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Progression to drug use from adolescent initiation of marijuana among South Korean inmates: a propensity score matching technique

ABSTRACT In this paper, we examined whether adolescent marijuana use is related to progression to other drug use in adulthood. Propensity score matching was used to estimate the relationship between marijuana initiation before age 18 and adult drug use with a sample of South Korean inmates. One hundred and one pairs were matched based on 17 covariates that represent individual, family, school, and social aspects of the sample. We found that youth who used marijuana were at a higher risk of progressing to use opiates, hallucinogens, and stimulants in adulthood as compared to those who did not use marijuana before age 18 or began at a later age. No relationship was found with crack/cocaine. Our findings indicate that early use of marijuana may increase the risks for escalation to other drug use in adulthood and provide guidance to educate youth, parents, and communities about the risk of early access to marijuana.