YOUNGER POT SMOKERS CALLED LIKELIER ADDICTS

The younger someone is when first trying marijuana, the more likely he or
she will become dependent on illegal drugs later in life, U.S. government
researchers said yesterday. They found that 62 percent of adults age 26 or
older who started using marijuana before they were 15 had also tried
cocaine at some point.

More than 9 percent reported they had used heroin, and more than half had
used prescription drugs for recreational purposes.

Fewer than 1 percent of those who said they had never tried marijuana
reported having tried cocaine or heroin. Five percent had abused
prescription drugs, according to the report by the Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services Administration.

"These findings are of grave concern because studies show smoking marijuana
leads to changes in the brain similar to those caused by cocaine, heroin
and alcohol," SAMHSA Administrator Charles Curie said.

The report, based on National Household Survey data, found that 18 percent
of adults who said they first tried pot before the age of 15 met the
criteria for either dependence or abuse of alcohol or illicit drugs,
compared with1 percent of adults who said they had never used marijuana.

The survey also found that an estimated 2 million Americans 12 or older
said they had used marijuana for the first time in 1999, down from 2.5
million in 1998.