A recent study conducted by
researchers at the University of Florida has shown that alcohol is far more of
a “gateway drug” than marijuana is.
Results from the Guttman scale indicated that alcohol
represented the “gateway” drug, leading to the use of tobacco, marijuana, and
other illicit substances. Moreover, students who used alcohol exhibited a
significantly greater likelihood of using both licit and illicit drugs. The
findings from this investigation support that alcohol should receive primary
attention in school-based substance abuse prevention programming, as the use of
other substances could be impacted by delaying or preventing alcohol use.
Therefore, it seems prudent for school and public health officials to focus
prevention efforts, policies, and monies, on addressing adolescent alcohol use.
According to the study’s co-author, Adam E. Barry, the later in
life that a person consumes alcohol, the less likely they are to abuse drugs.
Also, it seems that in most cases, use of alcohol and tobacco comes earlier in
life than the use of marijuana.
“By delaying the onset of alcohol initiation, rates of both
licit substance abuse like tobacco and illicit substance use like marijuana and
other drugs will be positively affected, and they’ll hopefully go down,” Barry
said in an interview with Raw Story.
Barry said that his studies were intended to correct some of the
propaganda that has infected American culture since the “Reefer Madness” era.
“Some of these earlier iterations needed to be fleshed out,
that’s why we wanted to study this. The latest form of the gateway theory is
that it begins with [marijuana] and moves on finally to what laypeople often
call ‘harder drugs.’ As you can see from the findings of our study, it
confirmed this gateway hypothesis, but it follows progression from licit
substances, specifically alcohol, and moves on to illicit substances,” Barry
said.
“So, basically, if we know what someone says with regards to
their alcohol use, then we should be able to predict what they respond to with
other [drugs]. Another way to say it is, if we know someone has done [the least
prevalent drug] heroin, then we can assume they have tried all the others. I
think [these results] have to do with level of access children have to alcohol,
and that alcohol is viewed as less harmful than some of these other
substances,” Barry added.
Just like prescription pills and tobacco, alcohol is seen as
more socially acceptable in American society because the government approves of
it. However, these substances are largely more dangerous than many of the
illegal drugs that people have a deep fear of.
Since certain drugs are taken less seriously, people are more
likely to abuse them and not keep their addiction in check. That is not to say
that these legal drugs should be banned as well, in fact, all drugs should be
legalized so honest discussions can be had about the uses and dangers of each
drug.
John Vibes is
an author, researcher and investigative journalist who takes a special interest
in the counter culture and the drug war. In addition to his writing and
activist work he organizes a number of large events including the Free Your Mind Conference, which features top caliber speakers
and whistle-blowers from all over the world. You can contact him and stay
connected to his work at his Facebook page. You can find his 65 chapter Book entitled “Alchemy of the Timeless Renaissance” at bookpatch.com.
Source : thefreethoughtproject.com