# A naïve person's questions about drugs **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 15, 2023, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-naive-persons-questions-about-drugs/982698 "2023-04-15T03:47:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2023, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-naive-persons-questions-about-drugs/982698/21 "2023-04-15T23:50:53Z")
I have smelled meth [and lots of weed - heck, for a while my brother ran a tidy little grow op in the basement, like 25 plants] and it is a strange catch-in-the-back-of-the-throat chemical smell. The morons living next door on 13th Bay St in Norfolk VA were meth heads, the bikers across the street did weed. I could swear that there was at least one person on the Dope who lived next to a meth lab. Maybe 8 - 10 years back? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2023, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-naive-persons-questions-about-drugs/982698/22 "2023-04-15T23:59:31Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > Every pot smoker that I know drank booze before they smoked weed. ✋ ‘Exception which proves the rule’ guy signing in… ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-naive-persons-questions-about-drugs/982698/23 "2023-04-16T00:07:40Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > ‘Exception which proves the rule’ guy signing in… Heh. Obviously we don’t know each other! ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-naive-persons-questions-about-drugs/982698/24 "2023-04-16T00:16:37Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > I have it on good authority that over 99% of heroin addicts started on milk. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-naive-persons-questions-about-drugs/982698/25 "2023-04-16T01:24:14Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > Marijuana was only supported by those damn hippies, so it was easy to demonize as _the_ gateway. While I hate to argue with such a nice person as you…the pot laws weren’t focused on the damn hippies, they came about during Prohibition when all of the white folks went to speakeasies, but the black boys smoked their wacky tobaccy and seemed to be far too happy about it. Gotta do something about those uppity jazz band players, right? ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-naive-persons-questions-about-drugs/982698/26 "2023-04-16T02:22:44Z")
> [@JaneDoe42](#): > > the black boys smoked their wacky tobaccy and seemed to be far too happy about it. Gotta do something about those uppity jazz band players, right? It also was used to scapegoat Mexicans. There is a reason that cannabis (from which the common word “canvas” is derived) has a common Spanish name. Harry Anslinger, a sort of poor man’s J. Edgar Hoover, headed the Bureau of Narcotics during that Prohibition era. > [@](#): > > Anslinger made it his mission to rid the U.S. of all drugs — including cannabis. His influence played a major role in the introduction and passage of the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, which outlawed possessing or selling pot. > > Fueled by a handful of 1920s newspaper stories about crazed or violent episodes after marijuana use, Anslinger first claimed that the drug could cause psychosis and eventually insanity… > > The second component to Anslinger’s strategy was racial. He claimed that black people and Latinos were the primary users of marijuana, and it made them forget their place in the fabric of American society… > > The word “[marijuana](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/big-pot-the-m-word-marijuana/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab4i)” itself was part of this approach. What was commonly known as cannabis until the early 1900s was instead called marihuana, a Spanish word more likely to be associated with Mexicans. > > “He was able to do this because he was tapping into very deep anxieties in the culture that were not to do with drugs — and attaching them to this drug,” Hari said. Essentially, in 1930s America, it wasn’t hard to use racist rhetoric to associate the supposed harms of cannabis with minorities and immigrants. > **[The man behind the marijuana ban for all the wrong reasons](https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/harry-anslinger-the-man-behind-the-marijuana-ban/)** > > Long before Richard Nixon declared the "war on drugs," there was a man named Harry Anslinger who started it all But, the sanctions did become worse as a means of persecuting the hippie movement in the 60’s, as well. > [@](#): > > “The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. You understand what I’m saying? We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.” > > I must have looked shocked. [Former Nixon White House Donestic Policy Chief John] Ehrlichman just shrugged. > **[Report: Nixon's war on drugs targeted black people](https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2016/03/23/politics/john-ehrlichman-richard-nixon-drug-war-blacks-hippie/index.html)** > > One of Richard Nixon's top advisers and a key figure in the Watergate scandal said the war on drugs was created as a political tool to fight blacks and hippies, according to a 22-year-old interview recently published in Harper's Magazine. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-naive-persons-questions-about-drugs/982698/27 "2023-04-16T02:34:29Z")
That is a whole bunch of excellent information all in one place. I’m just going to bookmark it so I can come back when I need it later. Thank you for all of that, it is much appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-naive-persons-questions-about-drugs/982698/28 "2023-04-16T03:26:29Z")
The reason I believe mixing meth with marijuana is so rare is because most people consuming meth are trying to maximize their meth dollar, and mixing it with marijuana isn’t going to do that. It would be a very inefficient method of ingesting it. Yeah, most meth heads will not turn down marijuana, bu they’re not going to use it to waste meth, either. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-naive-persons-questions-about-drugs/982698/29 "2023-04-16T04:56:12Z")
