New Twist on Pot as a Gateway Drug

Many pot smokers dismiss the idea that marijuana is a gateway to drugs such as cocaine and heroin. Research has placed a new twist on pot as a gateway drug. Here is an excerpt from the research article:

Cannabis use makes young brains more sensitive to the first exposure to cocaine, according to a new study on rodents led by scientists at Columbia University and the University of Cagliari in Italy. By monitoring the brains of both adolescent and adult rats after giving them synthetic psychoactive cannabinoids followed by cocaine, the research team identified key molecular and epigenetic changes that occurred in the brains of adolescents — but not adults. This discovery reveals a new interplay between the two drugs that had never previously been directly observed in biological detail.

Using powerful drugs is risky for adults, but adolescents don’t have fully developed brains, so they’re at even more risk. Click on the link above to read the entire article. I believe pot does lead to the use of other drugs with many kids. Pot affects judgement, and being in an environment of drug use leads to bad decisions. When cocaine is introduced to the group of young pot smokers, it’s easier to say yes if you’re stoned on pot. Then the young person is chasing pot and cocaine, and if the young drug user has a biological susceptibility to addiction, the consequences can be devastating. Young people need to learn everything they can learn about drugs, brain chemistry and addiction early on so they can make better, informed decisions.