The term “gateway drug” is often applied to drugs like marijuana, alcohol, and even tobacco. The belief is that early use of these drugs, mainly by teens and young adults, increases the likelihood that they will start using harder drugs like heroin, cocaine and club drugs later in life. This is an assertion that has been well studied and that is hotly contested by many special interest groups. While the mechanism of the “gateway drug” phenomenon is not understood there are well-documented correlations between early use of light intoxicants and later use of hard drugs. Where the studies tend to fall apart is in the certainty factor -- this is the assertion that all or most people who try “gateway drugs” later move on to harder substances.
All studies have confirmed a link between early use of so-called “gateway drugs” and later use of harder drugs. All studies! There are no studies in existance where ZERO hard drug users report starting out with the hard drugs, they all report first trying light drugs. Where the debate comes in to play is in the number of light users who later turn to hard drugs and the other factors in the lives of those individuals that may make them turn to these drugs. The million dollar question is -– did these people try hard drugs because of their experiences with light drugs or was there some other factor in their lives that led them to escalate their need to get high, a factor totally unrelated to their first experiences with lighter drugs (known in studies as “confounding variables”). The answer hear is unclear and this is what clouds up the “gateway drug” theory.
The reality is very few people first jump into drug use with the heavy ones. In experimentation most people are careful preferring to try out less harmful drugs before trying harder ones. This is why there are such consistent correlations between first use of lighter drugs and later use of hard drugs. On an important note: it is not true that most people who try lighter drugs will later use hard drugs, but it is true that most people who do hard drugs report first using the lighter ones. The answer seems to be that in people predisposed to escapism through drugs the early use of light drugs can lead to heavy drug use. This is likely to be the result of the diminished effect of the lighter drugs over time in helping them hide from their world more than any addictive quality of the drugs themselves. In people without any other issues that drugs help mask, the likelihood of light drug use leading to hard drug use is unclear and mostly circumstantial.
Are there “gateway drugs”, yes absolutely, the attitude that makes you think it is OK to try an illegal or controlled substance for recreational reasons also makes it easier for you to escalate that behavior to include harder drugs. What makes them “gateway drugs” varies between individuals with certain people being very vulnerable to the phenomenon and others demonstrating no effect at all. It is too simple to call a certain drug a “gateway drug”, the other factors in the life and personality of the individual in question play an essential role. In short, for some people lighter drugs are “gateways” to harder drugs and in others they are not. It is all a matter of why you tried drugs to begin with and what role those drugs play in your life that determines your vulnerability to the “gateway” phenomenon.
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