Pubdate: Fri, 04 Nov 2016
Source: Pahrump Valley Times (NV)
Copyright: 2016 Pahrump Valley Times
Contact:  http://www.pahrumpvalleytimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1531
Author: Pashtana Usufzy

EXPERTS: MARIJUANA'S FUNCTION AS 'GATEWAY DRUG' IN DISPUTE

Discussions of legalizing the use of marijuana often revolve around
the contention that pot functions as a "gateway drug" - a substance
that can lead individuals to abuse "harder" substances like cocaine or
heroin.

That assertion, which has been raised in connection with Nevada's
Question 2 on the Nov. 8 ballot, has some support in the scientific
community, but experts say a lack of definitive research on the
subject leaves plenty of room for argument.

"There's not enough evidence to prove (it) one way or another," said
Nathan Gillespie, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Virginia
Commonwealth University who has done research on drug use and genetics.

Marijuana, the most commonly used illicit substance in the country, is
legal in Nevada for medicinal purposes and would become legal for
recreational use if voters approve Question 2, which was narrowly
leading in the most recent Review-Journal poll on the measure.

Though most people who abuse substances like cocaine or opioids try
marijuana first, there is no proven causal relationship between use of
marijuana and other illicit drugs, according to the National Institute
on Drug Abuse.

The issue from a scientific perspective is that a typical pattern of
progression isn't the same as establishing that Behavior A causes
Behavior B, Gillespie explained. For example, he said, studies have
shown that hard drug users also frequently drank alcohol and consumed
nicotine before moving on to more dangerous and addictive drugs.

"(But) just because there's a temporal order doesn't mean there's
causality," he said.

Some scientists are persuaded

A commonly cited 2015 article on marijuana's potential "gateway"
properties in The International Journal on Drug Policy, based on
responses to a national survey on use of alcohol and other
mind-altering substances, found that about 45 percent of adults who
used cannabis at some point progressed to use of at least one other
illicit drug.

The strong correlation between marijuana use and use of harder drugs
found by that study and similar research has supported the belief of
some scientists that the link is real.

In an April opinion piece in The New York Times titled "Marijuana Has
Proven to Be a Gateway Drug," Robert L. DuPont, president of the
Institute for Behavior and Health and a past director of NIDA, argued
that legalizing marijuana would expand the country's drug abuse problem.

"Like nearly all people with substance abuse problems, most heroin
users initiated their drug use early in their teens, usually beginning
with alcohol and marijuana. There is ample evidence that early
initiation of drug use primes the brain for enhanced later responses
to other drugs," he wrote.

A series of studies on animals have bolstered the gateway theory,
finding that tetrahydrocannabinol, the active ingredient in marijuana,
can increase the risk for addiction to nicotine and opiates, though
other published studies have cast doubt on the opiate claim.

Critics of the gateway argument in regard to marijuana say the animal
studies fall short of establishing a causal connection and more
studies of marijuana's effects on humans are needed.

They also note that similar correlations have been found with alcohol
and nicotine. A 2011 journal article in Science Translational
Medicine, for instance, found that nicotine also altered the brain,
making it easier for users to become addicted to cocaine.

Some researchers believe environment and accessibility play primary
roles in people's progression from marijuana to harder substances,
according to the NIDA website.

Instead of a gateway-type theory proposing that marijuana leads to use
of harder substances, proponents of this theory believe the movement
from drug to drug is predicated on outside factors like genetics or
environment.

"An alternative to the gateway-drug hypothesis is that people who are
more vulnerable to drug-taking are simply more likely to start with
readily available substances like marijuana, tobacco or alcohol, and
their subsequent social interactions with other substance users
increases their chances of trying other drugs," NIDA says.

A third theory indicates use of the drugs is a mixture of gateway
effects, genetics and other factors.

Because marijuana is listed as a Schedule I controlled substance by
the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, research involving the substance has
been tightly controlled in the past. However, the DEA announced in
August it would allow more approved growers to distribute the drug to
authorized institutions to foster research. That, in turn, could pave
the way for comprehensive studies that could put the debate to rest.

Gillespie said a lengthy study of twins could definitively answer the
question.

Such a study would allow scientists to control for factors like
genetics and environment, Gillespie said, and demonstrate once and for
all what role marijuana use plays, if any, in leading a user down the
path to addiction.

"The correct models have never been properly or adequately tested," he
said.
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MAP posted-by: Matt