cannabisnews.com: Study Links Teen Use of Tobacco and Pot Study Links Teen Use of Tobacco and Pot Posted by CN Staff on September 16, 2003 at 08:39:44 PT By The Associated Press Source: Associated Press Washington -- Youngsters who smoke cigarettes are more likely to use marijuana than those who don't smoke, according to a study released Tuesday.The report by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University and the American Legacy Foundation said young cigarette smokers are 14 times more likely to try pot. Eighty-four percent of the kids who have tried marijuana have smoked cigarettes within the past 30 days. The study focusing on 12- to 17-year-olds also found those who smoke cigarettes are six times likelier to be able to buy marijuana in an hour or less and 18 times likelier to say most of their friends smoke pot."Pot is a significant presence in the lives of teenage smokers," said Joseph Califano Jr., president of the addiction center. "If kids are regularly smoking, you should be concerned they are smoking pot."Califano said anti-tobacco campaigns can make help reduce pot smoking among young Americans and urged the Bush administration to educate people on the dangers of tobacco use.Young people perceive a link between cigarette smoking and pot use: When asked whether they think that a kid who smokes cigarettes is more likely to use pot, 77 percent responded yes.The study found:Among those who acknowledge having tried marijuana, those who do not smoke cigarettes are likelier to have tried pot only once.Teens who have tried pot and are current cigarette smokers are 60 percent likelier to be repeat marijuana users.Fifty-five percent of those who are current cigarette smokers report more than half their friends use marijuana.Among the kids who have tried pot, 57 percent first smoked cigarettes; 29 percent never smoked cigarettes; and 13 percent either tried pot and cigarettes at the same time or tried pot before cigarettes.In the survey by QEV Analytics, 1,987 teenagers and 504 parents of teenagers were interviewed between April 30 and July 14 over the telephone. The margin of error for the 2003 survey is plus or minus 2 percentage points.Note: Study Says Teen Cigarette Smokers Are More Likely to Use Marijuana Than Nonsmokers.On the Net:American Legacy Foundation: http://www.americanlegacy.org/National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University: http://www.casacolumbia.org/Source: Associated Press Published: September 16, 2003Copyright: 2003 Associated Press CannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #14 posted by aolbites on September 16, 2003 at 22:15:52 PT Study Says Teen Marijuana Smokers - Study Says Teen Marijuana Smokers Are More Likely to Use Cigarettes As A Cover Than Nonsmokers. [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by firedog on September 16, 2003 at 16:20:24 PT jvthc... ...you've hit the nail right on the head.A few days ago, there was an alarmist press release on the use of indoor tanning beds by white teenage girls (http://www.washtimes.com/culture/20030909-092453-5715r.htm) and they made sure to mention this:Indoor tanners also were more likely to smoke, drink or use marijuana than paler adolescents, the researchers said. Indoor (and outdoor) tanning may carry a slightly greater long-term risk than staying white, so there you go - two risk-taking behaviors taking place in the same individual, probably due to a less fearful personality!And a gene has been discovered that maps (somewhat) to risk-taking (or novelty-seeking) personalities - see http://www.bio.davidson.edu/courses/genomics/2001/wilson/gene.html or http://groups.yahoo.com/group/narcissisticabuse/message/195 or http://www.molbio.princeton.edu/courses/mb427/2000/projects/0012/risk.html or http://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=slv1&ei=UTF-8&p=d4dr%20gene for more info. There are countless others, just do a google on "d4dr gene".So, if the true "gateway drug" is in our genes - then what? I can only think of the movie Gattaca... [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by jvthc on September 16, 2003 at 15:48:22 PT: ..Quayle... In the plural, the 'E' is required.....I've been saying for years, there is no gateway substance; it's a predilection of personality! Some people are simply of the mindset to try these things, and each in varying degrees. Naturally, if they?re willing to try one thing reported to be of some limited risk, they?re willing to try others. Their risk threshold is part of their personality!Youth by itself is a gateway. Young adults and teenagers view themselves as indestructable. Older people, perhaps beginning around age 40 (like me), feel vulnerabilities that we project and counsel our younger friends and children about. I?ll bet $50 that you?ll find risk takers of any category are more willing to try marijuana, even if they don?t smoke cigarettes. Sky divers, hang gliders, test pilots (save for the fact they?re tested rigorously) ? they take risks that are even greater than the dangers of marijuana. [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by goneposthole on September 16, 2003 at 11:03:01 PT call me Dan Quayle didn't mean to spell potato with an e, my fingers were moving too fast. [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by goneposthole on September 16, 2003 at 11:00:35 PT ban potatoes! HEALTH ADVISORY #48 