DRUG MYTHS DEBUNKED

As marijuana arrests steadily increase, recent studies have refuted two
concerns (or is myth the proper term?) that are central motivations for
American drug policy: 1) Marijuana is a gateway drug and 2) Medical
marijuana would be abused by adolescents. A Project RAND study of data from
the US National Household Survey on Drug Abuse shows that few marijuana
users ever graduate to harder drugs. The Canadian Senate and US National
Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine have also issued reports
criticizing this theory that guides so much of our nation's drug policy.
NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) Foundation
Executive Allen St. Pierre commented, "Statistically, for every 104
Americans who have tried marijuana, there is only one regular user of
cocaine and less than one user of heroin. For the overwhelming majority of
marijuana smokers, pot is clearly a 'terminus' rather than a gateway."

In addition, the General Accounting Office of Congress has reported that
the legalization of the use and possession of medical marijuana (eight
states have enacted medical marijuana legalization laws since 1996) has not
led to widespread abuse as expected by critics. Most patients qualified to
use medical marijuana suffer from chronic pain and/or multiple sclerosis,
and only one state, Alaska, reported registering a medical marijuana
patient under the age of 18. Authors of the report determined, "None of the
federal officials we spoke with provided information to support a statement
that abuse of medical marijuana laws was routinely occurring in any of the
states, including California."