Do not vote unless you are or have been a drug user. This is not a public poll so don't be afraid to vote.

There should be an option "Marijuana lead me to tobacco." Not me, personally, but a lot of people I know had this happen.

Also marijuana lead me to obesity... :)

The anti marijuana establishment uses the 'fact' that marijuana is a gateway drug. What I'm trying to ascertain, through this poll is whether they are correct or whether they're full of BS.

That marijuana led anyone to tobacco or alcohol is actually irrelevant, because they are legal drugs. I want to know whether m leads people to other illegal drugs.

The only place where marijuana leads to 'other drugs' is in America, because America's society itself places it in the category of 'other drugs'. Other drugs includes coke, opium, ecstasy and meth just to name a few but does not include just as potent killers alcohol and tobacco.

By saying 'you cant have this' to children and kids hell even adults, you only make them want it more, making the personal decision of 'do I want to do this' unfairly biased towards yes.

Since you have then filled that thirst, you start to wonder what else you can do that they say you cant do.

However if marijuana were commonplace such as tobacco is (even though it kills 36,000 people a month), then people would not wander into the realm of harder drugs.

Of course there are always people that just have the personality type to try hard drugs whether marijuana is legal or not, but this would help those who are unsure to make the right decision on hard drugs that can do some real damage.

drugs can't lead to anything because they're not causes.
the cause for anything is always in the mind/thoughts.

some thoughts cause the interest for drugs.
then the drugs create other thoughts.
which may cause the interest for other drugs.

All studies have confirmed a link between early use of so-called “gateway drugs” and later use of harder drugs.
All studies! There are no studies in existance where ZERO hard drug users report starting out with the hard drugs, they all report first trying light drugs. Where the debate comes in to play is in the number of light users who later turn to hard drugs and the other factors in the lives of those individuals that may make them turn to these drugs. The million dollar question is -– did these people try hard drugs because of their experiences with light drugs or was there some other factor in their lives that led them to escalate their need to get high, a factor totally unrelated to their first experiences with lighter drugs (known in studies as “confounding variables”). The answer hear is unclear and this is what clouds up the “gateway drug” theory.

The reality is very few people first jump into drug use with the heavy ones.

Chronic is a gateway to laziness, desire of cheetos, and of course, hours on end of scooby doo.


I have smoked weed before and had/have no desire to try anything else.

All studies have confirmed a link between early use of so-called “gateway drugs” and later use of harder drugs.

Also all studies have confirmed that vegetarianism leads to meateating. :)

Every baby starts out a vegetarian and most of them become meateater, but not all of them. It was already mentioned that there is a difference between correlation and cause!!!

All studies! There are no studies in existance where ZERO hard drug users report starting out with the hard drugs,

I am sure there must have been at least 1 guy on Earth....

But let's go back to your logic problem of causality. I am not sure the exact number but it could be like this:

80% of potsmokers drank alcohol first.
85% of potsmokers smoked tobacco first.

Does it mean that a drinker or a smoker will become potaddict?? Of course not! (also if it was true, eventually most smokers and drinkers would end up doing hard drugs, using your logic)

So, since alcohol and tobacco are not the gateway drugs to pot, pot is also not the gateway drug to hard drugs. End of story.

Sure, people get their hard drugs from the same or similar source as they get their pot, so there is a strong correlation, but that doesn't prove casuality!!!

Also did you know that all people who became swimmer started out as a walker???

So walking is a gateway activity to swimming!!! :)

Been a regular user for decades now and only tried a few other drugs. Cocaine, speed, hash. That was 20 years ago and haven't touched any of those since. Just one :m: after work, only one, and I'm cool.

Been a regular user for decades now and only tried a few other drugs.
well see? this is what this thread and poll is about.
you started with marijuana and then tried the others.

well see? this is what this thread and poll is about.
you started with marijuana and then tried the others.Once or twice at parties in my rampaging club days of the 80's. Peer pressure and lack of self control caused me to make those decisions, not a brown baggie of weed.

I actively sought out drugs and drug information, pot is just the easiest to get. Before that I used strong pots of tea with sugar, then coffee, then beer. Then I rolled up lawn grass and tried to smoke that. Then I bummed weed off college friends until I could buy a bag. I did try acid later, but that's because my friends knew I would be interested through smoking pot with them. I fail to see an actual mechanism whereby someone gets corrupted by pot so that they do other drugs that they wouldn't otherwise have been interested in.

