Pubdate: Thu, 29 Aug 2002 Source: Washington Post (DC) Copyright: 2002 The Washington Post Company Contact: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491 YOUNGER POT SMOKERS CALLED LIKELIER ADDICTS The younger someone is when first trying marijuana, the more likely he or she will become dependent on illegal drugs later in life, U.S. government researchers said yesterday. They found that 62 percent of adults age 26 or older who started using marijuana before they were 15 had also tried cocaine at some point. More than 9 percent reported they had used heroin, and more than half had used prescription drugs for recreational purposes. Fewer than 1 percent of those who said they had never tried marijuana reported having tried cocaine or heroin. Five percent had abused prescription drugs, according to the report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. "These findings are of grave concern because studies show smoking marijuana leads to changes in the brain similar to those caused by cocaine, heroin and alcohol," SAMHSA Administrator Charles Curie said. The report, based on National Household Survey data, found that 18 percent of adults who said they first tried pot before the age of 15 met the criteria for either dependence or abuse of alcohol or illicit drugs, compared with1 percent of adults who said they had never used marijuana. The survey also found that an estimated 2 million Americans 12 or older said they had used marijuana for the first time in 1999, down from 2.5 million in 1998. - --- MAP posted-by: Tom