Using Marijuana May Not Raise the Risk of Using Harder Drugs (but look at alternative explanation)

RAND's Drug Policy Research Center ^ | December 2, 2002 | RAND's Drug Policy Research Center

[unspun]

Key Statement:
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.

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.

(The adjusted model of study actually shows an increased finding of this effect.)

Simply put, it is another way of saying that the greater the supply, the greater consumption, the greater the demand.

But, call for the totalibertarian right to all property, at all times, by all people, if that is your revisionism of choice....

graphs on source page

[Brad’s Gramma]

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[unspun]

Hmmm, Mo1, what's in those cookies?

[Brad’s Gramma]

We're busted Mo, you realize that, don't you? LOLOLOL

[bayourod]

A friend of mine tried marijuana once. It made him want to rape and kill.

[Free the USA]

http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/bump-list

[rb22982]

A few things

1) Supply is already everywhere, you won't be increasing supply probably by more than 5-10% upon legalization.
2) The real gateway drugs are alcohol and nicotine. Using this logic is an immediate right to criminalize both of them. Both are far more addictive, kill WAY more people (marijuana is impossible to OD from), and alcohol is much more of an intoxicant.
3) The marijuana costs of the drug war are staggering, accounting for roughly 50% of all arrests, with a total budget of over 50 billion a year at all levels.
4) Legalizing marijuana would seperate the soft drugs from the hard drugs and people wouldn't be pushed to purchase cocaine, crack, meth, heroin from their local gov't authorized marijuana distributor.
5) Legalizing marijuana would reduce the risk of lacings till close to 0 with marijuana.

[rb22982]

A friend of mine tried marijuana alcohol once. It made him want to rape and kill.

Marijuana makes people lethargic, not angry and violent. Very possible something else was in it, if what you say is even true to begin with.

[Hebrews 11:6]

This isn't hard. Anyone willing to try marijuana has already demonstrated the disregard both for the law and for their own wellbeing that might otherwise dissuade them from trying hard drugs.

[Atlas Sneezed]

Anyone willing to try marijuana exceed speed limits has already demonstrated the disregard both for the law and for their own wellbeing that might otherwise dissuade them from trying hard drugs drunk driving.

[bayourod]

"if what you say is even true to begin with. "

Have I ever lied to you?

[Karsus]

Anyone willing to try to BREAK ANY MINOR LAW has already demonstrated the disregard both for the law and for their own wellbeing that might otherwise dissuade them from BREAKING MAJOR LAWS.

In otherwords, using your formula.

Littering leads to massmurder
Speeding leads to the desire to use weapons of mass destruction.


:-> :-> :-> :->

[Mike4Freedom]

Anyone willing to try marijuana has already demonstrated the disregard both for the law and for their own wellbeing that might otherwise dissuade them from trying hard drugs.

It really isn't hard to disprove the gateway theory. First the number of Marijuana(MJ) users is an order of magnitude greater than users of hard drugs. Its gateway effect must be pretty weak. Secondly, the Institute of Medicine report of March 1999 that determined that there were medical uses for Marijuana also determined, from a study of the literature, that the only characteristic of MJ that seemed to support the gateway theory was its legal status. That is the fact that you had to go to the black market to buy MJ created your connection to the black market for the hard drugs.

I will add to this the propensity for the government to lie grossly on the health effects of MJ, lies which are obvious to our kids, encourage them to try the harder stuff since they lose all faith in the truthfulness of the govt.

Conclusion: Keeping MJ illegal encourages the use of hard drugs.

[Karsus]

What would happen if the profit motive was removed from the sell of drugs?

[MonroeDNA]

This is easy.

Other countries have decriminalized marijuana. Since then, has harder drug use increased in those countries?

Nothing like real world experience.

[headsonpikes]

Thank you for posting this study, unspun.

I'm sure that other 'End The WOD' types will adequately deal with the issues without my involvement.

I only want to say that your measured and non-splenetic comments I've seen on other drug threads represent the Gold Standard of pro-WOD posters, much as I disagree with you.

Tomorrow, I'll be coming after you, but at this moment my bride is calling me for dinner. ;^)

[unspun]

What would happen if we were all just good people?

[unspun]

Thank you for gushing about me!

[Republic of Texas]

Has anyone here ever done any of the drugs mentioned in this article? We seem to have a whole bunch of "experts", so I'd like to hear HOW everyone became so knowledgeable.

[bigfootbob]

agreed