CANNABIS IS LINKED TO HEROIN

Dope Kids At Risk

TEENAGERS who take cannabis are more prone to heroin use because the
drug alters the brain's pleasure chemicals, scientists claim.

They say the effect on chemicals called endogenous opiods may leave a
memory in the brain which makes the user vulnerable to harder drugs
later in life.

The team of medical researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine,
New York, carried out a series of tests on rats.

Writing in a medical journal, they say their findings provide direct
evidence that adolescent cannabis exposure contributes to greater
heroin intake in adulthood.

But the team also agreed that other possible risk factors such as
genetic and social issues may play a role which needs to be assessed.

Marijuana is the illegal drug which is most commonly used by teenagers
in the Western world.

It is frequently referred to as a "gateway" drug because, it is
claimed, it can lead to exposure to harder drugs.

But there has always been fierce argument over whether cannabis use
leads on to hard drugs such as heroin.

Many claim that adolescents who move on to hard drugs do so because of
peer pressure or environmental or emotional issues that would have
made them vulnerable without exposure to cannabis.