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12-year study: Pot is not a gateway drug
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| MisterOpus1 |
Never been much of a fan of it myself (despite me being a tree-hugging hippie unemployed smelly librul:D), but an interesting study nonetheless.
| quote: | Study say marijuana no gateway drug
Marijuana is not a “gateway” drug that predicts or eventually leads to substance abuse, suggests a 12-year University of Pittsburgh study. Moreover, the study’s findings call into question the long-held belief that has shaped prevention efforts and governmental policy for six decades and caused many a parent to panic upon discovering a bag of pot in their child’s bedroom.
The Pitt researchers tracked 214 boys beginning at ages 10-12, all of whom eventually used either legal or illegal drugs. When the boys reached age 22, they were categorized into three groups: those who used only alcohol or tobacco, those who started with alcohol and tobacco and then used marijuana (gateway sequence) and those who used marijuana prior to alcohol or tobacco (reverse sequence).
Nearly a quarter of the study population who used both legal and illegal drugs at some point – 28 boys – exhibited the reverse pattern of using marijuana prior to alcohol or tobacco, and those individuals were no more likely to develop a substance use disorder than those who followed the traditional succession of alcohol and tobacco before illegal drugs, according to the study, which appears in this month’s issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.
“The gateway progression may be the most common pattern, but it’s certainly not the only order of drug use,” said Ralph E. Tarter, Ph.D., professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy and lead author of the study. “In fact, the reverse pattern is just as accurate for predicting who might be at risk for developing a drug dependence disorder.”
In addition to determining whether the gateway hypothesis was a better predictor of substance abuse than competing theories, the investigators sought to identify characteristics that distinguished users in the gateway sequence from those who took the reverse path. Out of the 35 variables they examined, only three emerged to be differentiating factors: Reverse pattern users were more likely to have lived in poor physical neighborhood environments, had more exposure to drugs in their neighborhoods and had less parental involvement as young children. Most importantly, a general inclination for deviance from sanctioned behaviors, which can become evident early in childhood, was strongly associated with all illicit drug use, whether it came in the gateway sequence, or the reverse.
While the gateway theory posits that each type of drug is associated with certain specific risk factors that cause the use of subsequent drugs, such as cigarettes or alcohol leading to marijuana, this study’s findings indicate that environmental aspects have stronger influence on which type of substance is used. That is, if it’s easier for a teen to get his hands on marijuana than beer, then he’ll be more likely to smoke pot. This evidence supports what’s known as the common liability model, an emerging theory that states the likelihood that someone will transition to the use of illegal drugs is determined not by the preceding use of a particular drug but instead by the user’s individual tendencies and environmental circumstances.
“The emphasis on the drugs themselves, rather than other, more important factors that shape a person’s behavior, has been detrimental to drug policy and prevention programs,” Dr. Tarter said. “To become more effective in our efforts to fight drug abuse, we should devote more attention to interventions that address these issues, particularly to parenting skills that shape the child’s behavior as well as peer and neighborhood environments.”
Indeed, according to the study, interventions focusing on behavior modification may be more effective prevention tactics than current anti-drug initiatives. For example, providing guidance to parents – particularly those in high-risk neighborhoods – on how to boost their caregiving skills and foster bonding with their children, could have a measurable effect on a child’s likelihood to smoke marijuana. Also, early identification of children who exhibit antisocial tendencies could allow for interventions before drug use even begins.
Although this research has significant implications for drug abuse prevention approaches, Dr. Tarter notes that the study has some limitations. First, as only male behaviors were studied, further investigation should explore if the results apply to women as well. Also, the examination of behaviors in phases beyond alcohol and marijuana consumption in the gateway series will be necessary.
http://www.scienceblog.com/cms/stud...drug-12116.html |
More can be found here:
http://upmc.com/Communications/News...oSmokingGun.htm
Not that things like changes our War on Drugs much. Like I said, I tend to be more of a fence-sitter on this one primarily from my lack of knowledge, but I do tend to wonder if marijuana as an illegal drug is worth the hassle, especially in comparison to other illegal drugs (and legal drugs for that matter).
Thoughts from those more knowledgable on the subject? |
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| pkcRAISTLIN |
ive never understood its criminality, especially given the great economic & social evils of tobacco & alcohol. nobody commits crime to sustain their pot habit, instances of pot-fuelled violence are so much lower than alcohol (i mean really, who can be bothered getting off the couch!) and the levels of addiction are also much much lower.
as far as the "gateway" argument goes, people try pot before other illicit substances because it is always easier to get a hold of. if someone has a preference for illegal drugs, i dont think its logical to argue just because they tried pot and then tried E that theres a causal relationship there. for me it went tobacco, pot, alcohol, E -so should we blame tobacco as being the gateway substance? :rolleyes:
victimless crime as far as im concerned. |
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| pmoisse |
I read a news article today about a study that pegged cigarettes as more of a gateway drug for teens.
They said teens that smoke cigarettes were more likely to try harder drugs in their next few years.
Cigarettes also being illegal in most places for highschoolers....
I'll try to find the link tomorrow |
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| Lilith |
| quote: | | being a tree-hugging hippie unemployed smelly librul |
Get your ass a job hip-peh! :haha:
That out of the way, I'm not into pot and I wouldnt advocate it's abuse much the same as I don't think people should take it up like drinking too much alcohol or the coffin nails. It doesnt make you smarter or cool, actually it makes people kind of boring really IMO :D
At least, like it's been said. It's really not that destructive a drug in small doses unlike say, booze, meth or an opiate where people end up on a 'tear' and can be violent or do themselves some physical or mental damage.
It's more the matter of being dealt by people who are on the other side of the law and they tend to bring with them problems of association of being a known criminal. Then you end up with a criminal record and reduced job oppertunities and thus, end up in the lower income spectrum of society which has it's own problems later. Take out the criminal element and you just end up with a drug 'problem' that can be dealt with the same way as alcohol or tobacco abuse. |
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| DJ Shibby |
It's ridiculous that we even need to justify any of this to anyone.
It's our right to smoke pot if we damn well please. :D |
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| pmoisse |
source
^^ here's that news article that I referenced in my earlier post. |
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| BiG-_BoSS |
| Why is it, that Americans are so obsessed(sp?) with ILLEGAL drugs? |
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| Fir3start3r |
It's a gateway to 7-11 man.....
remember: puff, puff, pass :p |
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| Q5echo |
| quote: | Originally posted by Fir3start3r
It's a gateway to 7-11 man.....
remember: puff, puff, pass :p |
:haha: so true. |
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| Marc Summers |
| Weed was my first drug. I think if I didn't do weed, I'd be afraid to try anything else. |
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| Lilith |
| quote: | Originally posted by DJ Shibby
It's ridiculous that we even need to justify any of this to anyone. |
Well ok, you can run off and do drugs and then I don't have to justify any of my taxes going towards any kind of rehabilitation facilities due to self inflicted, pro-choice shennanigans of chemical abuse. |
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| DJ Shibby |
| quote: | Originally posted by Lilith
Well ok, you can run off and do drugs and then I don't have to justify any of my taxes going towards any kind of rehabilitation facilities due to self inflicted, pro-choice shennanigans of chemical abuse. |
Yeah?
So how do you justify your tax dollars going towards locking up non-violent offenders and paying for the massive police presence needed to keep the drug war going?
Go drink your alcohol and pop a prozac. ;) |
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