Gateway Drug, eh?

The following brief report is from the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).

We’ve known for years that there is no such thing as a “Gateway” drug. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have worked together to prevent research that would counter the official position on Marijuana. Other nations, more wise than our own, have allowed and often encouraged honest research into Cannabis. This study was done in France, and is one of several studies that debunk the idea that one substance will automatically cause one to do another substance. Peer pressure and distrust of government to tell us the truth has been far more responsible for chemical drug abuse than any other reason.

Skywolf.

Paris, France: The administration of oral THC in rats suppresses sensitivity to opiate dependence, according to preclinical findings published in the June 24 issue of the journal Neuropsychopharmacology.

An international team of researchers from France and Canada assessed the impact oral THC (dronabinol) exposure in maternally deprived rats. (Rats that are deprived of their mothers immediately after birth are far more vulnerable to opiate dependence than non-deprived subjects.)

"[D]ronabinol treatment on maternally deprived rats normalized ... morphine consumption and suppressed sensitivity to morphine conditioning," researchers reported. "These findings point to the self-medication use of cannabis in subgroups of individuals subjected to adverse postnatal environment(s)."

Clinical data published this month in the July/August issue of the American Journal on Addictions reported that drug treatment subjects who used cannabis intermittently were more likely to adhere to treatment for opioid dependence.

Commenting on the studies, NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said, "These findings undermine the notion that cannabis is a so-called 'gateway' to hard drug use. Rather, these results indicate that in certain populations marijuana may be a useful tool for deterring the initiation or continuation of hard drug abuse."

For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org. Full text of the study, "Adolescent exposure to delta-9-THC blocks opiate dependence in maternally deprived rats," appears in Psychopharmacology.