[monkey]

I.e., either way you slice it, if intoxicants including marijuana are more freely available, they will simply add to the use of hard drugs, among those who are so inclined.

That's not what the study says. How did you reach that conclusion?

[unspun]

// The new DPRC research thus demonstrates that the phenomena supporting claims that marijuana is a gateway drug also support the alternative explanation: that it is not marijuana use but individuals' opportunities and unique propensities to use drugs that determine their risk of initiating hard drugs. The research does not disprove the gateway theory; it merely shows that another explanation is plausible. \\

The basic principles of economics and marketing are borne out, in either case. Boiling it down to one short sentence: The more drugs are available on the market, the more use there will be, of a greater variety of drugs.

That's true to a saturation point, of course. I pray America never gets to that point, where every hungry soul has his fill of this society crippling vice.