What makes a drug a gateway drug




















Educational Programs. What is Recovery? Celebrity Videos and more According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse NIDA , by the time kids are in the 12th grade: Nearly half of them have tried marijuana Over half of them have tried cigarettes, and Over three-quarters of them have tried alcohol.

A study looked at nearly 39, samples of cannabis that had been seized by the Drug Enforcement Administration DEA. The study found that the THC content of cannabis increased drastically between and For context, the study notes that the THC levels of cannabis in were around 4 percent, while the THC levels in were around 12 percent. CBD content similarly increased over time.

However, you can also find a greater variety of low-potency cannabis products today, at least in areas that have legalized cannabis for recreational or medicinal purposes. Poison ivy, anthrax, and deathcap mushrooms are natural, too. Unnatural — and more importantly, unsafe — toxins can sometimes show up in cannabis.

Pesticides, for example, are often used by cannabis growers. There are no recorded fatal overdoses from cannabis, meaning that nobody has died from overdosing on cannabis alone. However, you can use too much and have a bad reaction, often called a greenout.

This can leave you feeling pretty ill. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , a bad reaction to cannabis can cause:. There are tons of myths surrounding cannabis, some of which suggest cannabis is more dangerous than it is, while others downplay certain risks. The National Epidemiological Study of Alcohol Use and Related Disorders found that adults who used marijuana were more likely to develop an alcohol use disorder within three years compared to those people who did not use marijuana.

There have been several studies surrounding nicotine as a gateway drug. Although thought to be a safer alternative to cigarettes, vape pens are also a concern for many parents. Still containing nicotine, e-cigarettes may act as gateway drugs as well. Although legal for Americans over 21, alcohol can be problematic, and some people need professional alcohol addiction treatment to stop drinking.

Alcohol is often thought of as a gateway drug for some, especially for teens and young adults. With the ongoing opioid epidemic, the abuse of prescription painkillers is an area of major concern. Not only is this dangerous on its own, but also heroin use is about 19 times higher in those that have abused pain relievers than those who did not. While the exact facts about gateway drugs may still be partially unknown, substance abuse of any kind can be dangerous.

Many people who use gateway drugs will never go on to develop an addiction, but for others, gateway drugs are the first step down a dark and dangerous road. Instead of going too far down the wrong path, take a step in the right direction.



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