Biden reverses, says marijuana isn't a gateway drug

[AtheistCrusader]

38. Sorry, the Federal Government is biased on this issue.

I'm not believing a study from the coal industry that more carbon emissions are good for the planet, because plants consume CO2.

Health orgs don't typically consider POLICY. If they found a correlation with entry level drug use with pot, and later harder drugs, that doesn't show pot is the cause/trigger/gateway/etc. Policy can be the gateway. In Portugal, when they decriminalized drug use, pot use went down, first time attempt to use it went down, the age at which people tried pot went up, and all other drugs across the board use also went down even more. There's no buoying effect, in their society, by way of pot use, into harder drugs.

The valid question the CDC isn't to my knowledge asking, is 'Does pot use in a society that bans pot and other recreational drugs, lead to increased drug use beyond pot.'

It's a very different question than 'does pot lead to other drugs'.

As for Biden, it might be more fair to say he's evolved on the issue. In 2010 he flat out said it was a gateway drug. Period, full stop. That appears to have changed, and that's good. He could just say that. That would be laudable.

Earlier this month, however, he made this explicit and falsifiable claim:

“The truth of the matter is, there’s not nearly been enough evidence that has been acquired as to whether or not it is a gateway drug,”

And that is simply wrong, and at odds with his current statement. He said there wasn't enough evidence. There is, and has been for some time. Now he's saying he's saying he's certain it's not, and he's willing to act on it politically. Movement in the right direction, but still, a reversal. The characterization is accurate. I'm still going to vote for him if he's the nominee, but my vote was never in question. (Nor is my state, to be clear)


We don't have a lot of wiggle room here. We're trying to mine the middle for a few scant percentage points in a few states to flip the country. We can't afford un-forced errors like this. Look, my candidate has made some errors as well. Now's the time to show leadership, a steady and solid message, and land this fucking plane. That's what the primary is for. We gotta get it right.