Marijuana may not act as a gateway drug, according to a study released last week by the RAND corporation.
The report, which casts doubts on a long-held belief that smoking marijuana will lead to the usage of harder drugs, gives hope to groups fighting for the legalization of marijuana.
‘The study acknowledges very clearly that most people who use hard drugs smoked marijuana,’ admitted David Enger, director of external communications at RAND. ‘The question is, does smoking marijuana lead to harder drug use or is it just something that precedes drug use?’
The study examined the situation mathematically, creating scenarios in which marijuana was not available at all. They found that people who had a pre-disposition to drug use turned to other readily available drugs, such as alcohol, tobacco or harder drugs. The researchers concluded that users started with marijuana first only because it was the easiest drug to acquire.
‘If you can explain it in more than one way, then it casts doubt on the fact marijuana is a gateway drug,’ Enger said.
Pro-legalization groups are happy about the results, but noted many other studies have reinforced the same idea.
‘RAND only did what many other government agencies did,’ said Allen St. Pierre, executive of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. ‘There’s never been any credible or scientific evidence that suggests marijuana will lead to harder drugs.’
However, this study simply grapples with the exact definition of a gateway drug, said Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman Will Glaspy.
‘The study doesn’t say marijuana is not a gateway drug but throws out the possibility that maybe it’s not. The majority of cocaine and heroin users first used marijuana, and from that aspect, depending on how you want to define it, that’s gateway,’ Glaspy said.
‘It’s self-evident it’s a gateway drug in that it’s the first illegal drug people come into contact with, but it doesn’t mean they have the desire and want to try more,’ St. Pierre argued.
Boston University College of Engineering student Carl Garafalo disagreed.
‘It is a gateway drug, it’s the epitome of gateway drugs,’ Garafalo said. ‘Its effects are mild and not really addicting, in my opinion, so people think they can easily handle the effects of harder drugs.’
One student said alcohol was more likely to have these effects than any drugs.
‘I honestly think alcohol is more of a gateway drug than pot because people use it as an escape and don’t use it in moderation because they think everyone does it so it’s safer,’ said Jaimee Garbacik, a sophomore dual majoring in anthropology and philosophy.
St. Pierre felt confident that although the study did not point out anything new, it would help NORML’s fight for the legalization of marijuana.
‘It will help our efforts very much because now we get to cite 40 or 45 studies that have come out saying marijuana is not a gateway drug,’ he said.
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