I have bought weed many times, but only a handful of those dealers had hard drugs, too. Most of the time, it was just a friend.

I fail to see an actual mechanism whereby someone gets corrupted by pot so that they do other drugs that they wouldn't otherwise have been interested in.

Oh, really? Let's take a closer look at your post, okay?

"I did try acid later, but that's because my friends knew I would be interested through smoking pot with them."

And there's your "mechanism" ...which you readily admitted. And my guess is it's the same or similar for many, many others ...peer pressure.

Baron Max

Nope, it was the opposite. They were wary of introducing acid to anyone, but I expressed my interest in wanting to try it.

The pot didn't make me interested in acid, I was interested in hallucinogens for many years before I could ever try one.

you started with marijuana and then tried the others.

Leo, you fucking disappoint me. I started with beer, later drunk wine and hard liquor, but went back to beer. (not really true, just an analogy)

That is called experiencing. His point was that he didn't end up a hard drug user or addicted to them...

I haven't heard a feedback on my post, so here it is again, brainiacs:

If pot leads to hard drugs and smoking leads to potuse, how come that most of the tobaccousers don't end up on hardrugs??? Hello???

The pot didn't make me interested in acid, I was interested in hallucinogens for many years before I could ever try one.
even you will have to admit that it's a natural progression.

if we take all pot users and ask "have you done harder drugs".
what do you think the answer will be?

Poppy seed bagels are the gateway drug.

Pot use is common among those seeking highs because it is a common drug. I have tried other things, but never to the point of addiction, probably because pot satifies that need, and it isn't dangerous or addictive.

I'm having trouble understanding why this topic exists in the philosophy forum... Perhaps a more suitable forum would be Human Science or Science and Society?


Anyway.
The term 'gateway drug' is meaningless.
Oxygen is a gateway drug.
Aspirin is a gateway drug.
Breast milk, now that's the real gateway drug.

Yeah, those moderators need to get their ass in gear. Oh wait, I'm the moderator! Your wish is my command.

The only place where marijuana leads to 'other drugs' is in America, because America's society itself places it in the category of 'other drugs'. Other drugs includes coke, opium, ecstasy and meth just to name a few but does not include just as potent killers alcohol and tobacco.

By saying 'you cant have this' to children and kids hell even adults, you only make them want it more, making the personal decision of 'do I want to do this' unfairly biased towards yes.

Since you have then filled that thirst, you start to wonder what else you can do that they say you cant do.

However if marijuana were commonplace such as tobacco is (even though it kills 36,000 people a month), then people would not wander into the realm of harder drugs.

Of course there are always people that just have the personality type to try hard drugs whether marijuana is legal or not, but this would help those who are unsure to make the right decision on hard drugs that can do some real damage.

Any time you decrease the supply you increase the demand, and when demand is increased the value increases too, which attracts criminal minds and risk takers.

Then you fight the crime, using tax dollars.

while i have tried many other drugs, the fact is that i was already inclined to experiment with all kinds of drugs, i didnt suddenly decide i wanted to try E after smoking my first joint. so far the only drug i can say that i really enjoy is BZP, which is legal anyway.

I think that tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, ecstacy, speed, acid, ect ect can all be called gateway drugs. If you try a drug and it doesn't ruin your life and you have interesting, enjoyable experiences you are then likely to think about trying the other legal/illegal drugs. Those who do have bad experiences may then be a bit more wary of trying the other drugs.

However I don't think marijuana is more of a gateway drug than the others.

As someone else mentioned, you have to take into account that there are other factors that alter when someone tries a drug. When I was a teen marijuana was easier to get and more affordable than the other illeagal ones.
So I am a bit wary of some of the studies. There is certainly a history of propaganda with marijuana.

lsd was the gateway drug for me.

marijuana is the last drug i ever did, and really the only one i still do...aside from cigarettes or beer.
*shrug*

lsd was the gateway drug for me.
Was it the gateway to paradise?

No its the gateway to reality altering experience, gave me a new perspective at least.

Yes but I wasn't asking you, was I?

Newbie.

