Alkoholkonsum war unabhängig von demografischen Faktoren der häufigste Prädiktor für die Zunahme des Cannabis-Dampfens bei Jugendlichen und jungen Erwachsenen, während Depressionen bei hispanischen und nicht-hispanischen schwarzen Gruppen den Beginn des Cannabis-Dampfens vorhersagten

>Alcohol proved to be a consistent factor in those who had never vaped cannabis to begin or experiment. Researchers referred to alcohol as a “gateway” to cannabis vaping, “The ultimate goal is to delay initiation of substances in youth because the later someone initiates a substance, the less likely they are to become addicted to it,” Mantey said. “Since alcohol was shown to be a strong predictor, we need more comprehensive interventions. When we go into schools and talk about nicotine, vaping, or tobacco prevention, we need to make sure we are incorporating cannabis prevention and alcohol prevention, not just one substance.”
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>Depression predicted cannabis vaping initiation among Hispanics and non-Hispanic Blacks groups. The authors said more research is needed to understand the impact depression and other mental health problems may have on cannabis vaping among various demographics so public health intervention can target the most at-risk groups.

Paper: [Cannabis vaping use in emerging adulthood: Characterizing transitions between stages of vaping among a diverse cohort in Texas – ScienceDirect](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277953624007809)

So, some more honest than others. Got it. 

For me it was just having so many degen peers and even kin who wouldn’t leave me alone until I caved and did what they did. Partying, smoking, drinking, pills, the whole lot. Basically forced me to become a “druggy kid” for like a year until I realized I’m nothing like these people and had to fight tooth and nail for my sobriety and even harder to lead a decent life. Had to cut virtually everyone I knew off and stay busy at all times even when I’m worn out to not get sucked back down into the quicksand. Unfortunately I don’t have the resources to just physically escape my circumstances. Everything is so expensive now, it just makes it THAT much more challenging. Sobriety is a very tough lonely road for many of us… Calling a substance a “gateway” is just an excuse, and making excuses is degenerate behavior. In fact, making excuses IS the real gateway drug. You don’t even need a substance to self-delude…however I do feel differently about kids who were prescribed meds by doctors or forced to go on psych drugs, or were lied to by doctors during the initial phases of the opioid crisis. Those ppl ARE legit victims, but making excuses still will not serve them.