Not everyone is a fan of the legalization of marijuana.
Tony Shafer with Adult and Teen Challenge, which helps people with addictions, said he has seen too many cases of cannabis leading to something worse.
“I guess from where I sit behind my desk, talking to a lot of families and a lot of our clients, they’ve all started off somewhere, usually smoking weed.”
“You can say that it wasn’t a gateway drug due to your experience and interaction with it, but you can’t deny that it is actually a gateway drug for a lot of people, including myself.”
When people aren’t sober they’re more likely to do something they normally wouldn’t, he said, which is how pot and alcohol can lead to more harmful drugs.
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“You get intoxicated, things happen, situations come up and you agree to do certain things that you normally wouldn’t agree to do to be sober, right, because the filter is kind of removed.”
A study done in 2015 by the University of Victoria, however, said pot may not be the gateway drug people think it is.
“While cannabis is not benign, most research suggests that it’s safer and less addictive than many substances, particularly prescription opiates,” said lead author Philippe Lucas.
For some, said Lucas, pot may help them “exit” from other addictions.
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