Definition of Gateway drug

1. Noun. A habit-forming drug that is not addictive but its use may lead to the use of other addictive drugs. "One college athlete recently called beer a gateway drug for young people"

Generic synonyms: Drug Of Abuse, Street Drug

Definition of Gateway drug

1. Noun. An addictive substance that is seen as relatively harmless by itself, but is believed to encourage the user to experiment with more harmful substances. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Lexicographical Neighbors of Gateway Drug

gatekept
gateleg
gateleg table
gatelegs
gateless
gatelike
gateline
gatelines
gateman
gatemen
gatepost
gateposts
gater
gaters
gateway
gateway drug (current term)
gateway drugs
gateways
gatewise
gatewoman
gatewomen
gath
gather
gather dust
gather in
gather one's thoughts
gather one's wits
gather up
gatherable
gathered

Literary usage of Gateway drug

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Preventing Tobacco Use Among Young People: A Report of the Surgeon General by M. Joycelyn Elders (1997)
"The association of cigarette smoking and illegal drug use suggests that cigarettes may be an entry-level or gateway drug in a sequence of progressive drug ..."

2. Stopping Alcohol & Other Drug Use Before It Starts: The Future of Prevention edited by Robert L. DuPont (1996)
"... a gateway drug, especially in urban poverty communities. The committee's focus on these four drugs is not meant to minimize the serious problems young ..."

3. Marijuana Use in America: Hearing Before the Committee on the Judiciary U. S (1996)
"Marijuana is a gateway drug, and it's a gateway drug to other experimentation. We at the Congress, somebody has to take the lead in this country as it ..."

4. Drug Use Among Racial/Ethnic Minorities edited by Andrea Kopstein (1998)
"It has been called a gateway drug because it has been shown to be related to subsequent use of other illicit drugs (Kandel et al. 1987). ..."

5. The Drug Connection in U. S.-Mexican Relations edited by Guadalupe Gonzalez, Marta Tienda (1996)
"Marijuana, in turn, is considered a "gateway" drug; few youths begin the use of other illicit drugs without first using marijuana. Frequent use of marijuana ..."

6. Medical Marijuana Referenda Movement in America: Hearing Before the edited by Bill McCollum (2001)
"Moreover, marijuana is a "gateway" drug, leading children into more harmful drug use and eventually addictions. a. Drug Use is Up Among Young People The ..."

7. Cocaine Use in America: Epidemmiologic and Clinical Perspectives edited by Nicholas J. Kozel, Edgar H. Adams (1996)
"... 5 imply that use of cocaine in the United States may be best understood with reference to use of other drugs, particularly the gateway drug marijuana. ..."

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