Indopedia All Things Marijuana
As if the marijuana gateway theory hasn’t been debunked several times over, a new study suggests that using cannabis does not raise the probability of using harder drugs.
In a new report issued by LiveStories, founder Adnan Mahmud concluded that “We haven’t found any strong correlation that suggests increased marijuana use leads to increases in other substance abuse.”
Researchers drew data from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. They examined drug use in legal states such as Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska, and compared it to national averages.
“We do see a spike in marijuana use in Colorado and other other states that’s above the national average,” Mahmud points out. “But we’re not seeing it replicated in other charts.”
While cannabis use in Colorado was on the rise, their rate of heroin and opioid-related deaths actually fell below the national average.
And while Colorado’s cocaine use…
