Study Examines Marijuana Gateway Hypothesis
A New Zealand study found a high correlation between marijuana use and the use of other illicit drugs. The correlation was highest during youth, declining with age. However, while the study's "findings may support a general causal model such as the cannabis gateway hypothesis...the actual causal mechanisms underlying such a gateway, and the extent to which these causal mechanisms are direct or indirect, remain unclear." Thus, the correlation, while strong, remains spurious.
Comments
Correlation or no correlation herb is illegal. These "studies" you keep posting are just part of the drugged up hippie agenda trying to normalize junkies by studying their nefarious behavior as "natural" just like that pervert Kinsey. Do us all a favor and post some real studies like some on Intelligent Design.
Posted by: Toker | April 11, 2006 11:37 PM
This is actually a quite significant study on the gateway hypothesis. The main finding (for some reason not included in the summary above) is that the odds of using other illicit drugs was 60 times greater for 15 year olds who used marijuana weekly as compared to nonusers. Risk of other drug use with weekly marijuana vs nonusers: 14-15 y/o 66.7, 17-18y/o 28.5, 20-21y/o 12.2, 24-25y/o 3.9. Additionally, the author's defend their models against Kandel et al. and MacCoun -- two scholars and skeptics of the hypothesis -- pretty well. http://www.chmeds.ac.nz/research/chds/publications/2006/cannabis_hypothesis.pdf
Posted by: kevin | April 12, 2006 01:29 AM
Fortunately, this site is not dedicated to Intelligent Design, but to drugs and drug policy.
But to appease you a bit, Intelligent Design's leading organization is the Center for the Renewal of Science and Culture (CRSC). The scientists there "have no empirical research program and, consequently, have published no data in peer-reviewed journals (or elsewhere) to support their intelligent-design claims." The only "scientific" claim that ID uses is that biology is too complex to have come about from evolution. There's the only thing that any "study" of ID will tell you.
Posted by: Matt Nazareth | April 12, 2006 12:19 PM
This is actually a quite significant study on the gateway hypothesis.
Not really. This is old hat. There's that oft-qouted factoid that marijuana users are 85 times more likely to use heroin than non-users. These results aren't qualitatively different. The key point is that 98% of marijuana users don't go on to use heroin.
Posted by: daksya | April 14, 2006 03:42 PM