The belief, that pot is a gateway drug to harder drugs like cocaine and heroin has come out to be possibly not holding the complete truth.

A study of 1,286 minors and adolescents who went to school in Miami-Dade area in the 1990’s by researchers of the University of New Hampshire on participants who constituted 26% African American, 44% Hispanic, and 30% non-Hispanic white.

It was found that people who were more likely to use marijuana and other drugs as young adults didn’t graduate school or go to college. It was also found that marijuana smokers who were unemployed were more likely to use other drugs rather than marijuana users who were employed.

Researchers also found out that, unemployed Marijuana users who started to use other harder drugs were less stressed about not being employed. It was also found that the gateway factor related to marijuana of progressing to harder drugs faded away for marijuana users above the age of 21.

Karen Van Gundy, the lead author of the study, further stated that employment in young adults could possibly protect marijuana users from progressing to other drugs. He further stated that over criminalizing of marijuana users in youth leads to more serious problems like interference in employment chances later on in life.