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Experts debate whether marijuana is a 'gateway' drug
By: Ron Snyder
BALTIMORE - Among the issues expected to generate the most buzz in Annapolis during the 2014 General Assembly session is whether marijuana should be legalized, or at least decriminalized.
Washington and Colorado have already passed legislation making the drug legal for recreational use, and supporters of the issue are using similar strategies in Maryland to expand their cause into the Free State.
One of the biggest points being argued in the marijuana debate is whether pot should be considered a “gateway drug;” a drug which leads users to branch out into more dangerous substances such as cocaine, heroin and crystal meth.
The Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project , which advocated for legalization, said there is no evidence that associates pot use with other drugs.
Go behind the scenes with those working to legalize marijuana in Maryland | WATCH ABC2 News @ 6 p.m.
According to the Marijuana Policy Project, 107 million Americans – more than 40 percent of the U.S. population born since 1960 – have tried marijuana, yet only 37 million have tried heroin and less than 0.1 percent of Americans have used either of the latter two in the last month.
“The bottom line is there is no causal relationship between marijuana use and other drugs,” said Morgan Fox, a Marijuana Policy Project spokesman. “Research has shown there is nothing in the chemical make-up of marijuana which would lead to a greater chance of using harder drugs.”
Fox said marijuana being illegal is the real gateway. That’s because those who want marijuana need to seek out illegal drug dealers, who often have a supply of dangerous drugs and are looking for ways to expand their market.
“When you go to a liquor store for a bottle of wine, there isn’t a person there trying to sell you cocaine or other dangerous products. An illegal narcotics dealer has incentive to push dangerous drugs.”
Long-time substance abuse expert Mike Gimbel said he agrees that marijuana use does not lead to a chemical dependence for that or other drugs, but can open a “social gateway” which in turn leads to more illicit drug use.
“Yes there is no proof that anyone who uses marijuana moves on to other drugs because they build a tolerance to it like alcohol or cigarettes in which they need either more of a product or something stronger to get their fix,” Gimbel said.
“But, 80 percent of addiction is due to environment. So, especially for children, if they are exposed to an environment where people are drinking or smoking pot, they are much more likely to enter a world where they can find drugs like heroin or cocaine. So, I consider marijuana a social gateway drug.”
Stacey Sugar is the clinical director at the Towson-based Maryland Addiction Recovery Network.
Sugar said that while there are many studies that deny marijuana use causes a person to use other illicit substances, many people she has treated for substance abuse issues have used marijuana.
Sugar believes marijuana could be a gateway drug for some, but not everyone, and that a lot depends on the user and whether they are predisposed to addiction. She added that marijuana is the easiest drug to get a hold of after alcohol and cigarettes, and some of those who like a marijuana high may be more interested in trying other highs.
“My main concern is what the marijuana use may be potentially masking, and my job is to assist a person to identify and fill that emotional void without a substance,” Sugar said. “Whether marijuana is legal or not, it is still addictive, and people commonly have trouble controlling their use and are unable to stop even when it leads to significant consequences in their lives.”
Read more: http://www.abc2news.com/dpp/news/he...her-marijuana-is-a-gateway-drug#ixzz2tYh3XWgf
By: Ron Snyder
BALTIMORE - Among the issues expected to generate the most buzz in Annapolis during the 2014 General Assembly session is whether marijuana should be legalized, or at least decriminalized.
Washington and Colorado have already passed legislation making the drug legal for recreational use, and supporters of the issue are using similar strategies in Maryland to expand their cause into the Free State.
One of the biggest points being argued in the marijuana debate is whether pot should be considered a “gateway drug;” a drug which leads users to branch out into more dangerous substances such as cocaine, heroin and crystal meth.
The Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project , which advocated for legalization, said there is no evidence that associates pot use with other drugs.
Go behind the scenes with those working to legalize marijuana in Maryland | WATCH ABC2 News @ 6 p.m.
According to the Marijuana Policy Project, 107 million Americans – more than 40 percent of the U.S. population born since 1960 – have tried marijuana, yet only 37 million have tried heroin and less than 0.1 percent of Americans have used either of the latter two in the last month.
“The bottom line is there is no causal relationship between marijuana use and other drugs,” said Morgan Fox, a Marijuana Policy Project spokesman. “Research has shown there is nothing in the chemical make-up of marijuana which would lead to a greater chance of using harder drugs.”
Fox said marijuana being illegal is the real gateway. That’s because those who want marijuana need to seek out illegal drug dealers, who often have a supply of dangerous drugs and are looking for ways to expand their market.
“When you go to a liquor store for a bottle of wine, there isn’t a person there trying to sell you cocaine or other dangerous products. An illegal narcotics dealer has incentive to push dangerous drugs.”
Long-time substance abuse expert Mike Gimbel said he agrees that marijuana use does not lead to a chemical dependence for that or other drugs, but can open a “social gateway” which in turn leads to more illicit drug use.
“Yes there is no proof that anyone who uses marijuana moves on to other drugs because they build a tolerance to it like alcohol or cigarettes in which they need either more of a product or something stronger to get their fix,” Gimbel said.
“But, 80 percent of addiction is due to environment. So, especially for children, if they are exposed to an environment where people are drinking or smoking pot, they are much more likely to enter a world where they can find drugs like heroin or cocaine. So, I consider marijuana a social gateway drug.”
Stacey Sugar is the clinical director at the Towson-based Maryland Addiction Recovery Network.
Sugar said that while there are many studies that deny marijuana use causes a person to use other illicit substances, many people she has treated for substance abuse issues have used marijuana.
Sugar believes marijuana could be a gateway drug for some, but not everyone, and that a lot depends on the user and whether they are predisposed to addiction. She added that marijuana is the easiest drug to get a hold of after alcohol and cigarettes, and some of those who like a marijuana high may be more interested in trying other highs.
“My main concern is what the marijuana use may be potentially masking, and my job is to assist a person to identify and fill that emotional void without a substance,” Sugar said. “Whether marijuana is legal or not, it is still addictive, and people commonly have trouble controlling their use and are unable to stop even when it leads to significant consequences in their lives.”
Read more: http://www.abc2news.com/dpp/news/he...her-marijuana-is-a-gateway-drug#ixzz2tYh3XWgf
