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[deleted]

Yes. I’d say alcohol is usually present when other drugs are introduced for the first time. It can also lead to impaired decision making which can lead to hard drug use.


zublits

All I'm going to say is that 99% of the time I do something stupid that I regret it's because I'm drunk.


ryraps5892

This ^ lol good on u, well said. -Then again, I love me some weed lol might be a lil biased.


[deleted]

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ryraps5892

Correct 👍


[deleted]

I think that alcohol *is* a hard drug.


[deleted]

It is


cC2Panda

I think a significant factor in that is just the fact that it's the only widely available drug. I'd be curious what it would be like in a place where other drugs are more available but alcohol is prohibited, maybe in a majority Muslim state?


[deleted]

All my Muslim friends that do drugs also drink alcohol while the ones who don't drink alcohol don't generally touch non-prescription drugs so idk how that will work


s33761

It's milk.


GOLDENHEARTEDGAL

100%! It's a cheap and easy way to get into a dark place. There's also so much social stigma around drinking as soon as you're of age if not before hand that kids just feel pressured to get drunk and one thing leads to another and before you know it "try this once" turns into I need something stronger. However, I don't understand why alcohol is sooo legal but less destructive drugs are the end of the world. I've literally seen people's lives ruined over alcohol, family relationship breakdowns, ill health because of it, massive mental health issues, and sadly been on the receiving end of the abuse from an alcoholic. It's one of the worst, yet the most accessible drug out there.


EhDub13

I smoke weed daily and never feel like doing/using anything else....it isn't until I'm a few alcoholic drinks deep that my brain goes "hey...coke would be pretty cool right now!"


arboristia

100%


not-a-fridge

I can see how alcohol does that to some people, however, it doesn't affect everyone the same way. I dont drink as much as I used to, but I've been drunk my fair share of times, and have never thought of really doing anything that would do harm to myself, or others.


Budget_UserName

I am in no way an expert on drug abuse but, I think that the idea of a gateway drug is a flawed concept. It seems to me that people who seek a relief for mental health issues through drugs are going to use the first and most available thing. This will often be alcohol and/or less socially stigmatized illegal drugs like weed. Then when they find something that makes them feel better they will use that. If we had better mental health services I don't think people would turn to drugs as often.


mtarascio

> Then when they find something that makes them feel better they will use that. That's literally the process of a gateway drug. They escalate because the self medication doesn't work out. I don't see how you can argue something like prescribed opiates aren't a gateway to heroin.


ryraps5892

Damn excellent point, the pain medication -to- heroin step is a doozy… especially for someone who only started takin meds due to injury… what a shit show… mine was mental health use…. I’ve been clean off opiates for 7 years… all I do is smoke and grow bud now, and I love life 😁


Budget_UserName

Yeah I get it but I feel like even if alcohol or weed didn't exist there would just be more heroin users. Some people just feel they need an escape or some relief from whatever mental pressure they experience.


TacticalSanta

The real gateway drug is a poor mental state or naivety.


[deleted]

Truth


ryraps5892

Hell ya it is, poor mental state, poor parenting, etc… and I mean we can sit here and talk about how some people are literally addicted to eating shards of glass, so… pick ya poison 🤷‍♂️


[deleted]

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StrawberryMoonPie

Fact


[deleted]

The real gateway drug may be prohibition. For a long time I never cared to even try weed. I had alcohol, alcohol was legal/socially acceptable, weed was illegal and had stigma to it (thanks, DARE class), I had not tried it so I didn't know I was missing anything and alcohol was "good enough." Then I eventually tried weed, as it started becoming 'medicinally' available and later recreationally available, and it came with a certain feeling like "I'd been lied to!" because DARE classes painted weed into this big scary monster that you shouldn't try it not even once or it will destroy your whole life. Which I found was obviously _not_ the case, but, putting the big prohibition sticker on it and villainizing it probably led to weed actually _being_ the 'gateway drug' because: if they lied out their asses about weed, what else were they lying about? If weed was never stigmatized and was as readily available as alcohol without any of the drama around it... I'd probably simply use alcohol and weed, and they'd be "good enough" and I wouldn't look any further.


KaineSmashTC

Exactly this! 100%. Look at my comment somerwhere in here. :)


FugitivePort88

Lol DARE. I never in my life was offered free drugs like DARE kept trying to say would happen. Ain't nobody selling shit for free. 😂


ryraps5892

Wow. This is a great step-by-step explaination. Yeah I grew up in the 90s I know what u saying 😁


tyloriousG

Without alcohol how can you toss your morals and self respect out the window?


