Aim To examine whether withdrawal after abstinence and cue-elicited craving were associated with polymorphisms within two genes involved in regulating the endocannabinoid system, cannabinoid receptor 1 (CNR1) and fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH). Two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the CNR1 (rs2023239) and FAAH (rs324420) genes, associated previously with substance abuse and functional changes in cannabinoid regulation, were examined in a sample of daily marijuana smokers. Participants Participants were 105 students at the University of Colorado, Boulder between the ages of 18 and 25 years who reported smoking marijuana daily. Measurements Participants were assessed once at baseline and again after 5 days of abstinence, during which they were exposed to a cue-elicited craving paradigm. Outcome measures were withdrawal and craving collected using self-reported questionnaires. In addition, urine samples were collected at baseline and on day 5 for the purposes of 11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC–COOH) metabolite analysis. Findings Between the two sessions, THC–COOH metabolite levels decreased significantly, while measures of withdrawal and craving increased significantly. The CNR1 SNP displayed a significant abstinence × genotype interaction on withdrawal, as well as a main effect on overall levels of craving, while the FAAH SNP displayed a significant abstinence × genotype interaction on craving. Conclusions These genetic findings may have both etiological and treatment implications. However, longitudinal studies will be needed to clarify whether these genetic variations influence the trajectory of marijuana use/dependence. The identification of underlying genetic differences in phenotypes such as craving and withdrawal may aid genetically targeted approaches to the treatment of cannabis dependence.

The present investigation evaluated the measurement model and construct validity of marijuana use motives as measured by the Marijuana Motives Measure (MMM; [Simons, J., Correia, C. J., Carey, K. B., and Borsari, B. E. (1998). Validating a five-factor marijuana motives measure: Relations with use, problems, and alcohol motives. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 45, 265-273]). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and incremental tests of validity of marijuana use motives were conducted on a sample of young adult marijuana users (n=227, 127 women; M(age)=20.11, SD=4.30 years). As hypothesized, CFA analysis of marijuana use motives, as indexed by the MMM, demonstrated support for a multidimensional measurement model; specifically, a five-factor solution denoting Enhancement, Conformity, Expansion, Coping, and Social motives for marijuana use, each with satisfactory levels of internal consistency. Subsequent tests of incremental validity suggested that only certain motives were uniquely related to current substance use and cognitive-affective factors. Results are discussed in relation to refining the scientific understanding of marijuana use motives.

The present investigation examined the incremental associations between distress tolerance, or the perceived capacity to tolerate emotional distress, and global posttraumatic stress symptom severity as well as symptom cluster severity, beyond the variance accounted for by number of trauma exposure types and negative affectivity. The sample consisted of 140 adults (72 women; Mage=25.9, SD=11.1) who endorsed exposure to traumatic life events, as defined by posttraumatic stress disorder diagnostic criterion A (American Psychiatric Association 2000). Participants did not meet diagnostic criteria for current axis I psychopathology. Distress tolerance demonstrated significant incremental associations with global posttraumatic stress symptom severity (p<.01) as well as re-experiencing (p<.05), avoidance (p=.05), and hyperarousal (p<.001) symptom cluster severity. Given the cross-sectional study design, causation cannot be inferred. Theoretical implications and future directions for better understanding associations between distress tolerance and posttraumatic stress are discussed.

The present investigation examines anxiety sensitivity, distress tolerance, and fear reactivity to bodily sensations in relation to Coping and Conformity marijuana use motives among a sample of young adult marijuana users (n = 135; 46.7% women; Mage = 20.45, SD = 5.0). After controlling for current marijuana use frequency (past 30 days), daily cigarette smoking rate, average volume of alcohol used over the past year, negative affectivity, and other marijuana use motives, anxiety sensitivity was significantly and uniquely associated with Coping and Conformity motives for marijuana use. Distress tolerance evidenced significant and unique incremental relations to Coping motives, whereas fear reactivity to bodily sensations was unrelated to any marijuana use motive. These results provide novel information related to the role of emotional sensitivity and tolerance factors as they pertain to specific types of motives for marijuana use among young adults.

The present investigation compared 123 community-recruited daily smokers with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), panic disorder (PD), nonclinical panic attacks (PA), or no current Axis I psychopathology (controls; C) in terms of nicotine dependence, smoking rate, quit history, severity of symptoms during past quit attempts, and motivation for and expectancies about smoking. No differences were observed between groups in regard to smoking rate or nicotine dependence. The PTSD group reported making more lifetime quit attempts than the other groups, and the PTSD and PD groups perceived more severe symptoms during past quit attempts. The PD and PTSD groups reported greater motivation to smoke to reduce negative affect. Individuals with PTSD endorsed a stronger expectation that smoking would alleviate negative mood states and would produce negative consequences. Overall, results suggest that smokers with PD or PTSD differ from other smoking groups in a number of clinically significant ways. Keywords Smoking; Panic; PTSD; Anxiety Disorders; Smoking Motives and ExpectanciesCorrespondence concerning this article should be addressed to Michael J. Zvolensky, Ph.D. at The University of Vermont, Department of Psychology, 2 Colchester Avenue, John Dewey Hall, Burlington,. Electronic mail may be sent to Michael.Zvolensky@uvm.edu. Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. There is an increasing empirical recognition that tobacco use and dependence are elevated among those with psychopathology compared to those without psychiatric conditions (Kalman, Morissette, & George, 2005). For example, persons with, relative to those without, psychiatric disorders are approximately twice as likely to be current smokers (Lasser et al., 2000). Moreover, it is estimated that although smokers with psychiatric disorders represent approximately 20% of persons in the United States (U.S.), they consume over 40% of the cigarettes in the nation (Lasser et al., 2000). Such high rates of smoking among those with psychiatric disorders may play a clinically significant role in the high rates of diagnostic comorbidity and mortality observed in people with psychiatric disorders (Kalman et al., 2005). NIH Public AccessRecent studies have found important linkages between smoking and certain anxiety disorders (Feldner, Babson, & Zvolensky, 2007a;Morissette, Tull, Gulliver, Kamholz, & Zimering, 2007;Patton, Carlin, Coffey, Wolfe, Hibbert, & Bowes, 1998; Zvolensky, Feldner, LeenFeldner, & McLeish, 2005 (Beckham et al., 1995;Breslau et al., 2003;Buckley et al., 2004;Feldner et al., 2007a). Recent contr...