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I. One of the main arguments stopping the decriminalization of marijuana is that it is believed to be a gateway drug. .
A. Well let me ask you a question; which did you try first marijuana or alcohol? .
B. Yea there have been polls conducted and studies that show a large number of cocaine and heroin users have used marijuana, but not the other way around.
1) A nation wide high school survey taken in 1990 told us that 41% of all high school students have tried marijuana or hash (a derivative of cannabis) and less than 10% ever went on to try cocaine and right at 1% to ever try heroin. .
2) In Holland where marijuana is legal only .3% of 12-17 year-olds had ever tried cocaine. In the U.S. 1.7% of 12-17 year-olds have tried cocaine, which is more than five times as much.
C. Using marijuana may put people, adolescents included, in contact with people who are users and sellers of other drugs.
1) The prohibition of marijuana is the very reason that there is more of a chance for a marijuana user to be exposed to, and urged to try more drugs.
2) So basically what prohibition did was created a mixed drug market, putting consumers in contact with hard drug dealers.
3) Drug use is lesser in Holland where marijuana has been decriminalized; regulating the marijuana would separate marijuana from cocaine, heroin, crack, and other hard drugs.
II. There have been federally funded researchers who have been studying high school students" drug use since the mid 70's.
A. They examined the effects of criminal penalties on marijuana use and the students" attitudes towards marijuana from 1975-1980. They researched the that usage rates among high school seniors in the decriminalized states compared to the rates in the rest of the states where the criminal penalties remained in effect, the results from this research prove that decriminalization of marijuana has had no effect on either the marijuana usage or the attitudes and beliefs about marijuana use among the American young people.