BMJ  2006;332:197 (28 January), doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7535.197-b

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Twin study shows cannabis makes moving to hard drugs more likely

Tony Sheldon

Utrecht

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The chance of Dutch teenagers using hard drugs later in life is six times greater among those who use cannabis than among those who don't. This is the conclusion of a study from Amsterdam's Free University.

The authors of the study, which was published online ahead of print on 10 January in Behavior Genetics (www.springerlink.com, doi: 10.1007/s10519-005-9023-x), say that preventing teenagers under 18 using cannabis can be important in ensuring that they don't move to hard drugs later.

The study casts doubt on one of the main arguments underpinning the tolerant policy towards cannabis in the Netherlands. This policy is designed to separate the markets of soft and hard drugs, thus protecting cannabis users from the criminal environment of hard drugs.

Its findings are similar to that of another study that was conducted in Australia, where cannabis remains illegal (JAMA 2003;289: 427-33[Abstract/Free Full Text]).

. . . [Full text of this article]


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