The legalisation of marijuana

[dooey100]

Marijuana has often been described as a gateway drug, because people have marijuana, and then want to try harder drugs like cocaine or ecstasy. Do you think that legalizing marijuana might reduce this effect?

For example, someone might not want to try cocaine because they have heard it is bad for you and it is illegal (and feels good). But they have heard marijuana is not really bad, and is pretty fun, although it is illegal. So they try marijuana, and like it, and there is no real problem.

But then they look at cocaine at cocaine and say that it may be bad for you, but they have already had marijuana, which is illegal, so cocaine being illegal is not as big a thing as it seemed like before. Do you think this would be enough to reduce the amount of cocaine users?

<- long time lurker, first time poster (in CT)