Using marijuana may not increase a teen's likelihood of trying more illicit drugs

Researchers from the University of New Hampshire report that despite concern that marijuana causes teenagers to move on to more illicit substances, its status as a "gateway drug" may not be entirely true.

They found that factors such as employment status and stress have more to do with whether individuals who smoked pot as adolescents will try harder drugs in the future.

They analyzed survey data from 1,286 public school students. Individuals who did not graduate from high school were more likely to have used marijuana as teenagers, according to the researchers. They found that those who were unemployed after high school had a much higher chance of moving on to more illicit substances.

"In light of these findings, we urge policymakers to consider stress and life-course approaches in their pursuit of solutions to the 'drug problem,' " the researchers said. "While marijuana may serve as a gateway to other illicit drug use, we find that [this effect is not as significant as] early teen stress exposure or education, work or family statuses."

The researchers also found an association between the likelihood of hard drug use and a student's race and ethnicity. Caucasian teenagers appeared to have the highest rate of substance abuse, followed by young Hispanic and African-American individuals.