Alcohol is the Real Gateway Drug

I’m often asked if marijuana is a gateway drug. While there’s much debate on the topic, data from the US’s 2012 National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows that 60% of cannabis users go on to try other drugs.

That might seem to prove that yes, marijuana is a gateway drug — but (and this is a huge BUT) 88% of drug users started with alcohol. That’s right, the vast majority of drug users started with alcohol. So, the question we really should be exploring is alcohol’s role as a gateway drug.

A recent University of Florida study explored this issue and found that alcohol — not marijuana — is the gateway drug that leads adolescents down the path toward more serious substances. The study, which focused on data collected from 14,577 high school seniors from 120 public and private schools in the US, evaluated whether the students had ever used any of 11 substances, including licit substances such as alcohol and tobacco, as well as illicit substances like marijuana, cocaine, heroin, LSD, amphetamines, tranquilizers and other narcotics. The results indicated that alcohol, not marijuana or tobacco, was most often the first substance students tried.

In the sample of students, alcohol also represented the most commonly used substance, with 72% of students reporting alcohol consumption at some point in their lifetime — while 45% reported using tobacco and 43% reporting smoking marijuana. Further, the drug use documented found that substance use typically begins with the most socially acceptable drugs, such as alcohol and cigarettes, then proceeds to marijuana use and finally to other illegal, harder drugs. Moreover, the study showed that students who used alcohol exhibited a significantly greater likelihood — up to 16 times — of licit and illicit substance use.

Parents, teaching your children about the dangers of alcohol starts with you. The vast majority of teenagers (80%) say their parents are the biggest influence on their decision whether to drink. And that influence doesn’t end when the kids go off to college. A 2013 study by the American Academy of Pediatrics found that parental communication on alcohol use before college entry was more likely to prevent nondrinking students from transitioning to heavy drinking status.

Zero-tolerance messages are most protective against alcohol use and related consequences. Says Adam Barry, who led the University of Florida study, “Parents should know that a strict, zero-tolerance policy at home is best. Increasing alcohol-specific rules and decreasing availability will help prevent an adolescent’s alcohol use. The longer that alcohol initiation is delayed, the more likely that other drug or substance use will be delayed or prevented as well.”