Teens who use cannabis show higher risk of taking other illicit drugs

Teenagers who use cannabis are more likely to smoke, drink in a harmful way, and take other illicit drugs in early adulthood than non-users, a study has found. Although the study was observational, researchers from the University of Bristol concluded that more should be done to reduce young people’s cannabis exposure.1

Cannabis has often been cited as a “gateway” to other drug use, said the researchers, but the evidence for this has been inconsistent.

To explore the link they used data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), …