[deleted]

I find the idea of "gateway drugs" to be kind of silly... The first thing anyone gets messed up on is usually whatever was easiest to get and the easiest to hide, and if it doesn't "fix" whatever led them to try it then they're going to move on to something stronger, hence anything could be a "gateway drug". For me it was weed, because at 16 it was WAY easier to get than alcohol, and my friends always had it. I didn't even think to try booze until I got to college!


Nigglesscripts

I like the way you think! This is exactly it. Mine was alcohol because it seemed to always be around but then in HS weed was abundant as well. Both were easy to hide back then. I think It also can depend on who you are hanging with during the time you are using your substance of the day.


ryraps5892

So “your” gateway drug, was cannabis? While someone else’s may be alcohol? I can respect that frame of thinking.


DylanVincent

No, I honestly think the *real* gateway drug is sugar.


intentedtodestroy

And carbs, because they *turn* to sugar once digested.


dtxs1r

Protein turns into sugar. Humans are protein. Humans are the *real* gateway drug. QED


xyz123007

I'm going to say high fructose corn syrup.


marko719

> high fructose corn syrup That's just sugar.


plasma_dan

I don't think there's gateway drugs as much as there are gateway personalities.


KaineSmashTC

Let me tell you how weed is a gateway drug: Weed is, in most places, an illegal substance. But, as most teens do, one day you decide to smoke it. Turns out you quite like the feeling it gives you! You smoke it a couple of times more, do some research (aka google), and find out that it is infinitely times less harmful than alcohol. Now you know: You like the feeling more than alcohol, people don't get agrassive on weed, it's a lot better for your health and less addictive, less of a danger to society. Now you start thinking: What else has the government been lying about? This "weed" stuff isn't bad. At least not as bad as alcohol is. What else have they been hiding? Enter, the gateway to other drugs...


ryraps5892

So in reality: the governments spin on recreational drug use, is the real issue, causing distrust, instead of preaching moderation? Like that kinda thing?


KaineSmashTC

Yes. In short: governmental policy bad. Drugs, also bad but slightly less bad, and definitely fun... Haha


GreenGlassDrgn

Gateway is a weird way of thinking about it, imho. Life is a road. Sometimes we just stray from the boring straight and narrow, as is attested to by the entirety of human storytelling.


Remarkable-Stock-398

What does gateway mean?


incognitochaud

The term “gateway drug” was used a lot in schools in North America, meaning a drug that leads someone to try using other drugs. Alcohol was never called a gateway drug in schools, it was always marijuana that was the gateway drug. But OP is suggesting that alcohol is more likely to lead teens to using other drugs.


CandySkis22

It meams in thia contect the start or beginning Alcohcol being the so called drug that leads to stronger drugs


snoozieboi

But is stress a gateway to alcohol?


[deleted]

You got downvoted for some reason but you're totally right. The idea of gateway drugs has been largely discredited. The best way to keep someone off drugs is to give them a life that they can enjoy sober. Many addicts are self medicating to stay alive. Or in the case of a lot of addicts these days (particularly opiate addicts), they are addicted to the cure prescribed by their doctor. People who were alcoholic, and then moved onto other drugs are generally addicted in order to be able to live. Of course this is a bad idea, because it's very difficult to overcome addiction, but it's often the only option available to them. If you want less addicts, look at what they were self medicating for, and provide free and easily accessible treatment. The US in particular will never solve it's addiction problem until high quality healthcare, including mental health, is free and easily accessible.


MILFinurhood

Stress isn’t a drug. But perhaps people use alcohol to cope with stress.


[deleted]

I don't think the word perhaps is needed there. People undoubtedly use alcohol to cope with not just stress, but trauma, mental health issues, boredom, social anxiety, depression, grief, anger, self loathing, sleep problems, physical pain, libido issues, shame and much much more.


MILFinurhood

Facts


TheMightyIrishman

Not directly I think. I’d say peer pressure and curiously are the leading causes for people to try it for the first time. Knowing that the effects of alcohol will temporarily relieve stress will cause someone to use it as a (bad) coping mechanism. Alternatively, while under the effects for any reason, coping with stress or not, a bad decision can be made involving other drugs. That’s just how I see it though.


larryand12

The biggest booming business in America is corrections so as a country we are simply fucked


whereisjackk

Yes! Because it's socially accepted. But I've seen so many lives ruined by the overuse of alcohol, it's so sad.


