JUST SAY NO TO EASY ANSWERS

It's Not A Gateway Drug, But Potent Marijuana Of Today Is Hardly Ok For
Teens; What's Needed Is More Science

MARIJUANA isn't a gateway drug to heroin or cocaine.

But neither is it a relatively harmless recreational drug, as many Americans
believe.

And telling youngsters to ``just say no'' to drugs without examining the
facts behind marijuana use in the United States does no one any good.

These facts speak out loud and clear in a series of research reports
published in the British journal Addiction. Policy makers in Washington
should review them carefully before they decide where money should best be
spent on the ``war on drugs.''

The ``gateway'' thesis that has long been a basic principle of drug policy
in this country was disproved by a study by the private, nonprofit Rand Drug
Policy Research Center in Santa Monica. Americans may use marijuana at an
earlier age than harder drugs, but only because it becomes available at an
earlier age, said the lead author, Andrew Morral. Teens who are predisposed
to use drugs do so regardless of whether they smoked marijuana first.

But if it doesn't lead to those harder drugs, is it OK? Hardly, judging from
another report by American researchers. Today's marijuana is three times as
potent as the pot the baby boomers smoked in their college years, and many
teenagers become dependent on it. It's now the most prevalent illegal drug
used in the United States and many other countries. Heavy use is associated
with difficulties in school and work, health problems and, of course,
involvement with the police.

Most worrisome: Youngsters are trying marijuana at earlier and earlier ages,
and those who start the youngest seem to end up with the most problems. But
which came first, the drug use or the criminal behavior, depression and
anxiety?

Regular youthful users of cannabis typically also smoke cigarettes and
engage in binge drinking, and have experienced physical, sexual or emotional
abuse. Clearly, there's more at work here than youthful rebellion. Much
marijuana use may be an effort at self-medication by people whose lives are
hard to bear.

The war on drugs is a popular political tool for officials seeking to drum
up support from the hard-on-crime crowd. But the hard science suggests that
much of the war has been a waste of time and money. Worse, it has filled
prisons with drug offenders while ignoring the reasons so many Americans
engage in substance abuse, legal or illegal.

With this many unanswered questions just involving marijuana, Americans
should demand a more logical approach to drug use and abuse. Red ribbons on
the playground fence look nice, but they haven't reversed the younger and
younger ages at which children experiment with drugs. Perhaps an approach
based on the successful efforts to reduce smoking and drunken driving might
be best. We won't know until the politics is taken out and the science put
in to the war on drugs.