NCJ Number
161247
Date Published
1994
Length
63 pages
Annotation
This study examines the relationship of smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol to the use of marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and other illicit drugs.
Abstract
The analysis is based on a review of the medical and scientific literature, various State and regional studies, anecdotal evidence, and the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse conducted by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which surveys more than 30,000 American households. The study found that 89 percent of those individuals who use cocaine first used all three "gateway" substances; 99.9 percent who use cocaine first used a gateway drug. Ninety percent of children and adults who use marijuana first smoked cigarettes or drank alcohol. Children 12-17 years old who use marijuana are 85 times more likely to use cocaine than children who never used marijuana; those who drink alcohol are 50 times more likely to use cocaine, and those who smoke cigarettes are 19 times more likely to use cocaine. Children 12-17 years old who use all three gateway drugs are 266 times more likely to use cocaine than children who never used a gateway drug. The study also found that the younger children are when they use gateway drugs, and the more often they use them, the more likely they are to use cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, and other illicit drugs. An adult who uses all three gateway drugs is up to 323 times more likely to use cocaine. An adult who smoked cigarettes as a child is three times more likely to use cocaine regularly than an adult who never used these substances as a child; an adult who drank alcohol as a child is six times more likely to use cocaine regularly, and an adult who used marijuana as a child is 17 times more likely to use cocaine regularly. Implications of the findings for future action are discussed. A 19-item bibliography, 25 data charts, and appended description of the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse