cannabisnews.com: Early Marijuana Smoking Tied To Later Drug Use





Early Marijuana Smoking Tied To Later Drug Use
Posted by CN Staff on January 21, 2003 at 22:33:21 PT
By Andre Picard
Source: Globe and Mail
Teenagers who smoke marijuana before the age of 17 are far more likely to progress to harder drugs and to become dependent on drugs or alcohol later in life, according to a new study.The research, published in Wednesday's edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that access to pot at a relatively young age "may reduce perceived barriers against the use of other illegal drugs and provide access to these drugs."
While the study, by a group of Australian and U.S. researchers, lends credence to the gateway theory (that holds that marijuana, while rather innocuous in itself, opens a gateway to far more addictive and harmful substances), the scientists caution that Reefer Madness-like behaviour — an allusion to the classic antimarijuana movie — is far from inevitable."I think one important thing to say to the parents of a 16-year-old using marijuana is that the majority of kids who use cannabis do not go on to experience problems with drugs or alcohol, but it's important that we, as parents and as a society, recognize that there is an increased risk," said Andrew Heath, director of the Missouri Alcoholism Research Center, and lead author of the study.He said marijuana use is so commonplace today among teenagers and their parents that they have lost sight of the fact that pot smoking can lead to problems down the road.The study, which was conducted on 311 pairs of Australian twins who were monitored over decades, found distinct differences between the behaviour of those who smoked marijuana before the age of 17 and those who did not.Among the early pot smokers, 48 per cent went on to snort cocaine, 35 per cent to use hallucinogens and 14 per cent to inject heroin. Forty-three per cent of the early users later became drug or alcohol dependent. These rates were between 2.1 and 5.2 times higher than among their twins who did not experiment with marijuana at an early age.Michael Lynskey, a senior research fellow at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research in Brisbane, Australia, and co-author of the study, said that by studying twins raised in identical circumstances, researchers were able to rule out that these differences in drug use were explained solely by genetic or environmental factors.He said lifestyle and personal choices — such as whether to smoke marijuana or not — clearly play a role in risky behaviours and the development of dependencies, and so does access at an early age."It is often implicitly assumed that the association between cannabis and other drugs is somehow pharmacological, that using cannabis changes your brain or makes you crave other drugs," Dr. Lynskey said. "But there are a number of other potential mechanisms, including access to drugs, willingness to break the law and likelihood of engaging in risk-taking behaviours."An estimated 1.5 million Canadians smoke marijuana recreationally on a regular basis, according to earlier research published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.Pot has been outlawed in Canada since 1923, though the federal government is planning to decriminalize possession of small amounts for personal use.From Wednesday's Globe and Mail Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)Author: Andre PicardPublished: Wednesday, January 22, 2003Copyright: 2003 The Globe and Mail CompanyContact: letters globeandmail.caWebsite: http://www.globeandmail.com/Related Articles & Web Site:JAMA: Cannabis Gateway Reporthttp://freedomtoexhale.com/jama.htmEarly Marijuana Use 'Leads To Problems'http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15246.shtmlMarijuana's Link To Hard Drug Use Not Genetic http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15244.shtmlMarijuana No Gateway to Cocaine and Heroin http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14879.shtml 
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Comment #9 posted by delariand on January 22, 2003 at 19:42:13 PT
Government leads to harder drugs
My government told me marijuana would ruin my life. I smoked it, and it didn't, and I learned distrust. My government told me ecstasy would ruin my brain, and I didn't believe them. I was wrong, but it would have been nice to know I was wrong BEFORE the damage was done. Educate with truth, not lies.
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Comment #8 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on January 22, 2003 at 14:50:38 PT
LTE
Sirs,  In your article, you quote the JAMA as saying that kids who have "access to pot at a relatively young age 'may reduce perceived barriers against the use of other illegal drugs and provide access to these drugs.'" In other words, because a child who smokes marijuana will buy it from illegal drug dealers, they will know where to get harder drugs if they desire. This is the exact reason the Canadian Senate Committee reccomended cannabis be sold over-the-counter to all Canadians age 16 and up. If you provide a legal shop where young people can purchase cannabis, then those who seek hard drugs would have to start from scratch, as they will not automatically know a black-market dealer.
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Comment #7 posted by Binky on January 22, 2003 at 07:37:23 PT
Harder Drugs
One thing that I have noticed in our area is when the pot supplies are low harder drugs will fill the gap. I gathered this from talking to a few teenagers at a friendly drop in center. One kid of about 19 told me " I guess I'll have to go back to drinking cause' they keep on busting our pot dealers and don't worry about the ones dealing pills and the harder drugs" 
I know all of these youngsters and not one of them has problems with so called hard drugs. I find this very disturbing. 
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Comment #6 posted by SirReal on January 22, 2003 at 06:54:37 PT
This title should read...
....early youth exposure to the cannabis black market leads youth to continued and even more extensive involvement in the imported "real" black market of stronger substances,...ultimately leading to criminal behaviors to pay for these substances....
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Comment #5 posted by afterburner on January 22, 2003 at 06:51:03 PT:
Limitations and Mediations.
Potential limitations of this study include the reliance on self-report and retrospective data, and the lack of data about ages at progression to more frequent use or onset of problems. Other mechanisms that might mediate a causal association between early cannabis use and subsequent drug use and drug abuse/dependence include the following:1. Initial experiences with cannabis, which are frequently rated as pleasurable,40 may encourage continued use of cannabis and also broader experimentation.2. Seemingly safe early experiences with cannabis may reduce the perceived risk of, and therefore barriers to, the use of other drugs. For example, as the vast majority of those who use cannabis do not experience any legal consequences of their use, such use may act to diminish the strength of legal sanctions against the use of all drugs.3. Alternatively, experience with and subsequent access to cannabis use may provide individuals with access to other drugs as they come into contact with drug dealers.41 This argument provided a strong impetus for the Netherlands to effectively decriminalize cannabis use in an attempt to separate cannabis from the hard drug market.12 This strategy may have been partially successful as rates of cocaine use among those who have used cannabis are lower in the Netherlands than in the United States.42While the findings of this study indicate that early cannabis use is associated with increased risks of progression to other illicit drug use and drug abuse/dependence, it is not possible to draw strong causal conclusions solely on the basis of the associations shown in this study. Further research in other cultures and using a range of innovative research designs (including evaluation of prevention efforts aimed at delaying the onset of cannabis use) is needed to explore whether there is a causal link between early cannabis use and progression to other drug use and, if so, to elucidate the mechanisms that may underlie any such causal association.Author: Michael T. Lynskey, PhD, Missouri Alcoholism Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine and associates.In their own words the researchers of the study/survey from which this article was spun admit to the "limitations of...self-report and retrospective data." They also question whether association implies causation: 1. "broader experimentation" is not a factor in the majority of cannabis users; tobacco and alcohol also are "rated as pleasurable," why single out cannabis?2. "Seemingly safe early experiences with cannabis may reduce the perceived risk of, and therefore barriers to, the use of other drugs." This highlights the dangers of the "just say no" approach and the discredited DARE programs. If you lie about the dangers of cannabis, then some children may not believe the truth about the dangers of hard drugs, like cocaine and heroin.3. "access to cannabis use may provide individuals with access to other drugs as they come into contact with drug dealers.41 This argument provided a strong impetus for the Netherlands to effectively decriminalize cannabis use in an attempt to separate cannabis from the hard drug market....rates of cocaine use among those who have used cannabis are lower in the Netherlands than in the United States." The Netherlands experiment has successfully separated cannabis from hard drug access. It is a model for the cannabis liberalization/decriminalization, which has swept Europe and is now challenging North America. Adults are fighting for their rights to medical and spiritual access to cannabis. Children must be protected against too early experimentation with all drugs: just as legal drugs, like tobacco and alcohol, have minimum age limits, so should any decriminalized medicine.ego destruction or ego transcendence, that is the question. 
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Comment #4 posted by Cannabis jarhead on January 22, 2003 at 05:09:50 PT
Bull
the reason kids move on to harder drugs is because the crap the gov lies about pot. Kids try it ,find out pot don't kill you so they think hey crack most be ok too. www.infowars.comI love my country but i fear the Gov.
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Comment #3 posted by WolfgangWylde on January 22, 2003 at 04:52:16 PT
Quoting from the article
"I think one important thing to say to the parents of a 16-year-old using marijuana is that THE MAJORITY OF KIDS WHO USE CANNABIS DO NOT GOT ON TO EXPERIENCE PROBLEMS WITH DRUGS AND ALCHOHOL, but it's important that we, as parents and as a society, recognize that there is an increased risk," said Andrew Heath, director of the Missouri Alcoholism Research Center, and lead author of the study.So why isn't the headline "Marijuana Not Tied to Later Problems"?
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Comment #2 posted by johnboy on January 22, 2003 at 02:54:05 PT:
don't you think it should read
Teenagers who use Tobacco and Alcohol before the age of 17
are far more likely to progress to harder drugs and to become dependent on drugs later in life.I agree Kegan Jack-asses
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Comment #1 posted by Kegan on January 22, 2003 at 02:32:59 PT
Gateway
Pot doesn't lead to harder drugs.DEALERS lead to harder drugs.DOCTORS lead to harder drugs.TEACHERS lead to harder drugs.PARENTS lead to harder drugs.LIFE leads to harder drugs.Jack-asses....
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