Preface for those who still believe the nonsense we all grew up with - and that a lot of us now see through:
Sorry. No Spongebob or Cheerios. Have your mommies get you some cheesey-poofs while the rest of us have a real discussion. Thanks.
Science Blog
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.
That has been a large part of much of reefer madness: scaring people half to death and keeping the entire issue highly emotionalized. This is why scientific studies go nowhere in trying to end cannabis propaganda. It's NOT about facts but about control of the media to suppress facts and perpetuate emotionalized but meaningless nonsense where rational discourse should be.
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.
It's been the propagandists, the GOP, and those who have bought into the propaganda that still cling to this illusion of marijuana being a "gateway". The Canadian report of a couple years ago smashed this idea completely but due to the US media blackout of cannabis discourse, 2 news cycles pretty much buried that.
So along comes "Dr. Tarter" to show in-depth evidence of what most of us reformess and relegalizers know: The gateway theory is simply not true. It's part of the Big Lie about cannabis.
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.
Of course, in the end, Dr. Tarter demonstrates that scientists have to eat and pay bills as well: More studies need to be done.
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.