The research article by Levitan titled “Is Marijuana Really a Gateway Drug?” focuses particularly on people’s addiction to the drug, marijuana and most significantly, how one drug addiction can lead to another. The article is interesting in the sense that it argues that causation is responsible for drug addiction and the fact that people are pushed into believing that if they are addicted to one drug, then they will easily become addicted to another. The article also focuses on the detrimental impacts of addiction to marijuana such as degrading health, negative influences on the social lives and respective professional abilities of particular individuals addicted to marijuana (Levitan, 2015).
In supporting its stance on marijuana addiction as being the start of a greater drug pandemic on an individual basis, it proposes that marijuana is the primary gateway drug in any American society. For example, it provides the reader with an insight into drug addiction amongst families and how individuals who start using marijuana are compelled to use another drug that may provide a different experience altogether (Levitan, 2015). Furthermore, there are no intrinsic links between genetics and drug addiction. In one instance throughout the article, the author is able to dissociate genetics with drug addiction in families where a sibling may be addicted to a drug whilst the other members of the family are clean and have never used drugs. This is also connected to alcohol abuse and how individuals who frequently become intoxicated are more likely to become addicted to drugs.
However the main issue concerning the article is that it provides very limited evidence to support the spread of drug addiction as a result of single gateway drug. There is little evidence to suggest that people who do become intoxicated will further abuse drugs and lead a life riddled with drug addiction and little professional success (Levitan, 2015). In defense of the article, drug addiction is a relatively new topic in the 21st century and more challenging as more drugs are developed and addiction becomes more widespread in global cultures and societies.
- Levitan, D. (2015). Is Marijuana Really a Gateway Drug? Discover Magazine – The Crux, Retrieved from http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/2015/04/27/marijuana-gateway-drug/#.Vfq6FHtWRsM Accessed on 17th September 2015.
