Earlier this week, Swiss researchers released the findings of a survey they disseminated to more than 5,000 Switzerland youth. In essence, the study (conducted in 2002) determined among those 16- to 20-year-olds who smoked marijuana only, marijuana and cigarettes, or abstained from both, the group who solely smoked marijuana were “more socially driven … significantly more likely to practice sports and they have a better relationship with their peers,” than those who smoked neither.

The study, published in this month’s issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Medicine, appears to contradict the widely-held belief that marijuana is a gateway drug and its use can lead to experimentation in other drugs … which leads me to my point and our current ASBJ cover story, “Politics and Research.”

Just about any topic can be spun, stretched, dissected, or altered in some way to achieve different results, as Senior Editor Del Stover discovered in reporting on the field of education research. That’s not to say there isn’t merit or value in many of these reports, even the bad ones.

Nor am I saying the Swiss researchers who conducted the marijuana-use survey were purposefully trying to skew the findings, or that what they found isn’t true. It just may only be true for that small group. In Switzerland, marijuana-use has risen among that age group, in contrast to the decline it has made among American teens.

Research can only tell us so much, and it’s up to you as savvy consumers of the literature to determine what to take from it and what to leave behind.

Naomi Dillon, Senior Editor