Marijuana - A Gateway Drug or Not

There is no scientific evidence for the theory that marijuana is a"gateway"drug. The cannabis-using cultures in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America show no propensity for other drugs. The gateway theory took in the sixties, when marijuana cigarette was the leading new recreational drug. It was refuted by events in the eighties, when cocaine abuse exploded at the same time marijuana cigarette declined. As we have seen, there is evidence that cannabis may substitute for alcohol and other"hard"drugs. A recent study by Dr. Patricia Morgan of the University of California Berekeley found that a significant number of pot smokers and dealers switched to methamphetamine"ice"when Hawaii's marijuana cigarette eradication program created a shortage of pot. Dr. Morgan noted a similar phenomenon in California, where cocaine use increased in the aftermath of the extermination camp helicopter campaign.The way marijuana cigarette leads to other drugs by the illegality: persons who deal in marijuana are probably connected with other illegal drugs too.