I agree with everything you say about alcohol; they are facts. But marijuana doesn't get the ol' "it's nothing," or "from nature" crap either.

Dope, from our teen years was mild, now it's 400x more potent. It fucks up the brain as much as anything else. Is mj a gateway drug? Hard to say. The majority of those I know who are habitual smokers readily do everything else they can get their hands on-except alcohol. Most of the chronics I know, hardly, if ever, drink.