Talk:Gateway drug effect

message: Tobacco and other drugs seems to cover mostly the same content as this article. I think it would make sense to merge that article here. Thoughts? Sizeofint (talk) 17:51, 9 June 2016 (UTC)
replies: text: I'm inclined to think not myself - both could be greatly expanded. Johnbod (talk) 18:16, 9 June 2016 (UTC)
replies: text: Sure, if the scope of Tobacco and other drugs is larger than the gateway effect I suppose that would justify keeping it. What other aspects should we note in that article? Sizeofint (talk) 18:41, 9 June 2016 (UTC)
replies: text: Oppose merge: the gateway theory for Tobacco and other drugs is only half of the story, the other half being the shared genetic or environmental factors might increase the change of the use of both tobacco and 'other drugs'. The latter idea implies that taking up tobacco smoking doesn't increase your risk of taking other drugs; rather, the increased risk of taking other drugs was already present. Klbrain (talk) 04:01, 19 March 2018 (UTC)

text: Oppose merge: The gateway idea has been the primary justification for the marijuana laws since 1951.http://druglibrary.org/schaffer/History/whiteb1.htm It is not just an academic argument. It has had serious real-word consequences. It was never asserted for tobacco smoking until activists started to point out the hypocrisy of claiming that one chemical is a "stepping stone" and another is not. That's the same time it became known as a "gateway". That is, tobacco is the "gateway" to drugs that kill far fewer people than tobacco. That argument was a symptom of prohibition starting to fall apart because the arguments made no sense. It is a subject all its own.76.9.88.166 (talk)  — Preceding undated comment added 20:39, 23 January 2021 (UTC)
thread_title: Merger proposal

message: This article leaves a lot out of the history. See History of the Marijuana Gateway Mythhttp://druglibrary.org/schaffer/Library/gateway_myth.htm  for a full page of things left out, with links to original references.
For example, one of the motivations for the early marijuana laws was the fear that heroin addiction would lead to the use of marijuana.
When Harry Anslinger testified for the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, he was asked specifically if there was any connection between marijuana and heroin, and he replied emphatically that there was none at all. See Transcripts of the hearings for the Marihuana Tax Acthttp://druglibrary.org/schaffer/hemp/taxact/taxact.htm for his complete testimony. 
The idea became official US policy in 1951, during the hearings for the Boggs Act. See Whitebread's history of the marijuana lawshttp://druglibrary.org/schaffer/History/whiteb1.htm
The reason it became referred to as the "gateway" idea is because the "stepping stone" idea no longer had any credibility, having been damaged by such things as the US National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse, 1973.http://druglibrary.org/schaffer/Library/studies/nc/ncmenu.htm It became obvious that there was no drug that would give someone a craving for completely different drugs they had never had, so the idea was softened to make it seem like more of a psychological thing. 
It should also be mentioned that anyone who tries this idea in any college logic class will fail the class. 
76.9.88.166 (talk) 20:24, 23 January 2021 (UTC)
thread_title:  History 

message: Is coffee, due to legalization, being considered exempt from being classifiable as a gateway drug?
Note that the entire concept of 'gateway drug' is based on psychology/sociology, not harmful physiological effects, and that psychologically/sociologically, there's a wide number of semblances between coffee and other gateway drugs; distinct physiological effects achieved, habit/ritual/social-ritual formance, addiction/tolerance-building/abstinence symptoms, situational escalating use, initiating use during teenage years, use to improve performance, similar biological function as cocaine. A quick search will bring numerous sources that discuss coffee as one.
Why doesn't the article mention it? Gewath (talk) 14:42, 29 January 2021 (UTC)
replies: text: Good. You could do that search, then include them as sources in a paragraph on the subject. Britmax (talk) 09:26, 19 March 2021 (UTC)
thread_title:  About coffee...