Marijuana use is also linked to other substance use disorders including nicotine addiction." It also reported that "These findings are consistent with the idea of marijuana as a "gateway drug." However, the majority of people who use marijuana do not go on to use other, "harder" substances. Also, cross-sensitization is not unique to marijuana. Alcohol and nicotine also prime the brain for a heightened response to other drugs and are, like marijuana, also typically used before a person progresses to other, more harmful substances." See also Drug policy Substance abuse prevention Substance use disorder Tobacco and other drugs References Further reading Scientific textbooks D. B. Kandel (Ed.): Stages and Pathways of Drug Involvement: Examining the Gateway Hypothesis, Cambridge University Press, 2002, . Wayne Hall, Rosalie Liccardo Pacula: Is cannabis a gateway drug? In: Same authors: Cannabis Use and Dependence. Public Health and Public Policy, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, New York, USA, 2003, , chapt. 10, pp. 104–114. Lay scientific books Mark A.R. Kleiman, Jonathan P. Caulkins, Angela Hawken: Is marijuana a "gateway drug"? In: Same authors: Drugs and Drug Policy. What Everyone Needs to Know, Oxford University Press, 2011, , chapt. 4, question 8, pp. 81–83. State of research before 1974 External links Is marijuana a gateway drug?, website of the National Institute on Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health. Virginia Gewin: Smoking stokes cocaine cravings: Molecular mechanism found for controversial 'gateway drug' hypothesis, Nature News, November 2, 2011. Video: Eric Kandel and Denise Kandel: E-Cigarettes May Promote Illicit Drug Use and Addiction, Columbia University, January 16, 2015. Alcohol and health Substance dependence Substance-related disorders Drug policy