Posted on 12/02/2002 2:42:58 PM PST by Sparta
— WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Countering a basic principle of American anti-drug policies, an independent U.S. study concluded on Monday that marijuana use does not lead teenagers to experiment with hard drugs like heroin or cocaine.
The study by the private, nonprofit RAND Drug Policy Research Center rebutted the theory that marijuana acts as a so-called gateway drug to more harmful narcotics, a key argument against legalizing pot in the United States.
The researchers did not advocate easing restrictions in marijuana, but questioned the focus on this substance in drug control efforts.
Using data from the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse between 1982 and 1994, the study concluded teenagers who took hard drugs were predisposed to do so whether they tried marijuana first or not.
"Kids get their first opportunity to use marijuana years before they get their first exposure to hard drugs," said Andrew Morral, lead author of the RAND study.
"Marijuana is not a gateway drug. It's just the first thing kids often come across."
Morral said 50 percent of U.S. teenagers had access to marijuana by the age of 16, while the majority had no exposure to cocaine, heroin or hallucinogens until they were 20.
The study, published in the British journal Addiction, does not advocate legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana, which has been linked to side-effects including short-term memory loss.
But given limited resources, Morral said the U.S. government should reconsider the prominence of marijuana in its much-publicized "war on drugs."
"To a certain extent we are diverting resources away from hard drug problems," he said. "Spending money on marijuana control may not be having downstream consequences on the use of hard drugs."
Researchers say predisposition to drug use has been linked to genetic factors and one's environment, including family dynamics and the availability of drugs in the neighborhood.
Andrew Weil, M.D. peformed a rather exhaustive study of cultural patterns in drug use. He found that, throughout history, all cultures (except one) regularly used intoxicants in one form or another. The notable exception was Eskimos, who now use alcohol since it was introduced to them by explorers to the north pole.
The misleading statement from the article seems to me to be a token excercise in political correctness of the pseudoscience variety. They conclude it's either genetic or environment...duh!
Of course, by 1994, that teenager is is in his late 20s, so such study would never be reported as focused on teenagers.
What these people have dones is formed a pool out of all data from 1984 and 1992. In this case each subject is not observed over time but only once. This is what makes the study (by definition) cross-sectional.
This is what I was able to deduce.
You see my biggest problem with this is that I've know MJ users who used harder drugs and I've known those that that did not, myself included. Anectdotal? Yes,
YOu are a careful thinker, and I have no problem with a single word you say.
Anecdotal evidence is important also: it helps to develop hypotheses for a subsequent study. I am sure you understand, however, that your evidence depends also on whom you choose to intereact with and whom you choose as friends; they may or may not be typical in terms of the population at large.
but I think it's fair to say from my experience that MJ is not some sort of "gateway," but rather is just the first drug that a person comes across... Everyone I know who used harder drugs had a similar type of risky personality. I think that is the key in this situation... I too think that drug use is only a manifestation of some other traits and behaviors. But this is far from being an opinion: I have not done a study, and I have not examined thoroughly the studies of others. So, I respect your opinion but I have none of mine to offer.
Tbanks for your thoughtful posts, I enjoyed them.
So a person who smokes or who has smoked MJ is unable to make relevant observations? Is this your position?
LOL...
And what would be funnier than seeing Keith Richards creeping along donning a DEA jacket with his trademark cigarette in hand?
The air is leakin' out of you. And probably out of your head.
It's certainly a statement of fact since I've verified it with my own eyes, on various occasions.
And since I was an eyewitness, in any court of law it's certainly a matter of evidence.
I've yet to meet an alcoholic that would do hard drugs. What percentage of hard drug users were former alcoholics vs. former pot smokers? I'm not saying that one leads to the other. But if one's personality leads them to some initial drug (alcohol or marijuana), then the statistics for that individual to progress to harder drugs should be the same. But I don't think that's the case.
And maybe that's the key. Maybe that's why people think that marijuana is a "gateway" drug. FWIW.
Ban booze---and tell kids it's as bad as heroin---and watch how quickly that ratio changes.
Air is/was used by an amazingly large percentage of those people who abuse(d) drugs. So what?
You should ease up on that Glenlivette.
LOL!
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