Tag Archives: gateway effect

5 Ways Marijuana is a Gateway Drug

Marijuana Presents Itself as a Gateway Drug For Many

Under the right circumstance marijuana leads people towards addiction, mental illness, or other harmful drugs. Scientific studies on the drug have shown its ability to damage brain circuitry. It numbs the reward system, sending users on a search for a stronger high. Peer influence or personality traits can lead to use of drugs beyond marijuana. Here are some reasons why marijuana tempts someone to open the gate and try other drugs.

1. Biological Evidence and Plateau Effect:

Studies showing the damaging effects marijuana has on dopamine receptors and our brain’s reward system suggest marijuana may lead to the use of many other different drugs. In one study done by the University of Michigan Medical School, researchers found a negative correlation between the amount of marijuana consumed over time and the amount of dopamine that was released in the brain in response. This study suggests a change in the reward system over time with a high-inducing drug like marijuana. This decrease in the amount of dopamine released creates a plateau effect. Smokers will then seek other drugs in order to achieve the high they used to experience with pot.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse says cannabinoids are able to decrease the reactivity of brain dopamine reward circuits over time, leaving frequent marijuana users vulnerable to other drug addiction. Additionally, THC promotes an enhanced response to other drugs in the same way that alcohol and nicotine do, which may lead to the progression of more serious drug addictions.

2. Social Environment:

While the scientific evidence supports the idea of marijuana being a gateway drug, it is important to consider the pot smoker’s social environment. Those who begin taking drugs or abusing other substances are likely surrounded with other frequent users. And often their peers have moved on to chasing greater highs. Through their friends they are introduced to harder drugs. There is no predicting who will succumb to addiction in such a progression. If someone is already inebriated or high, they will be less able to resist the invite from a friend to try another substance. Plus, while the motivated, wealthy or successful individual may seemingly thrive with the use of recreational pot, their not so motivated and less successful counterpart may become a cocaine addict. According to the Foundation for a Drug-Free World 99.9% of cocaine addicts began their drug journey with marijuana, alcohol, or nicotine.

3. Gangs and Drug Dealing:

One of the most subcultures is that of drug dealing gangs. The goal of these groups is to make a profit off of the same drug they are hooked on. Check out the story of one man, Eddie Martinez, who managed to overcome a life of drug dealing and now advises young people to steer clear of the dangers which surround marijuana and its victims.

4. Addictive personalities

For some marijuana use may be an occasional form of recreation or a one-time deal. However, various personality traits make one susceptible to substance abuse. This is what is known as an addictive personality. Especially males, who are often considered “risk-takers,” have a greater chance of becoming addicts when they are willing to engage in extreme behaviors. So while marijuana presents itself as a gateway drug to many, the risks to an individual depends their personal choices. See this article, Big Marijuana Claims vs. The Science.

5. Craving the High:

Marijuana, alongside alcohol, is one of the most accessible high-inducing drugs on the market, making it a gateway drug to intoxication addiction. John Daily, an adolescent and young adult addiction specialist argues it is not the THC that people get hooked on.  Jon says, “Addicts are hooked on intoxication” so it makes sense that those who become Opiate or Heroin addicts began with marijuana because it was the most readily available drug which later lead to their pathological relationship to getting high.

 

Drug Abuse Expert says Gateway Theory is Fact

Former NIH Drug Abuse Director Sends Letter to Canada Task Force on Marijuana

To the Canadian Task Force on Marijuana Legalization and Regulation:

By way of introduction, I was the first Director of the National Institute of Health’s National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the United States’ principal agency devoted to scientific research on drugs of abuse, including marijuana. I am currently the President of the Institute for Behavior and Health, Inc., a non-profit organization devoted to reducing illegal drug use, and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Georgetown University School of Medicine. I urge you to not underestimate the significant negative public health impacts of marijuana legalization.

In response to the discussion paper, Toward the Legalization, Regulation and Restriction of Access to Marijuana, I would like to share with you some important information specifically related to the discussion of the gateway theory. Marijuana is in fact a “gateway” drug – but importantly, it is not the only gateway drug. Alcohol and tobacco are also gateway drugs. By this I mean that their use is highly correlated with one another and nearly always precipitates the use of other substances. Recent analysis of data from the US National Household Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) confirm that among young people aged 12 to 17, using one of these three primary drugs of abuse dramatically increases the likelihood of use of the other two, as well as use of other illicit drugs. Similarly, the decision not to use any of these three drugs is negatively correlated with use of the other two drugs (as well as other illicit drugs). This finding has significance for Canada and the US, as well as any other nation considering adding marijuana as a third legal drug for adults. More use of marijuana means more use of other drugs, including the two currently legal drugs. As such, given that the vast majority of substance use disorders, i.e., addiction, can be traced to initiation of substance use during adolescence, there must be significant focus on prevention.

Marijuana is not a harmless drug as it is often perceived to be today. In the US, marijuana accounts for more substance use disorders than any other drug (other than alcohol). Of the 7.1 million Americans aged 12 and older with substance use disorders related to illicit drugs, nearly 60% are dependent on or abuse marijuana (Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, 2015). The only drug that causes more substance use disorders than marijuana is alcohol.

Making marijuana more easily accessible and subsequently increasing its use by the public should be of serious concern to the Canadian government and its citizens. Recent research has shown that daily or near-daily marijuana users in the US consume most of the drug, with the poor and less-educated representing a disproportionate number of marijuana users (Davenport & Caulkins, 2016). Protecting the vulnerable populations – from youth to the disadvantaged – must be a national and global priority.

I urge you to support policies and programs that seek to reduce drug use, including marijuana use, and to improve public health. Making marijuana more accessible and its use more acceptable is not in the interest of public health.

Sincerely,

Robert L. DuPont, MD
President
Institute for Behavior and Health, Inc.

Editors Note:  The New York Times opinion series “Room for Debate” asked if marijuana should be legalized in the face of today’s heroin and opioid crisis and if it is a gateway drug. IBH President Robert L. DuPont, MD contributed to the series stating that marijuana use is positively correlated with other drug use; marijuana users consume more legal and illegal drugs than non-users. Rather than legalize drugs, effective prevention is needed. He clearly states that establishing marijuana “as a third legal drug, along with tobacco and alcohol, will increase drug abuse, including the expanding opioid epidemic.”