SEPTEMBER 5, 2003 POTENTIAL TERRORIST USE OF NICOTINE AND SOLANINE TOXINSOver the past several years, various reports have described a growing terrorist interest in the use of two plant toxins as potential mass poisoning agents. These kinds of poisons have been associated with training for limited-scope attacks, such as assassination. These poisons, nicotine and solanine, are naturally occurring toxins obtained from tobacco and potatoes, respectively. References to nicotine and solanine appear in numerous terrorist training manuals and documents seized in Afghanistan.http://www.erie.gov/health/health_alerts_48.phtmldon't tell John Ashcroft that potatoes are potential terrorist threat, millions might starve. The Irish potatoe famine will be... uh... small potatoes. [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by goneposthole on September 16, 2003 at 10:39:06 PT tobacco madness 1492-11: Jerez and Torres Discover Smoking; Jerez Becomes First European SmokerRodrigo de Jerez and Luis de Torres, in Cuba searching for the Khan of Cathay (China), are credited with first observing smoking. They reported that the natives wrapped dried tobacco leaves in palm or maize "in the manner of a musket formed of paper." After lighting one end, they commenced "drinking" the smoke through the other. Jerez became a confirmed smoker, and is thought to be the first outside of the Americas. He brought the habit back to his hometown, but the smoke billowing from his mouth and nose so frightened his neighbors he was imprisoned by the holy inquisitors for 7 years. By the time he was released, smoking was a Spanish craze.http://www.smokingparadise.net/Info/History-main.htmlGood thing Bill Bennett wasn't there with Rodrigo, he would have been in the hoosegow with him. He would have learned some 'moral clarity' the hard way. [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by Jose Melendez on September 16, 2003 at 10:35:49 PT tough enough? even better:http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=califano+tough+drugs&btnG=Google+Search [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by Jose Melendez on September 16, 2003 at 10:34:07 PT check out Joe http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=califano+jail&btnG=Google+Search [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by FoM on September 16, 2003 at 10:00:21 PT A Question I'm glad to read that treatment is getting accepted but what about forfeiture laws? [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by FoM on September 16, 2003 at 09:48:26 PT News Brief -- Associated Press Study: States Embracing Alternatives To Prison for Drug Users September 16, 2003Following is for release at 12:30 p-m, Eastern time (Undated-AP) -- States are moving away from a "get-tough" approach on drug use -- and treating addiction more like an illness than a crime.That's according to a new report from the Drug Policy Alliance, which supports alternatives to incarceration for drug users.The study found that voters in 17 states have approved drug-reform initiatives, including marijuana use for medical purposes, treatment instead of incarceration for some drug offenses, and easing laws allowing the seizure of assets.Overall, 46 states passed laws to ease tough laws on drug violations, with 18 states and the District of Columbia passing sentencing reforms.The alliance attributes some changes to financial problems. It costs a state on average 30-thousand dollars a year to keep someone in prison, and mandatory sentences for nonviolent drug offenders have swelled prison populations.The alliance's executive director says the report shows that it's possible to enact "sensible" drug policy reforms without being accused of being soft on drugs.Copyright: 2003 Associated Press [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by Arthropod on September 16, 2003 at 09:24:05 PT: Hmmm... This might actually be a worthwhile study. Couldn't you get some sort of legal precedent set with it? Sue for the criminalization of tobacco, and use the gateway theory. Then use the feds arguments in that case against them in a case to legalize marjiuana. If they try to say that marijuana is a narcotic, ask them what nicotine is! [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by E_Johnson on September 16, 2003 at 09:03:55 PT Pot saved me from tobacco, among other things I regularly thank God that I never got started on tobacco. I had a bad case of PTSD as a young teen, and pot plus yoga was an effective medicinal regimen. The only hit I ever took from a cigarette was by accident, at a party when someone handed it to me like a joint. That was my first and last experiment with tobacco. Colombian, Colombian, Colombian, Marlboro NOT!!!I had a CT scan last year and my lungs are just fine. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by darwin on September 16, 2003 at 08:58:50 PT A-Ha! The REAL gateway drug! Somebody save this research so we can throw it in the face when the inevitable gateway theory resurfaces at the next debate. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by TroutMask on September 16, 2003 at 08:50:10 PT Jail for tobacco users! Obviously we must protect our children from the gateway drug tobacco. Time to make tobacco illegal and jail the tobacco pushers and users. I'm stocking up now cause there's gonna be great money to be made...-TM [ Post Comment ] Post Comment