What is the most popular drug in US today? If you answered “marijuana” you are absolutely right. This simple but powerful substance is used by a vast number of people on daily basis – the categories of users are so diverse that there is really no way to characterize a typical marijuana smoker. People of all ages, genders, various ethnicities, diverse professions, different backgrounds – all indulge in the activity of enjoying cannabis. However, it is still an illegal drug, and both law and those people who do not smoke view this substance like a gateway that opens up the path to other, more serious drugs abuse. Is that really the case?

According to various polls and researches, most people who use marijuana have never used any other illegal drug. People who smoke pot as a way of relaxing after a hard day at work, or to assist with a medical condition, or just to sleep better at night, have no intentions of getting hooked up on heroin, cocaine, Percocets, or anything else. It is both a personal choice and a proper education of an individual. If someone knows that heroine, for instance, is highly addictive, causes a lot of damage to the body and the brain, but marijuana, on the other hand, is “safe” to try, develops no addiction and the effects of it are quite mild and with practically no harm to health, that person would be more inclined to try pot rather than something else. A better understanding of what is what is the key to people staying away from “hard” drugs, and by no means marijuana would lead the way and make a person addicted to the things that person did not choose to use.