Two Paths to Addiction and Reefer isn't the Primary

The classic thinking is you start with reefer as the gateway drug and escalate to narcotics and addiction over time.  The vast majority of people don't do that but the thinking persists nevertheless.

It was offered a couple of days ago that heroin addiction is preceded by abuse of pain medications which were originally obtained legally.  Whether it's codeine or a more powerful narcotic, all of these substances are addictive, it's only a question of degree.  The significance is these people are not likely to describe themselves as drug abusers until they're into it too deep to stop without professional help.

From here on the Socialist Left, it looks open and shut.  There's been a substantial increase in abuse of prescription medications and there's a corresponding substantial increase in heroin overdoses and addiction.

The crossover point is when you start buying prescription medication on the street because the doctor just doesn't give you enough of them.  Once that starts, there's no stopping it.

Note:  presumably the illicit street meds are what gets produced by 'pill mills' and who knows what the hell is in them, regardless of whether they're said to be Oxycontin or so.


Prior to this time, the case for the reefer gateway was nebulous and the thinking still exists but there's not much to support it.  The reason for the rejection of the reefer gateway theory is it's not generally plausible.  People who smoke reefer aren't looking for what heroin does.  Some people are but reefer wasn't a gateway to it, reefer was only what they tried first.


There is plausibility in thinking people will escalate from one pain medication to a stronger one because of the way the mind gets accustomed to them.  In time your mind starts demanding them because the physical pain becomes a psychic pain and no amount of dope will bury that.  It doesn't stop people from trying, tho.

That type of drug abuse rampages and I've heard suits refer to them as 'happy pills' and they weren't at all bashful about using them.  'Mother's little helper' has been a common term for basic mood-altering substances, most of which were some type of down as in Jacqueline Susanne's "Valley of the Dolls" which featured widespread abuse of drugs such as Seconal, etc (i.e. hard-core sedative).  The general psychiatric thinking throughout as been, first of all, make it productive and, secondly, make it happy.  Short of that, knock it out.

That artificial happy doesn't exist but that doesn't prevent people from seeking it.  There is no logic in looking for happy if you don't know what it is already.  It's impossible to find and there's no chance a pill will create that.  Usually they only knock you out.


The really scary ones are the 'mind enhancer' type of chemicals which impart a keener awareness, more critical thinking, etc, etc.  Who knows if they really do it but what will become of you after you stop taking this drug.  Is your mind no longer good enough for you, was it a better mind when it was operating at its fullest candlepower??

That seems to carry a subtle danger but, like reefer, it's not likely to lead to heroin whereas the sedative / soporific types of medications have a strong lead toward it.


So, this alternative 'gateway' sounds considerably more plausible than the classic thinking that you start blowing reefer and escalate to the bad stuff.  That people bypass reefer and hallucinogens altogether is credible because many are afraid of the idea of hallucination.  When the prescription med provides the gateway, there's no limit to how far that can go.