FED: Cannabis leads to drink, hard drugs: study

AAP General News (Australia)
04-04-2010
FED: Cannabis leads to drink, hard drugs: study

SYDNEY, April 4 AAP - Parents have been warned to take a tough line on teenagers who
smoke cannabis, with research showing even occasional use can lead to alcoholism and harder
drugs.

Fairfax newspapers say about 2000 Australian schoolchildren were tracked over a decade
in a study that found those who had used cannabis occasionally at age 13 and 14 were more
likely to be taking ecstasy, cocaine or amphetamines at 24. They were also more at risk
of addiction to cannabis, with one in 10 occasional teenage users hooked as adults.

Almost one-third of occasional cannabis users were taking harder drugs in their early
20s compared with 11 per cent of those who had not earlier used the substance.

The study, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, linked higher levels of
alcoholism to cannabis use. It said 15 per cent of occasional cannabis smokers were addicted
to alcohol in early adulthood, compared with only nine per cent of those who had not smoked
dope.

The study contradicts previous research that suggested regularly smoking the drug could
lead to adult substance abuse but was less harmful if used infrequently.

Lead author Louisa Degenhardt, from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at
the University of NSW, said the study highlighted the need for early intervention to stop
children taking up the habit.

"What it definitely says is that early onset occasional cannabis use is a marker for
being more likely to be engaging in a whole range of drug use behaviours in young adulthood."

Australian Childhood Foundation chief executive Joe Tucci urged parents not to allow
their children to experiment with cannabis.

"Patterns of behaviour start early in children, so these habits can be very hard to
break. Cannabis can cause lots of detrimental impacts all the way through to psychosis
as you get older, so the perception of cannabis as a softer, harmless drug is not right."

AAP ao

KEYWORD: CANNABIS

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