Thanks. And thanks to @Moriarty , too. I knew the history, but I was only looking at it from my personal perspective of all the anti-drug propaganda I heard in my time. It’s good to see the earlier history here, too. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-naive-persons-questions-about-drugs/982698/30 "2023-04-16T05:13:08Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > Probably 90% (stats pulled out of ass for demonstration purposes) of eventual addicts started with marijuana. Maybe 10% or less of pot smokers go on to be addicts to anything stronger. I’ve done some scientific work on the gateway theory of marijuana, and yeah, it’s pretty much how you describe it. I don’t remember the exact numbers either, but most anybody who does hard drugs will also at some time have been a regular user of marijuana, alcohol, and tobacco. > [@carrps](#): > > But the “Just Say No” folks couldn’t use alcohol (or tobacco or caffeine) One paper I was involved with found that it was a triangle between marijuana, alcohol, and tobacco. It didn’t matter which was the first that somebody used, use of any one made a person more likely to go on and use the other two. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-naive-persons-questions-about-drugs/982698/31 "2023-04-16T07:13:46Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > I’d wager the vast majority of pot smokers do not use meth. I would add: even if they do use both pot and meth my guess is that most ‘dual users’ dont mix them together. > [@carrps](#): > > Probably 90% (stats pulled out of ass for demonstration purposes) of eventual addicts started with marijuana. And about 98% started with Coke (Coca-Cola, or Pepsi), and near 100% started with milk. THOSE are the _true_ gateway drugs! ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-naive-persons-questions-about-drugs/982698/32 "2023-04-16T07:29:29Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > A friend of mine who is a forensic pathologist told me that meth absolutely has its own distinct, identifiable smell. I have never used meth, but I have family members who are former users. It has a _very_ distinctive harsh and astringent smell. I’d describe as being similar to melting plastic. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-naive-persons-questions-about-drugs/982698/33 "2023-04-16T16:19:53Z")
Good to know my completely unscientific guess was relatively close to reality. But it _had_ to be. Of all the pot smokers I’ve known in my life I’ve know, like, two (?) who did any stronger drugs. So, yeah, my guess was probably an overestimate. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-naive-persons-questions-about-drugs/982698/34 "2023-04-16T17:50:30Z")
> [@JaneDoe42](#): > > good pot smells like a skunk…hence the term “skunky weed”. Does it now? Now and again I have been smelling a skunklike odor on my street in the UK. I was wondering if this might indicate a meth lab, in which case I’d be concerned. But if it’s just pot, no worries. I think all the indications are that pot is pretty harmless: less dangerous than alcohol, probably. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-naive-persons-questions-about-drugs/982698/35 "2023-04-16T18:55:47Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > But if it’s just pot, no worries. I think all the indications are that pot is pretty harmless: less dangerous than alcohol, probably. Not probably, definitely. Show me one documented case of a death by pot use, and then compare with the yearly amount of deaths from alcohol abuse. (to be clear, that means the general ‘you’) ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-naive-persons-questions-about-drugs/982698/36 "2023-04-16T19:18:22Z")
No argument, sir. I like a glass or two of wine with dinner. And I agree that mariuana seems to be generally harmless. As for physically addictive drugs… it’s a problem. We should probably decriminalise them to avoid violent crime connected with the supply chain? ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-naive-persons-questions-about-drugs/982698/37 "2023-04-16T19:20:25Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > We should probably decriminalise them to avoid violent crime connected with the supply chain? Well, my government is working on that, though half-heartedly: > **[Germany scales back cannabis legalization plans to focus on home cultivation](https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-focuses-on-home-cultivation-in-reduced-cannabis-legalization-plans-lauterbach-25-grams-thc-cem-ozdemir/)** > > Under the scaled-back plan, adults will be able to grow up to three plants at home and buy weed in clubs of up to 500 members. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-naive-persons-questions-about-drugs/982698/38 "2023-04-16T21:31:51Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > The reason I believe mixing meth with marijuana is so rare is because most people consuming meth are trying to maximize their meth dollar, and mixing it with marijuana isn’t going to do that. It depends on the type of user. For a meth addict, you’re correct that they aren’t going to cut the effect with pot. But a party user very well might. During 90s rave culture, lots of people did meth when ecstacy wasn’t available (although we called it crystal - much more fancy). And plenty of us mixed in a little pot to cut the edge. Smoking both together was much rarer, but did happen. It’s easier to get away with doing meth in public if it’s being smoked in a joint versus snorting off your pocket mirror. And as for the question if someone could walk down the street normally when high on meth, absolutely (for certain levels of high). It’s not like you become a crazed maniac after one hit. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-naive-persons-questions-about-drugs/982698/39 "2023-04-16T21:36:30Z")
Pot and Meth? That is some real cardiac tug-of-war! ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-naive-persons-questions-about-drugs/982698/40 "2023-04-16T21:45:16Z")
Yep. I knew someone (in her early 30’s) who died of it. I wasn’t there, but her still shocked boyfriend told me about it the next day. It didn’t sound like it was a good death. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-naive-persons-questions-about-drugs/982698.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-naive-persons-questions-about-drugs/982698.md?page=3)