Where ther is one illicit drug there will be other illicit drugs, and thus the opportunity to experiment. I imagine that if you made pot available on the store shelf people, would buy it.

drugs can't lead to anything because they're not causes.
the cause for anything is always in the mind/thoughts.

some thoughts cause the interest for drugs.
then the drugs create other thoughts.
which may cause the interest for other drugs.


Very Well said!!!!

A hundred years ago when all of these drugs were legal and sold in *gasp* drug stores this phenomenon was unknown. Lots of people injected cocaine (the preferred method in those days) without ever thinking about marijuana. Lots of people used the various forms and concentrations of opium (laudanum and morphine, although injectable heroin and opium for smoking were also available) without ever thinking about marijuana or cocaine.

Considering that cocaine is a stimulant, opium is a depressant, and marijuana is for the most part simply an intoxicant, it's rather bizarre to think that large numbers of people would even think of testing all three in the absence of the social and market pressures that illegality brings to bear.

"Marijuana" (Mexican slang for Cannibis) has not brought me to other drugs. It has only helped me sleep, and has helped me get rid of my morning stomach pains, has helped me get rid of stomach pains when I have the flu, it has actually helped me enjoy working at my job, despite what you may "learn" in all the propaganda about how it demotivates.... Honestly, it will demotivate you if you believe all the lies and bullshit the "pros" put out on Marijuana.

I've smoked a god-damn lot of this, and I am indeed a "pro" on the subject of marijuana. lol

Baby aspirin and sugar are the 'gates'.

As to marijuana and hemp, they should be immediately legalized.
Hemp has possibly the strongest carbon sequestering factors for detoxifing the biosphere, so the foolish corporate hooligans who had it banned and eradicted, committed a serious sin against the Earth, and this weed will be crucial in addressing the issue of global warming.

Google it, you'll see.

Should've made it so you could check more than one choice. Both 1 and 3 apply to me.

As to marijuana and hemp, they should be immediately legalized.
Hemp has possibly the strongest carbon sequestering factors for detoxifing the
biosphere, so the foolish corporate hooligans who had it banned and eradicted,
committed a serious sin against the Earth, and this weed will be crucial in
addressing the issue of global warming.

Google it, you'll see.

-C6H

Hey, I couldn't agree more! Soon enough the public will see the truth on their own. God save the internet so this can happen!

http://www.savetheinternet.com

Drugs being illegal is a gateway drug, as we tend to group them together.

As to marijuana and hemp, they should be immediately legalized.
Hemp has possibly the strongest carbon sequestering factors for detoxifing the biosphere, so the foolish corporate hooligans who had it banned and eradicted, committed a serious sin against the Earth, and this weed will be crucial in addressing the issue of global warming.

Not to mention hemp is a better alternative for making paper. It's easier and quicker to grow and harvest, and it makes more durable paper, if I'm not mistaken.

Besides, banning substances such as marijuana is communist. (Think about this statement and let it soak in before you respond in disagreement.)

EDIT: I forgot to mention that the only drugs I've done are over-the-counter ones, prescription ones, alcohol, marijuana, and caffeine. Of them, marijuana was the latest one I've done, and I've done it on and off. It has not led me to any other drugs, as I have firmly decided that I would not do any of the harder drugs which can actually do serious harm to me.

EDIT: I forgot something again. I tried a mini cigar sometime after I first tried weed. So add tobacco to my list.

well, i dont know what to vote for.

as a pot smoker, i don't think it is a gateway drug. I have interest in other drugs that i have yet to try, but that dosent have any asociation with smoking pot.

what kinda high do you people get anyways?

some people feel different.

I feel really grounded and i wanna listen to The Doors and such:P...

what kinda high do you people get anyways?

some people feel different.

I feel really grounded and i wanna listen to The Doors and such:P...

The one time I was truly and thoroughly stoned (probably the only time I've felt more than just a buzz), I felt disconnected from my body. I would move my hand in front of my face and feel it just fine, but I would only see it move a second later. Time became very sluggish, and a couple times I whited out for only a second but it felt like a whole minute. But once I sat down, relaxed, and watched TV, time zoomed by and the TV shows ended when the action only just got started. Certainly an amazing experience.

By the way: The Doors is an awesome band! :D

That marijuana led anyone to tobacco or alcohol is actually irrelevant, because they are legal drugs. I want to know whether m leads people to other illegal drugs.

