Those who grew up when Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) pamphlets were common in the school counselor's office are probably familiar with the “gateway drug” theory, which suggests the use of one substance like cannabis or alcohol will send a person down the path to try “harder” drugs like cocaine or meth later in life.

The gateway drug theory and many other ideas about drug use have been put into question in recent years as more resources are dedicated to understanding substance use, which has been highly stigmatized for decades. After initially labeling cannabis as a gateway drug in 2010, President Joe Biden even later walked back his stance, saying in 2019: “I don’t think it is a gateway drug. There’s no evidence I’ve seen to suggest that.”

Related

The roots of substance use disorder are complex and not fully understood, but one of the hallmarks of addiction is understood to be caused by repeated drug use that neurologically changes the brain. Because the use of one substance like alcohol or nicotine is associated with the use of other drugs like cannabis, many have drawn causal links between the use of various drugs in theories like the gateway drug hypothesis. However, this........

© Salon