DARE
Gateway Drugs (Alcohol, Tobacco & Marijuana)
Gateway drugs are those drugs people are first exposed to and experiment with. Traditional gateway drugs are alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana.
The significance of gateway drugs is that most people with a drug dependency began their cycle of addiction by experimenting with a gateway drug. While not everyone who tries alcohol, cigarettes, or marijuana becomes addicted to drugs, most addicts began their habits with one of these drugs.
Alcohol
Most of you know what alcohol looks like, how it is packaged, and how it makes you feel. Perhaps something you didn't know is that alcohol is a drug. Its scientific name is ethyl alcohol and it is classified as a depressant, the same drug class as a barbiturate or tranquilizer. Alcohol is unique because it is legal for adults to buy and drink, and is widely accepted in our culture. Alcohol is the most popular drug among youth and adults in our country.
Sadly, alcohol is also one of the most deadly drugs available to our youth today. The leading cause of death among teens in this country is alcohol-related traffic accidents.
Alcohol also causes heart disease, high blood pressure, liver damage, brain damage, and also contributes to many other health problems.
Once alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream, it acts upon the central nervous system like a depressant, affecting speech, vision, and coordination. The physical effects of alcohol depend on many factors, including the amount of alcohol consumed over time, the emotional state and body weight of the drinker, the concentration of the drink, and the amount of food in the stomach at the time of consumption.
Smaller doses of alcohol may cause euphoria and a mild relaxed feeling. Intoxication occurs when higher doses are taken. Responses to higher doses of alcohol are varied: it may make some people feel more out going and giddy, while others will feel depressed, aggressive, or hostile. Physical responses to increased doses of alcohol include altered perception, impaired judgment, loss of coordination, staggered walk, blurred vision, bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, dizziness, nausea, and vomiting. An overdose of alcohol can cause unconsciousness, respiratory failure, and death.
Alcohol is an addictive drug. The medical term for this addiction is called alcoholism. Research suggests that alcoholism may be a genetic predisposition, and that a child of an alcoholic parent runs a much greater risk of becoming alcoholic. Alcoholism strikes all age groups; about ten percent of the population will develop the disease.
Tobacco
Tobacco is used in many forms, including cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco, and snuff. Cigarettes are the most common type of tobacco used by teens, followed by chewing tobacco and snuff. Studies of school age children indicate that initiation of daily smoking (not occasional use) is highest among junior high school students (about ages 12-14).
Many harmful ingredients in tobacco, such as nicotine, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen cyanide are absorbed into the body through the lungs. Nicotine, the addictive substance in tobacco, is so toxic that it has been used an insecticide.
Tobacco acts both as a stimulant and a depressant. A beginning smoker will experience euphoria, lightheadedness, giddiness, dizziness, elevated heartbeat and respiration rates, and a tingling sensation in the hands and feet. A chronic smoker will suffer from a diminished sense of smell and taste.
Not everyone who begins smoking will become addicted; however, when users give up smoking, withdrawal symptoms such as restlessness, sleeplessness, sweating, reduced heart rate and blood pressure, inability to concentrate, compulsive eating, headaches, and irritability can occur. These physical withdrawal symptoms last for about one to three weeks.
Medical problems associated with smoking tobacco are normally the result of long-term use. Some of the many health hazards of tobacco are heart disease, cancer, lung disease, obstructive pulmonary and bronchial disease, gum and jawbone deterioration, gastrointestinal disease, eating disorders, and allergic reactions. The use of smokeless tobacco, such as chewing tobacco and snuff, can be as dangerous as smoking, causing mouth lesions and cancer.
Marijuana
Following alcohol, marijuana is the second most popular drug with youth. It consists of the leaves, flowers, stems and seeds of the cannabis plant, which are dried and chopped into small amounts. Marijuana can also be found as Sinsemilla, the potent flowering tops of the female marijuana plant.
Commonly referred to as grass, pot, weed, Acapulco Gold, ganja, and smoke, marijuana is usually sold and stored in small plastic bags, aluminum foil, or small rolled cigarettes. Marijuana is usually smoked in hand-rolled cigarettes called joints, and has a strong, pungent odor when smoked. Once the marijuana cigarette is partially smoked, it is often held by a small clip called a "roach clip." (Roach clips are made from many items, such as tweezers or electrical clips.) The leaves can also be smoked in small wooden pipes or water-filled pipes called bongs. And finally, marijuana can also be blended into food, then cooked and eaten, most often in brownies.
Paraphernalia associated with marijuana includes pipes, bongs, rolling papers, plastic bags, roach clips, stash boxes (decorative boxes designed to conceal and store marijuana), and eye drops and breath freshness used to cover up signs of drug use.
In low doses, marijuana can induce restlessness, a dreamy state of relaxation, red or bloodshot eyes, and increased appetite. Stronger doses can cause shifting sensory images, rapidly fluctuating emotions, a loss of self-identity, fantasies, and hallucinations or image distortions.
Other Gateway Drugs
Other drugs may be considered gateway drugs. For example, glue or other inhalants are widely abused by young children in low income communities because of their low cost and availability. Crack or rock cocaine is becoming a gateway drug in some communities because of its availability and low cost.
Children learn about the use of gateway drugs from depiction in advertising, television, movies, music, and even from parents themselves. According to research from the University of Washington in Seattle, parents who involve their children in the use of one of these drugs increase the child's risk of becoming an abuser of alcohol or other drugs. For example, parents may involve their children in their smoking by saying, "Johnny, please light my cigarette." Or, parents may involve their children in their drinking by asking, "Sally, would you please get Daddy a beer from the refrigerator?"
Parents who involve their children in their own use of drugs in this manner are setting an example that says, "It's okay to smoke or drink because I do it."
Do not underestimate the impact of gateway drugs. Examine your own use of these drugs to see if you are modeling drug use by involving your child.