When a drug becomes illegal, the only people who use that drug are criminals. Err, something like that. And criminals are bad bad people, we all know.:p


The only other "illegal" drug I've ever used besides C. Sativa would be psilocybin mushrooms. I could definitely say that having used marijuana many many times made me more willing to try something like that, but it was equally curiousity in something like that which would influence me. Mushrooms have a shamanic, spiritual quality, and have been used that way (along with similar substances) probably since the dawn of civilization. My mild interest in that kind of thing is probably more of a contributor to my trying them than anything else.

A close relative of mine, who has used many more drugs than I have, started smoking I believe before he was in high school. And I also do believe that tobacco was probably the first substance he ever used regularly.
And later on, he started powdering his prescription Ritalin tablets (for ADD) and snuffing them up the nose for what he still considers (though he doesn't use them anymore) one of the best highs ever! How awesome is that? His mommy and daddy payed for "medicine" that he was simply taking to get a high from.

And on tobacco, I also can recall that many of the so-called problem or "troubled" students I knew in school were smoking and drinking at a considerably younger age than most other people.

Overall, I don't think marijuana by itself can influence people to do harder drugs, if you want to call them that. I think there's usually a secondary factor.
I believe I have heard that its relative overall harmlessness is one reason people might think that it's a gateway. They may be lulled into thinking that every drug they've been warned away from will be just as harmless. But that's really weak reasoning, and that's not just my opinion.
The drug czars and propagandists, from what I can gather, want to simply call marijuana a harmful drug for vague reasons (like calling it a gateway, which is pretty vague if you ask me!), link it with other, much more harmful drugs (crack, heroin) in one huge, terrifying, "pedophile"-like category, and hopefully keep the debate frozen. After all, who wants to support child-raping??!?!?! :rolleyes: :eek:

What else can you expect from people who trumpet record-levels of drug arrests as a victory in the mostly fraudulent war on drugs (if I remember correctly, Clinton did just that), instead of just an indication that either there are more users, or more users getting arrested? Or that an alcoholic who lives near a public school needs treatment, but a casual marijuana user who lives in the same neighborhood may just get a very serious jail sentence, just for living in a so-called drug-free zone? Apparently being a gateway drug with an absurdly low mortality rate is more serious than a legal drug with one of the deadliest track records in recorded history.

Some examples of "GATEWAYS":

Getting into a car is a gateway for fatal accidents and vehicular homicide.
Eating at a restaurant (especially Taco Bell) is a gateway to food poisoning.
Eating fast food of any kind is a gateway to clogged arteries.
Taking FDA-approved anti-depressants (according to some) is a gateway to possible suicide.
Owning a gun is a gateway to someone getting killed with that gun.
Being a woman on a date is a gateway to date-rape.
Being born is a gateway to eventually dying, at some point.

Are those silly examples? Anyone have ideas for some other gateways, real or imagined, serious or silly?

Sorry for my long ramble. Goodbye.

drugs can't lead to anything because they're not causes.
the cause for anything is always in the mind/thoughts.

some thoughts cause the interest for drugs.
then the drugs create other thoughts.
which may cause the interest for other drugs.

La la la. Quite true.

Where ther is one illicit drug there will be other illicit drugs, and thus the opportunity to experiment. I imagine that if you made pot available on the store shelf people, would buy it.

I know many people who would just love that!

I never smoked Marijuana till I had tried most other narcotics. I can thankfully say that Marijuana assisted me of ditching the hard stuff, and I have not looked back since.

Bad Bad Drugs:

- Cocaine
- Crack
- Heroin
- Crystal Meths

Bad, but not bad drugs

- Alcohol
- E

Not so bad drugs

- Marijuana
- LSD
- Shrooms

Just a bit of information. Marijuana was banned because of one mans racism during the silly conservative American prohibition period. We can thank them and their trade policies for an almost world wide ban on a herb that helps.

I think the real issue is that people are being sucked into the drug culture with the use of Marijuana. More or less, Marijuana could be considered the gateway to being exposed to all of these other drugs. No, the Marijuana won't immediately make you want to try harder drugs, but it is a gateway to a lifestyle that has easy access to them. Thus, the gateway status.

I think the real issue is that people are being sucked into the drug culture with the use of Marijuana. More or less, Marijuana could be considered the gateway to being exposed to all of these other drugs. No, the Marijuana won't immediately make you want to try harder drugs, but it is a gateway to a lifestyle that has easy access to them. Thus, the gateway status.

