Marijuana isn’t a gateway drug – alcohol is
Ollie McAteer for Metro.co.ukThursday 30 Apr 2015 6:30 pm

It’s one of the most repeated arguments used to back the anti-cannabis campaign.

But just how much of a gateway drug is marijuana?

Well, new research has shown that alcohol is actually more of a gateway drug. Much more.

Treatment4Addiction used data from the 2012 National Survey on Drug Use and Health to track how people progress from one drug to harder substances.

While around 60 per cent of cannabis users went on to try other drugs, 88 per cent began with alcohol.

The Atlantic’s Olga Khazan says: ‘Marijuana isn’t a “gateway” to harder drugs in the same way that ordering an appetiser isn’t a “gateway” to an entree: One comes before the other, but you’re eating both because you’re already at the restaurant.’

Half of drinkers don’t go further than alcohol. This is compared to 40 per cent of marijuana users. But alcohol use dominates marijuana use and is a real catalyst for people going on to try harder substances.

It’s worth noting that alcohol is 114 times more deadly than marijuana.