Using Marijuana May Not Increase the Risk of Hard Drug Use

Marijuana is widely regarded as a "gateway" drug, that is, one whose use results in an increased likelihood of using more dangerous drugs such as cocaine and heroin. The gateway effect has frequently been cited by policymakers in defense of laws prohibiting the use or possession of marijuana. For example, many arguments against the decriminalization or legalization of marijuana have been based on the premise that the use of marijuana causes youths to have an increased risk of progressing to other, more serious drugs.
Many observers conclude that available evidence makes a case for the gateway effect. Studies have shown that marijuana users are many times more likely (85 times more likely, in one study) than nonusers to progress to hard drug use. Other studies have found that almost all who have used both marijuana and hard drugs used marijuana first, and that, as the frequency of marijuana use increases, so too does the risk of initiating hard drug use.