Marijuana not a gateway drug, says addiction psychiatrist

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An addiction psychiatrist has said smoking marijuana does not necessarily cause addiction to other drugs later in life, contradicting the common theory it is a 'gateway drug'.

Dr Kevin Hill, a director at McLean psychiatric hospital in Massachusetts and assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard University was answering questions about marijuana on Reddit, when he shared his opinion.

Responding to a question regarding the claim that marijuana is a gateway drug — defined as a drug that could lead the user to try more addictive, or ‘harder', drugs, Dr Hill said: “I think in the US, when people say ‘gateway’, they imply a causal relationship. If you use [marijuana], you will automatically move on to become addicted to other drugs later.”

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“I don’t think of it that way people who have addiction problems at 25 or 45 often describe initial use of ‘mj’ or alcohol or nicotine...

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