I grew up in the Dallas area in the early 80’s. For my friends and I, scoring a dime-bag was fairly easy. Most of us knew a dealer, some of us were dealers. We all smoked on the weekends, never got caught, and eventually transitioned into cocaine, meth, acid, etc.
But we didn’t transition because marijuana was a gateway drug. We transitioned because of the excellent marketing skills of our dealers, who made a killing promoting their clientele to the harder stuff.
Profit was goal number one for these folk, who were none too shy about risking drug-related felonies. Penalties for selling beyond-weed products weren’t much worse for trafficking marijuana, and hard drugs yielded more cash. Cocaine, Heroin, Meth, etc., are far more addictive, guaranteeing return clients, more than willing to trade all they have for one last hit.
Our dealers were hard-pressed to fast-track us beyond beginner drugs.
But you have to experience things like cocaine before you’ll take the risk and spend the money. So the dealers would say things like, “You’ve been a great customer, and you’re cool, so here’s a little bonus sample. Let’s do a line together. Here’s a little for your friends – no charge.” Continue reading This Ex-Cocaine User’s Opinion: Marijuana’s Only a Gateway Drug When It’s Illegal