is cannabis a gateway drug?

Question 1

state the gateway hypothesis - 3 interrelated propositions

Answer 1

1: sequencing - 1 substance regularly initiated before another
2: Association - 1 substance increases the likelihood of 2nd substance
3: Correlation - use of 1st substance CAUSES use of 2nd

claim of correlation is controversial

Question 2

name 2 studies about smoking cigs leading to drugs…

Answer 2

Torabi - those who smoke = 10-30x more likely to use illegal drugs

US dept of health - young and daily smokers are far more likely to have used cannabis than others

Question 3

name 5 factors that may explain how weed could be a gateway drug

Answer 3

• learning
• perceptions of risk
• social factors
• pharmacological factors
• tolerance

Question 4

is there clear evidence of cannabis being a gateway drug?

Answer 4

nope no clear evidence
- but if it is - then we have a problem as it leads to criminality because it is addictive and expensive

Question 5

name 2 studies that support the claim of weed as a gateway drug

Answer 5

Kandel - those that use weed daily are 84% more likely to have used another harder drug
Garcia-Rodriguez - 44.7% people who used weed have used other illegal drugs
and those with mental disorders are more likely to smoke weed

Question 6

what did Degenhardt say?

Answer 6

his study suggested drugs are not causal in leading to the sue of other drugs - but rather characteristics make it more likely, like risk taking behaviour

Question 7

name 3 things that are against cannabis being a gateway drug…

Answer 7

• it is more socially acceptable and readily available
• twin studies
• risk taking genes

Question 8

how could twin studies show evidence against?

Answer 8

Twin studies indicate identical twins are more likely to develop a dependence on tobacco, alcohol and cannabis, and that a substantial reason for this is genetic rather than environmental
(relates to risk taking gene?)

Question 9

risky gene evidence -
x3 supporting things

Answer 9

• tats and piercings = more likely to do drugs which supports risky behaviour evidence
• sky diving etc
• genetic mutation - relates to having fewer dopamine receptors so have to experience more excitement

Question 10

if use of cannabis was just related to personal characteristics then twin studies should be-?

Answer 10

correlation of 1
- but twin studies only explains some but not all of drug dependence

Question 11

what does twin studies actually show

Answer 11

genetic factors for heavy use = a big genetic contribution
occasional use = more likely environmental factors

Question 12

overall conclusion

Answer 12

there is some evidence that cannabis is a gateway drug but same goes for cigarettes and alcohol

Question 13

why is only cannabis illegal…

Answer 13

no clue
- tobacco may be more harmful than weed
- alcohol is more harm to society
- cannabis has medicinal purpose
- prison has not stopped the use of weed so is there a better solution?

Question 14

tell me about Portugal?

Answer 14

decriminalised drugs
= decreased overall use of drugs
= decreased drug induced deaths
= lower HIV infections

this = no suggestions that weed is a gateway drug

Question 15

what do Kandel and Garcoa-Rodriquez say about weed?

Answer 15

people that have used weed are more likey to have used hard drugs