Legal Recreational Marijuana Revisited

"The truth is the idea you have brought up is simply a theory. Tobacco and alcohol have also been accused of being gateway drugs. I understand marijuana and alcohol are different kinds of drugs but nothing about marijuana has been proven to qualify it as a 100% surefire "gateway drug." Numerous tests and data have shown inconclusive evidence of the gateway drug theory. In 2007 the surgeon general said that marijuana was in fact a gateway drug. He, however, did not prove this himself, and was instead, stating a probable (but not true) side effect to marijuana use based on inconclusive research to help raise awareness about the negative effects. Two studies from University of Pittsburgh's School of Pharmacy show inconclusive evidence to support this theory. So has the U.S. National Institute of medicine and RAND, who works for the U.S. government and military. All of these are reliable resources. Lastly, the assumption that marijuana would be legal for teens is false. Because marijuana is not legal, we don't know what legal using age will be put into place. Avoiding selling to teens is a very valid point that I agree with." My Response: It may be just a theory, yes. However, this theory holds water. You have conceded that marijuana and alcohol are different kids of drugs. Moving from there, you state it isn't 100% true. I say, it isn't 100% untrue. Society would be much better off if we keep it illegal, and hinder the possibility of loads of people getting hooked on it, then moving to harder substances. You then say that the Surgeon General was only looking at negative side effects. It's because of these mild highs that people get that make them want more. It just keeps building. Once the mild high cannot satisfy them, they look for a larger high. This leads them to try, Cocaine, LSD, etc. Furthermore, you agree that it is bad for teens to acquire them. Making it legal would make it so much easier for teens to acquire it. Look at the rampant underage drinking problem we have. It is legal and teens make older people get it for them or they get fake licenses. Making marijuana legal only makes it that much easier for teens to get it. In conclusion, the gateway theory must hold to help protect society from very likely negative consequences. "There is no way to tell how society will react, especially because we don't know whether the gateway drug theory is correct or not. Because of the this unpredictability factor, we have to rely on history for answers. I could list and list events, but I don't want to waste your time so I'm going to concentrate on one significant, closely related one: Prohibition. As you know, Prohibition was when alcohol was illegal in the United States throughout the 1920's. It was proven that as soon as this drug was deemed illicit, crime (organized crime especially) skyrocketed as well as the smuggling of alcohol into the States. This all goes back to the fact that people in the past have increased criminal activity due to the act that made another so-called "gateway drug," alcohol, illegal, the opposite of what you proposed. Alcoholics have a chance to do harder drugs, just like any other type of user, and if your theory was correct then the harder drugs should have become as much of a problem as alcohol in the 1920's...but they didn't." My Response: Ok, I have 3 responses 1) We have already concluded that marijuana is a different drug then alcohol and creates a different and better high. Therefore, alcholo was not really a gateway drug. 2) Since it is very likely that marijuana is a gateway drug, people would be more likely to resort to crime to get harder substances. This is plain logic. 3) Legalizing marijuana would just increase the incentive for harder drugs. Once the government gives into legalizing marijuana, people will look for all legalized narcotics. When that doesn't happen they will resort to crime. Thank you ladies and gentlemen.