Thats because they are being lied to. Theyre not stupid. People tell them marijuana is a bad drug like all the other drugs. When they compare that to alcohol when they try it, could they not think that if this drug is not so bad perhaps all the others are not so bad.

Tell them the truth about it. Its less harmful than alcohol. The other drugs are much worse and have much more dangerous and harmful side effects.

I think the reality of it, is that the side affect of Marijuana is close to what I posted - or at least that's how stuff works in my high school.

The recent poll showing that most posters here are youngsters and rather clueless not knowing history or how to use a searchengine, so here is why marihuana is illegal:

http://blogs.salon.com/0002762/stories/2003/12/22/whyIsMarijuanaIllegal.html

As previous posters have stated, cannabis is a "gateway drug" only because it is illegal. Because it is depicted as evil by, for example, the U.S. Government, people that wish for access to it can be forced to use contacts who use/sell other, harder drugs. Plus, upon realizing that most of what is commonly known about cannabis is completely baseless, some people begin to wonder how much of the common stereotypes concerning other drugs are false.

Anyway, I am a moderate cannabis user, I have used LSD and mushrooms containing psilocybin and nothing else. I did not do 'shrooms or LSD based on my experience with cannabis.

I intended at this point to place a link to drugwarfacts.org, where there is a section on marijuana as a "gateway drug," but apparently I cannot, so I'll just trust that the readers of this post are competent enough to figure out where to go.

I intended at this point to place a link to drugwarfacts.org, where there is a section on marijuana as a "gateway drug," but apparently I cannot, so I'll just trust that the readers of this post are competent enough to figure out where to go.
This link? (drugwarfacts.org)

drugs can't lead to anything because they're not causes.
the cause for anything is always in the mind/thoughts.

some thoughts cause the interest for drugs.
then the drugs create other thoughts.
which may cause the interest for other drugs.

Basically correct.

"The worm has definately turned for you, my friend"

Basically correct.

"The worm has definately turned for you, my friend"

Platoon fucking rocks...I'M STONED RIGHT NOW
hahahaha

Marijuana led a friend of mine to National Socialism.

Socialism Is The Key To Success...

I started smoknig about 1 year, 3 months ago
Then i tried mary jane about 5 months ago
and i tired a lesser version of speed about 4 weeks ago

however, im never doing any form of pill like that again because it uscked iodnt rember what happned, but i do rember wishing i would die so the chemicals im off of, i jsut got caught with a pipe for mary jane, and i am htinknig aobut quioting the reefer but im not sure if i will or not

and ciggerettes, i smoke because im addicted, and because i love it!

This link?

I was referring more to drugwarfacts.org/gatewayt.htm, but yes, that link is fine. I just am incapable of placing links as I have accumulated fewer than twenty posts.

I started smoknig about 1 year, 3 months ago
Then i tried mary jane about 5 months ago
and i tired a lesser version of speed about 4 weeks ago

however, im never doing any form of pill like that again because it uscked iodnt rember what happned, but i do rember wishing i would die so the chemicals im off of, i jsut got caught with a pipe for mary jane, and i am htinknig aobut quioting the reefer but im not sure if i will or not

and ciggerettes, i smoke because im addicted, and because i love it!

Are you illiterate?

And the depressed feeling is due to the chemicals in your brain, speed does that too you

The hypocrisy of those who drink here condemning marijuana.

The hypocrisy of those who drink here condemning marijuana.Remember the photo of Reagan and the president of Mexico toasting the War on Drugs with glasses of wine?

I think it all depends on the cultural context - the fact that m is illegal definitely increases incidences where it is a gateway component. Similarly I think negative psychological traits are amplified by illegality e.g. long-periods of well-founded paranoia.

Marijuana will be legalized when they can figure out how to tax a 'weed' - its only a good capitalist drug whilst it's illegal. Don't hold your breath...

I think it's a gateway drug, to a certain extent. Personally I tried ecstacy, but that was it after being a stoner.

The only reason I didn't go on to other things was because my head stopped working one day and I've thought differently since.

All of my stoner friends from back in the day are doing ecstacy through the week and coke at the weekend. All the while smoking joints, obviously :(

I wish I could get out my face on random drugs, but I have a pretty severe anti-placebo. Not sure what the word is for that, but I freak myself out quite easily and panic about things.

