14 DAY TRIAL // University of Florida (UF) scientists have established in a new investigation that alcohol is the most likely substance to lead adolescents and teenagers towards consuming heavy drugs. Previously, it was thought that this role was fulfilled by marijuana.
The research addresses a debate that has been raging on among politicians and scientists for decades, regarding the root causes of why teens move down the path to dangerous, addictive substances, and then become addicted.
One major line of thought until recently was that lesser drugs, such as marijuana, were responsible for opening an “appetite” for this type of behavior. Over the past few years, studies have demonstrated that this is unlikely to be the case, and that other factors must be responsible.
According to the UF group, the new conclusions are unlikely to persuade any of the camps in the debate, but they do have a lot of merit, in that they could inform better public healthcare and prevention policies from authorities.
The announcement was made by UF College of Health and Human Performance researcher and assistant professor, Adam Barry. Details of the new investigation will be published in the August issue of the scientific Journal of School Health.
“By recognizing the important predictive role of alcohol and delaying initiation of alcohol use, school officials and public health leaders can positively impact the progression of substance use,” Barry says, quoted by Science Blog.
“I am confident in our findings and the clear implication [that] they have for school-based prevention programs. By delaying and/or preventing the use of alcohol, these programs can indirectly reduce the rate of use of other substances,” he goes on to say.
The expert and his team surveyed a total of 14,577 high school seniors, whose data were collected from around 120 schools in the United States. The team was interested in usage levels of 11 substances, including alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, LSD, amphetamines and tranquilizers.
A whopping 72.2 percent of all students consumed alcohol, 45 percent smoked, and 43.3 percent used marijuana. Scientists found that students who drank alcohol were 16 times more likely than their peers who did not to develop substance abuse problems.
“Parents should know that a strict, zero-tolerance policy at home is best. Increasing alcohol-specific rules and decreasing availability will help prevent an adolescent’s alcohol use,” Barry explains.
“These findings add further credence to the literature identifying alcohol as the gateway drug to other substance use,” the team leader concludes.