Dave - Yes it does, and you too if you're so dim you can't make the connection. I'll explain:-

Of course not everyone who smokes pot becomes a heroin addict but sure as hell heroin addicts almost invariably begin with pot. My kid did. And they all think they're in control of it. Some, perhaps most, are, but some, too many, aren't - it's A-D-D-I-C-T-I-V-E (maybe not physically, but certainly psychologically). And then they lose control and don't realise, it's losing it's effectiveness and they need something stronger. The 'Now-Legal' hash has to be replaced with something far less legal. Enter the dealer, one step further down the line, but there nontheless. The dealer GIVES the stuff to them a few times. Then they owe him big-style. They're under his control, he gets them dealing too, to pay for their addiction, and on and on it goes. One youngster's life, and his family's, shot to hell by heroin is too many. We should be making it harder for kids to fall into the downward spiral, not easier. Not telling them that cannabis is harmless but shoving their faces into the shitty world it can lead to, and praying they take heed.

Don't preach to me just because you were a bit of a lad in your youth and got away with it - if you haven't lived with the misery and degradation of addiction you have absolutely no idea about it. It's with him, and his family,24/7/52/lifetime. No let-up. Sorry if I sound bitter, but pontificating P-C idiots who don't have to live with their kid's drug addiction give me the shits.

And sorry (genuinely) for posting incognito. I don't like to hide behind anonimity but I hope you'll at least understand that I'm not proud of his lifestyle and I prefer not to publicise his identity or mine.