Marijuana – Not A Gateway Drug
The ‘Gateway Hypothesis’ suggests that usage of one substance leads to the subsequent use or abuse of other substance. And citing the hypothesis, governments have even imposed a ban on the growth, sale, and purchase of Marijuana.
However, scientific reports haven’t found any conclusive results that the usage of marijuana leads to abuse of other drugs as suggested by the hypothesis. Moreover, researchers even found that there’s no relation of Marijuana as a gateway drug and suggested that there are other factors which cause marijuana smokers to try some other drug.
An employee of a media house feels that Marijuana is often considered as a gateway drug but that is not entirely the case and it should be rather seen from the historical background, especially of the Indian societies where it was the part and parcel of the spiritual life. “We should look at marijuana, in the same way, today and should benefit from it as it's retarded highly efficient in healing or using it as a medication for certain diseases like cancer.” he further added.
The recent researches in the field suggest that the actual prevalence of the drug use or abuse is almost impossible to quantify, and there are queries regarding the credibility of the research as respondents lie on this sensitive and personal issue.
Although, the fact that smoking marijuana might lead to other substance use can’t be completed denied as there are individuals who would have taken a leap forward and have tried harder drugs. But at the same time, there were people who never went ahead of marijuana. Also, for people with serious drugs abuse, marijuana has helped them as an ‘Exit Drug’, helping abusers to quit harder substances and to satisfy the urge with potentially less harmful marijuana.
Also, the recreational and medicinal factors of marijuana can’t be simply denied. People using it for artistic purposes, or as a medicine prescribed by legal practitioners have a rare chance of moving towards other drugs.
Even in the case where individuals intaking marijuana switched to other harmful substances could be proved scientifically, it would be unpopular to assume that it was the gateway role of marijuana which attracted the individuals towards other drugs. There are other factors at play like simply using whatever drug was accessible, peer-pressure, which can lead to the usage of harder drugs.
