that marijuana is dangerous. All of these misconceptions about marijuana being dangerous and evil just heighten the curiosity of kids who have never tried it. Once they realize it is not as dangerous as people claim, then they get the idea that more dangerous, harsher drugs are probably not that bad either. There were many things I was told throughout high school that I wanted to find out for myself. It is like being told that a movie is completely horrible, but there is something inside of you that wants to see it for yourself so that you can make your own opinions.
If marijuana was legal I think it would be harder for young kids to get their hands on because it would be regulated and sold by government regulated businesses. When I was younger trying to get alcohol was much harder to get than marijuana or other drugs. This was true because of the liquor store obstacle. Somebody had to find a person old enough to buy the alcohol or a person with a fake i.d. Unlike buying marijuana where all you had to do is know somebody who had it or sold it. There is nobody checking your i.d. when you want to buy marijuana.
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4 comments:
I definitely agree with your stance. If cigarettes and alcohol are legal, than why not marijuana? In my view, cigarettes are just as, maybe even more, bad for your health than marijuana, and alcohol is absolutely more dangerous when consumed. So why are they legal? It makes no sense to me. I grew up in Hawaii where marijuana is very prominent, and easy to get just like how you described it. People wll find ways to do it if they really want to. I know many people who have smoked it for years, but they aren't crazy coke, ice, meth, etc. addicts. If everyone smoked a little mary jane, the world would probably be a much more peaceful and relaxed place.
Super good point about the whole government control issue. Alcohol was indeed the hardest thing to get in high school because of the age and in store purchase. Stick it strong, because I do believe that with all of the people like you who have reasoning and logic and the will to fight for marijuana to be legal for a certain instances, that it will become a reality in our near future.
wow you really make a great point here. It's funny how when you are underage, it is easier to get marijuana as opposed to government controlled things like alcohol. It makes me upset that so many people are against smoking mj but have either never tried it or drink and smoke cigarettes as well. Very hypocritcal.
Good words.
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