Actually, I tried another, "harder" drug before trying pot, and well before trying "recreational" alcohol. I had had "religious" alcohol from childhood on, and was less than impressed with recreational alcohol.
Something that might interest you is that the medicinal part of pot is CBD. The part that gets you high is THC. CBD extract is legal in all 50 states.
Breeders have also developed strains of weed that are very low in THC and very high in CBD. One, called "Charlotte's Web", has been shown to be very effective in the treatment of epilepsy in children. (an extract is used, as opposed to the children smoking it.)
I am interested in trying the CBD only extracts, but am unable to afford the high % extracts which are very expensive. They are taken by mouth. Interestingly, they are made from industrial hemp grown in Europe or Canada, and not from marijuana. (Industrial hemp does not contain THC.)
Supposedly, CBD is useful for anxiety and pain/muscle spasm.
I didn't find weed to be a gateway drug in my case, but I was never a heavy smoker. I also preferred hash and oil to the actual plant, and since my priorities at the time were working and saving for a car, I couldn't afford to buy drugs very often. I refused to sell, "carry", or middle-man, so had to pay for my highs.
One of the things I disliked about weed was that I felt like a "slug" for a couple of days after using it, and it sometimes gave me migraines. Migraine medications in those days REALLY turned you into a slug, as in, knocked you cold.
