As most parents and teenagers have undoubtedly heard, tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana are usually cited as “gateway drugs” that encourage long-term use of illicit drugs like cocaine or heroin. While this isn’t always the case, researchers in Sweden have found new evidence that marijuana use by teenagers creates a fondness for all opiate-derived drugs later in life.

New Research on Marijuana and Opioid Addiction

Researchers isolated six teenage rats who were given doses of THC comparative to human consumption of one joint every three days between the ages of 12 to 18 years. Six other rats were used as a control group, and were not administered the drug.

A week after the rats reached adulthood, all twelve were given the ability to consume as much heroin as they wanted, just by pushing a lever.

“At first, all the rats behaved the same and began to self-administer heroin frequently,” reports Jasmin Hurd, the study’s lead researcher. “But after a while, they stabilized their daily intake at a certain level. We saw that the ones that had been on THC as teenagers stabilized their intake at a much higher level than the others – they appeared to be less sensitive to the effects of heroin. And this continued throughout their lives.”

Reduced sensitivity equates to larger doses, which in turn increases the risk for addiction.

Changes in the Brain Recall Fondness for Drugs

The next phase of the study looked at specific opioid receptors in the rats’ brains. The rats who were given THC as teenagers showed significant alterations within areas of the brain that control reward responses and feel-good emotions – the same areas of the brain associated with addiction.

“These are very specific changes and they are long-lasting, so the brain may ‘remember’ past cannabis experimentation and be vulnerable to harder drugs later in life,” Hurd says.

Know Yourself and Take Precautions against Opioid Addiction

If you used marijuana as a teenager, or you’re struggling with dependence or addiction now, knowing which drugs contain opioids can help you steer clear of potential addiction.

• Opiates in their natural chemical state are known as codeine, morphine, and thebaine.
• Semi-synthetic opiates include benzylmorphine, desomorphine, diacetylmorphine (heroin), dipropanoylmorphine, ethlymorphine, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, nicomorphine, oxycodone, and oxymorphone.
• Fully synthetic opioids are prescribed as fentanyl, methadone, pethidine, propoxyphene, and tramadol.

Read the labels on every drug your doctor prescribes and anytime you purchase over-the-counter medications. Advising doctors and pharmacists that you may be allergic to opioids will allow them to suggest appropriate nonaddictive drugs that will work similiarly. Arm yourself with information and ask for alternative medications that do not contain opiates.

Above all, the most important thing you can do to lessen your risk for addiction to opioids, is avoid them at all costs. If you never get started, you don’t have to worry about how you’ll stop.

So what do you think? Was marijuana a gateway for your opiate dependence? Do you think marijuana alone acts as a gateway drug, or are there extenuating circumstances that push a person towards continued drug use?

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"Marijuana Abuse Can Increase the Risk for Opioid Addiction" posted in Addiction, opiate addiction.
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