Pubdate: Tue, 17 Jun 2003
Source: Lindsay This Week (CN ON)
Copyright: 2003 Lindsay This Week
Contact:  http://www.lindsaythisweek.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2213
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n895/a01.html
Author: Chuck Beyer
Note: Paranthetical comment by Lindsay This Week editor.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)

READER WAS A REAL 'DOPE'

To the editor:

Letter writer Pastor Ken Gorham is trying to revive the lifeless corpse 
known as the "Gateway Paradigm" which presents this view "99 out of 100 
hard drug users started with marijuana."

What he wants you to think is that all marijuana users will become hard 
drug users.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

It is acknowledged that Canada has between two and three million casual and 
medical marijuana smokers.

Yet in all of Canada we have only 40,000 to 70,000 hard drug users. You do 
the math.

According to the "Gateway Paradigm" we should have between two and three 
million hard drug users. Where did they all go?

As you can see the "Gateway Paradigm" is junk mathematics.

The ratio of pot smokers to hard drug users is perhaps about 40 to 60 pot 
smokers for every hard drug user.

Also significantly, and miraculously, none of these folks ever start with 
alcohol, tobacco, coffee, or tea - always marijuana.

The "Gateway Paradigm" is a product of a paranoid war on plants and plant 
users, and as with any war - the first casualty is always the truth.

Chuck Beyer, Victoria, B.C.

(Yes indeed it is...)
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