"Not sure what the word is for that, but I freak myself out quite easily and panic about things."

tai chi or chi gung classes are good for this...

People who are going to take serious drugs are ofcourse going to first try things like pot and alcohol.
So in a way, yes it is "the gateway" to these drugs.
It's pretty much guaranteed someone will go through that "gateway" to get to the other drugs.
But this by no means suggests that pot is causing them to take the other drugs.

Pot is a gateway to becoming a lazy piece of braindead shit with no motivation, though.

urrrgg

as an avid weed user, i see nothing wrong with using marijuana on a moderate basis. it is definitely not a gateway drug, if it is, why isnt beer and cigarettes considered one? after all, many potheads tried cigarettes before using weed lol. i smoke marijuana at least once a week, i never feel the need to sniff coke or smoke crack because of it. if anything, weed is medicine for the soul and the brain.

the system (us govt) has marijuana illegal just to give the pharmeceutical companies an advantage over in the medicine field. if marijuana was legal, half of these drugs we use to treat our illnesses would be unecessary and wasteful spending at best, frauds compared to marijuana at worst.

the us gov't spends 15 billion dollars a year chasing drug lords that will be replaced after one day. how smart.

In moderation, sure.

When you start smoking weed every day and it becomes 'the norm', all bets are off. When you feel normal being stoned and you remember when it was a new feeling, you wonder what other drugs will make you feel and you'll be more inclined to use them.

The only thing that LEADS anyone to any drug is unhappiness.

The only thing that LEADS anyone to any drug is unhappiness.

Bullshit.

The only thing that LEADS anyone to any drug is unhappiness.

Not if a clown tries to sell you weed...

All studies have confirmed a link between early use of so-called “gateway drugs” and later use of harder drugs.
All studies! There are no studies in existance where ZERO hard drug users report starting out with the hard drugs, they all report first trying light drugs. Where the debate comes in to play is in the number of light users who later turn to hard drugs and the other factors in the lives of those individuals that may make them turn to these drugs. The million dollar question is -– did these people try hard drugs because of their experiences with light drugs or was there some other factor in their lives that led them to escalate their need to get high, a factor totally unrelated to their first experiences with lighter drugs (known in studies as “confounding variables”). The answer hear is unclear and this is what clouds up the “gateway drug” theory.

The reality is very few people first jump into drug use with the heavy ones.
the first "drug" i ever tried was LSD, when i was 13. i didnt even smoke marijuana until i was 19. same goes for cigarettes.

the first "drug" i ever tried was LSD, when i was 13. i didnt even smoke marijuana until i was 19. same goes for cigarettes.

One isolated example proves nothing.

Baron Max

The only thing that LEADS anyone to any drug is unhappiness.


bull fucking shit. lmao.

On the philosophical side: Is oil a gateway drug?

On the philosophical side: Is oil a gateway drug?

Oil's a hard drug, leisure's the gateway.

perhaps if people didn't make such a big deal out of it, then stoners would just smoke pot cause they like it, not cause they feel like they have to be an active part of some counter-culture.

There's a large amount of people who just like doing drugs. Marijuana is the most popular drug. Therefore it seems that the first drug that most people who like drugs will take is marijuana. That's all the correllation there is, most of the time (Everyone in this thread is correct for what they have seen, but what they've seen is only a fraction of all there is).

And you've seen it all?

"Perhaps if people didn't make such a big deal out of it, then stoners would just smoke pot cause they like it, not cause they feel like they have to be an active part of some counter-culture."

It is a several thousand year-old 'counter-culture' that has seen more than a few 'mainstream cultures' come and go...there could be an evolutionary advantage to marijuana use...

And you've seen it all?

I've seen enough to know that none of us know half as much as we presume to.

"Perhaps if people didn't make such a big deal out of it, then stoners would just smoke pot cause they like it, not cause they feel like they have to be an active part of some counter-culture."

It is a several thousand year-old 'counter-culture' that has seen more than a few 'mainstream cultures' come and go...there could be an evolutionary advantage to marijuana use...

I'm not talking about the usage of cannabis in general. I'm talking about the (mostly US) counter-culture that springs from rejection of the American lifestyle. They're attracted to pot mostly because it is regarded as "evil" by suburbanites and conservatives. They want to offend others as much as possible.