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rhinoceros
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Gateways to hard drugs?
« on: 2003-01-23 15:09:52 » |
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[rhinoceros]
The numbers say that cannabis has often been a gateway to hard drugs. According to this article, the reasons are not genetic.
Notice the last part of the article. If heroine and cocaine dependencies are socially undesirable and we grant to the legislator the right to intervene, what should the legislator do about cannabis? Keep it illegal or decriminalize it? According to the article, further research could give a more definite answer -- if reducing hard drug dependencies is all we care for, of course.
Marijuana's link to hard drug use not genetic
by James Randerson
New Scientist, Jan 21, 2003
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993291
The reason why young cannabis users are much more likely to progress to harder drugs has provoked fierce debate - but a new study of twins has ruled out a strong genetic component.
Researchers looked at over 300 pairs of same sex twins, both identical and non-identical, in which one twin started using cannabis before his or her 17th birthday and the other did not.
Michael Lynskey, at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, Missouri, and his team found that the early user was two to five times more likely to go on to use harder drugs or become dependent on alcohol - regardless of whether they were an identical twin or not.
The fact that identical twins, who share all their genes, did not differ from non-identical twins, who share half, suggests that the progression is not the product of genes.
Gateway drug
Many hard drug users have followed a similar path from cigarettes and alcohol, to cannabis, to heroin and cocaine. This has led some researchers to argue that soft drugs provide a "gateway" to harder substances. Clearly, not everyone who likes a drink ends up as a coke addict, but very few users of hard drugs have not tried cannabis first.
It might be that cannabis users have a genetic profile that predisposes them both to cannabis use and to harder drugs, or a personal history that does the same. But, until now, no one has been able to disentangle the effect of nature and nurture.
The twin study rules out a large genetic component. But it also suggests that the home and womb environment may not a key factor either, because the twins shared both and yet early marijuana use in one still raised the chances of later hard drug use.
However, Lynskey acknowledges that it is impossible to eliminate all nurture differences between twins. For example, one twin might have suffered a traumatic event in childhood that did not affect the other.
Drug policies
Nonetheless, the research shows that the gateway is real, so what implications does this have for drug laws? "This finding can be used as the bases for quite opposite drug policies," Lynskey told New Scientist.
The problem is that researchers are no nearer understanding the mechanism of the gateway. If taking cannabis causes physiological effects in the brain that predispose the smoker to other drugs, then the message for lawmakers is that keeping people away from cannabis will also keep them off heroin and cocaine.
On the other hand, if cannabis smokers move on to harder drugs simply because they have access to them through drug dealers, then decriminalisation ought to reduce hard drug use.
The work shows that marijuana is indeed a gateway to other illicit drugs, says Denise Kandel, at Columbia University, New York, in an editorial commenting on the journal paper. Therefore, whatever the appropriate intervention turns out to be, it must be focussed on young cannabis users, she says.
Journal reference: Journal of the American Medical Association (vol 289, p 427, 482)
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the.bricoleur
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making sense of change
 
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Re:Gateways to hard drugs?
« Reply #1 on: 2003-01-26 16:23:34 » |
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Quote:| The numbers say that cannabis has often been a gateway to hard drugs. According to this article, the reasons are not genetic. |
Which numbers are these?
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the.bricoleur
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Re:Gateways to hard drugs?
« Reply #2 on: 2003-01-26 16:36:56 » |
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From EROWID: I take no responsibility for the credibility of this document BTW
-------------------
MARIJUANA IS A "GATEWAY" TO THE USE OF OTHER DRUGS
Advocates of marijuana prohibition claim that even if marijuana itself causes minimal harm, it is a dangerous substance because it leads to the use of "harder drugs" such as heroin, LSD, and cocaine.
THE FACTS
Most users of heroin, LSD and cocaine have used marijuana. However, most marijuana users never use another illegal drug.
Over time, there has been no consistent relationship between the use patterns of various drugs. 83
As marijuana use increased in the 1960s and 1970s, heroin use declined. And, when marijuana use declined in the 1980s, heroin use remained fairly stable.
