Gateway Drug Theory

Marijuana is one of the most controversial topics in America. There are people that say marijuana is a gateway drug, which means that using marijuana will lead to the use of more hardcore drugs like speed, cocaine, ecstasy, and/or heroin. In an article published in 2012 called Marijuana is not a Gateway Drug by Bruce Marken explains his reasons on why he believes marijuana is not a gateway drug. He provides information about two studies that show that there is no links into why marijuana leads to other drug use. Bruce Mirken has some good reasoning on why marijuana isn’t a gateway drug with the two studies he provides. In this article Bruce Mirken talks about two studies that want to prove that marijuana is not a gateway drug. He basically talk about how researchers …show more content…
His reasons on why people shouldn’t believe marijuana that drug that lead you to the use of other hardcore drug. In one of the studies that he provides us with he talks about the gateway theory. What the gateway theory is presented by John Walter the drug czar. In a speech he gives back in 2004 in New Mexico, according to the Albuquerque Journal “Walter emphasized that marijuana is a “gateway drug” that can lead to other chemical dependencies.” (Walter,par. 5) Walters believes are that progression from one drug to the other leads to a more illegal substance like alcohol and tobacco leads to the use of marijuana and the then from their it leads to the use of cocaine. Any government official uses this theory to stop the legalization of marijuana but with two studies provided in this article it shows that the gateway theory can’t be backed up with any