Pubdate: Sun, 26 Jan 2003
Source: Oklahoman, The (OK)
Copyright: 2003 The Oklahoma Publishing Co
Contact:  http://www.oklahoman.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/318

STUDY BOLSTERS MARIJUANA GATEWAY THEORY

CHICAGO -- A study of Australian twins and marijuana bolsters the fiercely 
debated "gateway theory" that pot can lead to harder drugs. The researchers 
located 311 sets of same-sex twins in which only one twin had smoked 
marijuana before age 17. Early marijuana smokers were found to be up to 
five times more likely than their twins to move on to harder drugs.

They were about twice as likely to use opiates, which include heroin, and 
five times more likely to use hallucinogens, which include LSD.

Earlier studies on whether marijuana is a gateway drug reached conflicting 
conclusions. The impasse has complicated the debate over medical marijuana 
and decriminalization of pot.

Because this study involved twins, the findings would suggest that genetics 
play a subordinate role in drug use.

The study appeared in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical 
Association and was funded in part by the National Institutes of Health. It 
does not answer how marijuana, or cannabis, might lead to harder drugs.

Study participants were age 30 on average when they were asked about their 
teenage drug use. They included 136 sets of identical twins, who share the 
same genetic makeup.

About 46 percent of the early marijuana users reported that they later 
abused or became dependent on marijuana, and 43 percent had become 
dependent on alcohol.

Cocaine and other stimulants were the most commonly used harder drugs, 
tried by 48 percent of the early marijuana users, compared with 26 percent 
of the non-early marijuana users. Hallucinogens were the second most 
common, used by 35 percent of the early marijuana twins versus 18 percent 
of the others.
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