Marijuana
Is marijuana a “gateway” drug? Why or why not? What do we mean by gateway drug?
In 2012, the National Survey of Drug Use and Health determined that nearly 125,000,000 of those 12 years of age or older used illegal drugs and that nearly 10 percent of those had used drugs in the previous month (Belenko & Spohn, 2014). As the most commonly used drug, a little over 40 percent of these users reported using marijuana in their lifetime (Belenko & Spohn, 2014). According to research, there has been a lengthy discussion on whether or not marijuana, also referred to as hemp, is a gateway drug, given that there is not enough information to back that hypothesis. A gateway drug refers to a drug that when used can lead users to experiment with other drugs (Belenko & Spohn, 2014). Additionally, marijuana is said to be used first before users move on to try other illegal drugs. However, not all marijuana users continue to use other illegal drugs (Belenko & Spohn, 2014). Therefore, it cannot be said that marijuana is a gateway drug. Despite the statistic previously mentioned, factors like mental health disorders and availability could help explain why marijuana is used first (Belenko & Spohn, 2014). It is yet to be determined why users begin marijuana use and then proceed to use other illicit drugs. However, just because it is not a gateway drug doesn’t mean it is not dangerous.