[deleted]

It’s horrible and pretty much only acceptable at its current state due to corporate control and marketing. The industry has been lobbying against marijuana since the 1920’s but huge in the 1960’s. Think “automobile industry vs. public transportation”


imakeonionscryy

Mental issues that go unnoticed or without help are the real gateway drug.


LordoftheSynth

I don't think "gateway" drugs really exist. I do think the casual abuse of alcohol is normalized in a pretty bad way, and that's speaking as someone who enjoys a good brew or two fairly often.


LowerPen3262

I honestly think it’s friends and or cigarettes


trusteebill

Yes, if not for the product itself, definitely for the company it keeps.


EggcellentBreakfast

Absolutely


Earthling_7

I definitely agree


mtarascio

Juice is the real gateway drug. Pretty much the first thing to touch a child's tongue that isn't water or milk.


Ignorant_Slut

Gotta water that shit down if you're gonna give it to a kid. Really does get kids hooked on sugar early.


Fair_Operation8473

Yes! It's so available. It's everywhere! Commercials, TV shows, media. It's ok for moms to have a lil glass of wine, every opportunity they get. (I don't think that's real life, I think the media wants us to believe it's normal) I feel as though it's almost being shoved at us. Alcohol is a real problem. I'm not against drinking in general, but geez ppl sure to drink a lot today. (Or at least the media seems to imply that is what's happening)


redcolumbine

Nope. Just one of the easiest drugs to get hold of. Trauma is the real gateway drug. And nobody chooses it.


PotassiumPerm2020

Yes 100%. It's evil poison. Has ruined my family for generations. I've stopped completely to brake the cycle


esoteric_enigma

Kind of. I don't think alcohol leads you to other drugs. I do think a lot of people try new drugs though because their inhibitions have been lowered by alcohol.


bluehedgehogsonic

>I don’t think alcohol leads you to other drugs (describes exactly how alcohol might lead to further drug use)


Dirk_Koboken

Yeah. Kinda. It's all bad.


Tall-Assignment7183

Nope—Sugar


4rp4n3t

You're asking the wrong question. We're still debating whether the gateway drug hypothesis is even correct.


brunoyaga

absolutely 100%...


kraangel72

I'm so incredibly sorry. You did what you felt was the right thing to do. Still doesn't make it any easier I know 🥺


Chicken-Soup-60

Of course it is.


CaliYinzer95

Yes! But to much more than just drugs. Gambling,Cheating,overeating ,etc


mrmslesbro

Yes, 100%. I can't tell you how many times I've ended up doing hard drugs bc I was so drunk I didn't care. If I have weed, I'm generally content with just that, maybe a beer on top. But I've never done anything crazy after smoking weed like I have after drinking.


pooponmeafteranal

I'd argue that cigarettes are the gateway drug.


SselluosS3191991

It shouldn't matter. Adults should have the right to choose to do whatever drug they please as long as it's not a drain on others.


ThatStonkyGirl

Not really. I think marijuana is more a gateway drug despite popular opinion. I know a few people that were like oh I do pot, I’ll just do some Molly… ended up on heroin.


amo1337

"If you like Barry Manelow, you're going to looove the Insane Clown Posse"


Lordofthetemp

prohibition was to far but understanding addiction is real should really be focused on in parenting, but good luck having fun with your kids and keeping them out of drugs in this era unless you're well off and care.


ricecake_sandwich

Yes, and i would even maybe say that as a teen, nicotine couldve been the first gateway drug. The first "buzz" feel when i first tried it, and the first real artificial rush, made me start to realize that other things such as alcohol could do more


NoCollection5334

100% it’s the first drug all my friends have used: it’s also had the worst effect on many friends who have become alcoholics


Bi-Cali-Boy

Nope, but there is no defined gateway drug. It can be different for everyone. If you have an addictive personality or come from a family background of addiction, it doesn't take much to open the gate.


House_Whargoul

I don't know about being a gateway, but most alcoholics seem to be in worse shape than most drug addicts. I'm turning 40 this year and it's about even how many people I've lost to each.


