MARIJUANA TOUTED AS 'GATEWAY DRUG'

Although most Canadians would like to see less stringent marijuana laws,
one-third believe smoking pot leads to the use of harder drugs like heroin
and cocaine, according to a new Sun-Leger poll.

The cross-Canada survey, completed April 1- 6, shows 35% of Canadians
believe the so-called "gateway" theory. Gateway drugs are those with which
people first experiment, and which often lead to the use of more dangerous
drugs.

"It's interesting that we found that a majority of people want relaxed
marijuana laws but 35% still believe smoking it will lead to an increase in
the use of harder drugs," said Leger pollster Leslie Martin.

Almost half the respondents - 49% - said marijuana would not lead to harder
drugs, while 9% said smoking pot would decrease the use of hard drugs and
another 9% said they didn't know.

The poll of 1,501 respondents can be considered accurate to within 2.5
percentage points 19 times out of 20.

The "gateway hypothesis" has long been at the centre of the legalization
debate and a guiding principal of the federal government's drug policy
since the 1950s.

But studies over the past 10 years have shown marijuana is no more a
gateway drug than alcohol or tobacco.

"This continues to be one of the leading misconceptions in Canada," said
lawyer John Conroy, who has worked on some of the country's biggest
marijuana court challenges.

"What is the first drug people try? It's tobacco. If you want to find this
gateway drug, look to tobacco or even caffeine."

The Canadian Senate's Special Committee on Illegal Drugs concluded last
fall that there is "no convincing evidence to establish the gateway
hypothesis."

"Data from population surveys show that out of 100 cannabis users in
adolescence, about 10 will become regular users and five will move to using
other drugs," the committee said.

The poll shows older people are more likely to believe smoking marijuana
starts one on a path to harder drugs. Of the poll respondents over 65, 48%
said they thought pot increases the likelihood of hard-drug use while, on
the flip side, 71% of those between the ages 18-34 said it did not.

Dr. Raju Hajela, a leader in the fight against the legalization of
marijuana, said people misunderstand the gateway theory.

"Some people take it literally to mean anyone who smokes marijuana will
move on to other drugs," Hajela said.

"But the point is, if people don't start smoking marijuana in their teen
years, the likelihood they would start using other drugs later is low."