Pubdate: Wed, 11 Dec 2002
Source: Boston Weekly Dig (MA)
Copyright: 2002 Boston Weekly Dig
Contact:  http://www.weeklydig.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1515
Author: Judy Nguyen

DRUG MYTHS DEBUNKED

As marijuana arrests steadily increase, recent studies have refuted two 
concerns (or is myth the proper term?) that are central motivations for 
American drug policy: 1) Marijuana is a gateway drug and 2) Medical 
marijuana would be abused by adolescents. A Project RAND study of data from 
the US National Household Survey on Drug Abuse shows that few marijuana 
users ever graduate to harder drugs. The Canadian Senate and US National 
Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine have also issued reports 
criticizing this theory that guides so much of our nation's drug policy. 
NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) Foundation 
Executive Allen St. Pierre commented, "Statistically, for every 104 
Americans who have tried marijuana, there is only one regular user of 
cocaine and less than one user of heroin. For the overwhelming majority of 
marijuana smokers, pot is clearly a 'terminus' rather than a gateway."

In addition, the General Accounting Office of Congress has reported that 
the legalization of the use and possession of medical marijuana (eight 
states have enacted medical marijuana legalization laws since 1996) has not 
led to widespread abuse as expected by critics. Most patients qualified to 
use medical marijuana suffer from chronic pain and/or multiple sclerosis, 
and only one state, Alaska, reported registering a medical marijuana 
patient under the age of 18. Authors of the report determined, "None of the 
federal officials we spoke with provided information to support a statement 
that abuse of medical marijuana laws was routinely occurring in any of the 
states, including California."
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