If they're so worried about the money from pot going to other countries and "supporting terrorist" (which i think is a load of crap they just keep saying in order to keep the people of our country scared and that way they can get the people to agree with what they do)then they should watch our borders better and not let it in our country in the first place.
As of weed being a gate way drug, it wasnt that way for me, i've tried alot of things, almost everything out there, but it wasn't because of weed, it was because i wanted to try it.

but then again, thats just my thinking. legalize weed, then the gov. can control it and then they dont have to complain and make of slogans like supporting terrorist, make harsher penalties if your out driving while high or maybe even in public, and make harsher penalties on the harder drugs.