For the past 20 years, as marijuana use-rates fluctuated, the use of LSD hardly changed at all.
Cocaine use increased in the early 1980s as marijuana use was declining. During the late 1980s, both marijuana and cocaine declined. During the last few years, cocaine use has continued to decline as marijuana use has increased slightly.
In 1994, less than 16% of high school seniors who had ever tried marijuana had ever tried cocaine - the lowest percentage ever recorded. In fact, as shown below, the proportion of marijuana users trying cocaine has declined steadily since 1986, when a high of more than 33% was recorded.
Proportion of Marijuana Users Ever Trying Cocaine
High School Seniors, 1975-1994 84
1975: 19% 1980: 27% 1985: 31% 1990: 22%
1976: 19% 1981: 28% 1986: 33% 1991: 22%
1977: 20% 1982: 27% 1987: 30% 1992: 18%
1978: 22% 1983: 28% 1988: 26% 1993: 17%
1979: 25% 1984: 29% 1989: 23% 1994: 16%
In short, there is no inevitable relationship between the use of marijuana and other drugs. This fact is supported by data from other countries. In the Netherlands, for example, although marijuana prevalence among young people increased during the past decade, cocaine use decreased - and remains considerably lower than in the United States. Whereas approximately 16% of youthful marijuana users in the U.S. have tried cocaine, the comparable figure for Dutch youth is 1.8 percent. 85 Indeed, the Dutch policy of allowing marijuana to be purchased openly in government-regulated "coffee shops" was designed specifically to separate young marijuana users from illegal markets where heroin and cocaine are sold. 86
83. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Household Survey on Drug Abuse: Main Findings 1990; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Preliminary Estimates from the 1993 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse.
84. Johnston, L.D. et al, Monitoring the Future, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Institute for Social Research (1994).
85. Cohen, P.D.A., Cannabisgebruikers in Amsterdam, Jaarbeurs Congrescentrum Utrecht (1995).
86. Leuw, E. and Marshall, I.H. (eds)., Between Prohibition and Legalization: The Dutch Experiment in Drug Policy, Amsterdam: Kugler Publications (1994).
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thoughts?
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billroh@churchofvirus.com
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Re: virus: Re:Gateways to hard drugs?
« Reply #3 on: 2003-01-27 16:55:04 » |
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The problem I have with the concept of gateway drugs is that it
eliminates or reduces the personal responsibility of the user. If a
person chooses to do a drug, it is no fault but that persons. Blaming
marijuana for behaviour is blaming the devil for the evil one does. Lets
just blame guns for shootings, cars for crashes and TV for our addled
brains. Soon we can blame the sun for waking us up in the morning.
While I am sure there is a correlation (one that changes with the times)
between one drug and another regarding use, I am equally sure that it is
social choice, not drug craving people, that is at the heart of drug use.
BTW - Anyone notice the anti marijuana commercial during the Superbowl?
For those that have not seen it, it is basically 2 adults fretting over
a pregnancy test, when the result is positive, the parents move aside to
reveal a a young girl. The commercial goes on to say how marijuana leads
to poor judgement. Much like a soft version of reefer madness.
Of course, immediately after this commercial was a beer commercial with
a guy trying to get lucky by getting girls to drink with him on the
beach, followed by a commercial of a guy with three arms drinking beer
and trying to cop a feel off his date. Hopefully the transparency of the
governments commercial was quite obvious to all but the most mindless
viewer.
Best to you all
Bill
bricoleur wrote:
>>From EROWID: I take no responsibility for the credibility of this document BTW
>
>-------------------
>
>MARIJUANA IS A "GATEWAY" TO THE USE OF OTHER DRUGS
>Advocates of marijuana prohibition claim that even if marijuana itself causes minimal harm, it is a dangerous substance because it leads to the use of "harder drugs" such as heroin, LSD, and cocaine.
>
>THE FACTS
>Most users of heroin, LSD and cocaine have used marijuana. However, most marijuana users never use another illegal drug.
>Over time, there has been no consistent relationship between the use patterns of various drugs. 83
>As marijuana use increased in the 1960s and 1970s, heroin use declined. And, when marijuana use declined in the 1980s, heroin use remained fairly stable.