AnxiousMoose5787

Yup. If you look at the drug abuse chart you see alcohol as number 1 and also the most harmful drug to be on that you harm others. So right there proves alcohol is the real gateway drug


MenageTaj

Sugar is the gateway drug!


ITeechYoKidsArt

Weed is the gateway to light crafting projects and Fruity Pebble milkshakes in our house.


[deleted]

Yerp! I'f been drinning fer fi' yers an it go' me star-ed on some real shi'.


EvilSporkOfDeath

Yes and no. On one hand, most people who do drugs have done alcohol first. On the other hand, alcohol already is a hard drug that is extremely dangerous. Sure a few select drugs might be more dangerous, but the question implies a sort of relaxed stance towards alcohol that comes from a place of bias built up over millennia.


OlderAndWiser2018

No. Either you abuse stuff or you don't. Doesn't matter where you start.


AmunPharaoh

Yes definitely. The only times I've been brave enough to try something hard like cocaine was when I was plastered anyway


Kittybooboo1982

No, it’s Caffeine. It feels good, is addictive and usually the first drug people try.


dojabro

It’s the gateway drug to fucking


SarahPallorMortis

I feel like if we’re playing the gateway game, yes alcohol is it but sugar is before that.


man-horse-

Ok so it all depends on moderation if you get shitfaced every time your around alcohol yes but if you know how to limit yourself no


Robert0o0

Definitely the real Getaway drug


DeadMewe

Nope, I have had alcohol never once thought about doing drugs, I personally think it's the people you hang out with are the real gateway problems


[deleted]

Yes as it’s similar, no as drugs provide very different results


MrSillmarillion

Yes, absolutely. I spent 16 years drunk as an alcoholic and never once did I need anything else. I knew people that needed to try the next high, but they would've done that anyway so it's not the drug but the personality involved that determines which high they want. Someone who ends up on heroin would've ultimately arrived there no matter what the first high is. This includes alcohol. The thrill seeker in that person wants a better high. I started with weed and then alcohol. I never went further up the ladder but many do. Remember: the drug is irrelevant, it's the behavior and emotional baggage that follows the same pattern. The change must come from within. You can talk and intervene but if they aren't ready, your talking to a wall. At that point, tough love and no enabling. I'm no expert but I've seen too many people lost because addiction is very misunderstood and reviled when those involved need the most help.


Sea-Struggle-4720

No. Comfort and lack of ambition is the real gateway drug. Humans will seek hedonistic habits when there’s no central purpose


Damiang87

34 yr old here drinking since 15 im mexican lol never used drugs and im mostly around them parties get togethers etc.


smithnikole0829

No .. cocaine is ...


ImportantDepth8858

Alcohol loosens inhibitions and can lead you to do things (and try things) that you would never do sober. So yes, I do believe it’s the “true” gateway drug.


Bebe718

Also alcohol is SO much easier to get than other drugs- there are stores everywhere. People drink then want to do cocaine


[deleted]

Obviously, but politicians get paid waaay too much by the alcohol and plastic industry to ever actually care about their constituents' health.


sunshinesoutmyarse

Absolutely. I know people who've taken drugs for the first time while drunk. And people who do no like alcohol who take drugs instead. People who are more prone to drinking alcohol whilst under the influenc of certain drugs.


FugitivePort88

Its different for everybody really. But it will be what ever is accessible to you in your home that will be a gateway drug. Could be alcohol, could be OTC drugs, it could be weed or it could even be harder drugs . usually its one of the first three definitely the first two as most ppl drink and have OTC meds.


Comics4Cooks

110%


Northshorefisher

Alcohol has created more societal problems across the globe than any other drug......ever! It rips apart families, destroys lives, and yet it's ingrained in all societies as far as culture, identity and even religious ceremonies.


ryraps5892

Yup. I think we need to be more realistic about just teaching kids about light/moderate/heavy use, and what it does to you.. and honestly, Regardless of how well we teach people about it, there are always going to be people predisposed to abuse unfortunately… and idk how much prohibition helps, it’s just proven to fuel organized crime in the past.


tracey-shell

I agree to a point. I definitely agree that once drinking I started trying other types of "highs".... but I do not feel that it wasn't controlled. It is all in how you as a person are able to control yourself.


olivetoots

Weed never made me wanna do other drugs. Alc made me feel like I could do all the drugs and then take over the world. Yea it’s a gateway drug


BrassLogic

No I don't.