Research undertaken by the Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy has brought the theory that cannabis use among young people will inevitably lead to the use of 'harder' drugs such as heroin or cocaine into question.
The 'gateway theory' underpins much of US drug policy. The Pittsburgh research, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry (Dec 2006), showed that those who used cannabis before trying alcohol or tobacco were about as likely to develop an addiction problem as those who drank or smoked before their first cannabis use.
Lead researcher, Ralph E. Tarter, said of the findings, It runs counter to about six decades of drug policy in the country, where we believe that if we can't stop kids from using marijuana, then they're going to go on and become addicts to hard drugs."
Neil Capretto, medical director of the Gateway Rehabilitation Center in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, said some addicted patients' first drug was heroin, not alcohol or cannabis. He said the study "really shows the complex nature of addiction. What they're showing here is what we've been seeing in practice for years."
Capretto added that most people who use cannabis never go on to use so called harder drugs. "If we could push a button and all the marijuana would go away, by no means will that stop the drug problem in this country," he said.
Source: www.jointogether.org
Posted: 7th December 2006
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