Pubdate: Sun, 04 May 2003
Source: Toronto Sun (CN ON)
Copyright: 2003, Canoe Limited Partnership.
Contact:  http://www.fyitoronto.com/torsun.shtml
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/457
Author: Chris Hagglund
Note: Parenthetical remark by the Sun editor, headline by newshawk

GATEWAY THEORY IS FALSE

IT WAS interesting to see that as many as 35% of Canadians still believe in 
the so-called "gateway" theory that smoking marijuana will lead to the use 
of harder drugs ("Poll cases the joint," April 27). The gateway theory 
states that those who use hard drugs used marijuana first, and that 
therefore there is a connection between using marijuana and moving on to 
hard drugs. It does not mean, however, that most marijuana users will go on 
to use harder drugs. On the contrary, most marijuana users do not go on to 
use hard drugs. The connection between marijuana and hard drugs lies only 
in the fact that people have to buy them both from the same guy.

Chris Hagglund

(See next letter)
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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens