As a recovering drug addict and alcoholic I can tell you with 100% degree of certainty that marijuana is a “gateway” drug. Whether it is the first drug a person experiments or the last, just using marijuana could be a gateway to even harder drug use in the future.
No matter how many studies show the dangers of marijuana, including its use as a gateway to harder drug use is always laughed at by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). For NORML, all the facts are just propaganda! As reported in www.courant.com.
One recent study showed that alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana were associated with an increased likelihood of prescription drug abuse in men ages 18 to 25. In women of that age, only marijuana use was linked with a higher likelihood of prescription drug abuse.
For years, researchers have looked at a connection between marijuana and hard drugs, such as cocaine and heroin. But given the large number of people who abuse prescription drugs -- particularly opioids (or painkillers) such as OxyContin and Percocet – this is the first study to examine whether there was a link between marijuana and use of these drugs.
The study found that, among both men and women, those who had used marijuana were 2.5 times more likely than those their age who abstained to later dabble in prescription drugs.
Abstinence is the only sure-fire way to not become involved with “gateway” drugs. If you would like to learn more about drugs and why they should be abstained from at all costs, please take a drug class.