>For the past 20 years, as marijuana use-rates fluctuated, the use of LSD hardly changed at all.
>Cocaine use increased in the early 1980s as marijuana use was declining. During the late 1980s, both marijuana and cocaine declined. During the last few years, cocaine use has continued to decline as marijuana use has increased slightly.
>In 1994, less than 16% of high school seniors who had ever tried marijuana had ever tried cocaine - the lowest percentage ever recorded. In fact, as shown below, the proportion of marijuana users trying cocaine has declined steadily since 1986, when a high of more than 33% was recorded.
>
>Proportion of Marijuana Users Ever Trying Cocaine
>High School Seniors, 1975-1994 84
>1975: 19% 1980: 27% 1985: 31% 1990: 22%
>1976: 19% 1981: 28% 1986: 33% 1991: 22%
>1977: 20% 1982: 27% 1987: 30% 1992: 18%
>1978: 22% 1983: 28% 1988: 26% 1993: 17%
>1979: 25% 1984: 29% 1989: 23% 1994: 16%
>
>In short, there is no inevitable relationship between the use of marijuana and other drugs. This fact is supported by data from other countries. In the Netherlands, for example, although marijuana prevalence among young people increased during the past decade, cocaine use decreased - and remains considerably lower than in the United States. Whereas approximately 16% of youthful marijuana users in the U.S. have tried cocaine, the comparable figure for Dutch youth is 1.8 percent. 85 Indeed, the Dutch policy of allowing marijuana to be purchased openly in government-regulated "coffee shops" was designed specifically to separate young marijuana users from illegal markets where heroin and cocaine are sold. 86
>
>83. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Household Survey on Drug Abuse: Main Findings 1990; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Preliminary Estimates from the 1993 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse.
>84. Johnston, L.D. et al, Monitoring the Future, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Institute for Social Research (1994).
>85. Cohen, P.D.A., Cannabisgebruikers in Amsterdam, Jaarbeurs Congrescentrum Utrecht (1995).
>86. Leuw, E. and Marshall, I.H. (eds)., Between Prohibition and Legalization: The Dutch Experiment in Drug Policy, Amsterdam: Kugler Publications (1994).
>
>--------------------
>
>thoughts?
>
>
>
>
>----
>This message was posted by bricoleur to the Virus 2003 board on Church of Virus BBS.
><http://virus.lucifer.com/bbs/index.php?board=54;action=display;threadid=27671>
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>
--
Reason - Vision - Empathy
Tools for a healthy mind
Bill Roh
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Kalkor
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Kneading the swollen donkey...
 
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RE: virus: Re:Gateways to hard drugs?
« Reply #4 on: 2003-01-27 18:10:13 » |
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[Bill]
BTW - Anyone notice the anti marijuana commercial during the Superbowl?
For those that have not seen it, it is basically 2 adults fretting over
a pregnancy test, when the result is positive, the parents move aside to
reveal a a young girl. The commercial goes on to say how marijuana leads
to poor judgement. Much like a soft version of reefer madness.
Of course, immediately after this commercial was a beer commercial with
a guy trying to get lucky by getting girls to drink with him on the
beach, followed by a commercial of a guy with three arms drinking beer
and trying to cop a feel off his date. Hopefully the transparency of the
governments commercial was quite obvious to all but the most mindless
viewer.
[Kalkor]
I didn't see that one but I saw a similar one wherein a young man is sitting
on a couch, and a young lady keeps coming in laughing (obviously stoned ha
ha) and handing him pipes and joints... eventually she comes in looking
"tore up from the floor up" as I like to call it, sits down next to him, and
he sets his foreign fingers (Russian and Roman) to work on her shirt...
Marijuana causes bad judgement.
Dammit! I never got laid cause the girl was too stoned to fend off my
advances! What world do they live in???
Unfortunately, however, I would categorize about 99% of those watching the
Super Bowl as "mindless"... just my little UTist opinion but I'm sure it
could be backed up by statistics.
;-}
Yes those commercials will be effective. This is very sad to me.
Kalkor
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