Marijuana is supposedly the worst drug known to man. After being dubbed the great “gateway drug,” Marijuana also see’s the most funding from the DEA to help stop excessive consumption — which I find comical to be honest.
Well, according to a new study published in the May issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, Pot actually nowhere the “gateway” drug we’ve been told since we were younger. Ironically, it’s prescription opiates that are more likely to have you doing “harder” drugs.
Researchers at the University of Michigan studied 273 medical marijuana patients, with almost sixty percent of them saying the currently prescription pain killers as well. According to the extensive summary, “There were no significant differences in the rate of co-occurring substance use between those who used prescription pain medication and those who did not.”
Brian Perron, the study’s Author, says:
We expected that persons receiving both cannabis and prescription opioids would have greater levels of involvement with alcohol and other drugs. However, that wasn’t the case–although persons who were receiving both medical cannabis and prescription opioids reported higher levels of pain, they showed very few differences in their use of alcohol and other drugs compared to those receiving medical cannabis only.
Use of alcohol and other drugs did not differ between medical marijuana users with pain-pill prescriptions and those without them, researchers said.
“Managing a pain condition ultimately requires open communication between the health care professional and the patient,” he said.
