Motives for simultaneous alcohol and marijuana use among young adults

Abstract

The majority of young adults who use alcohol and marijuana sometimes use the two substances simultaneously. Understanding why young adults engage in simultaneous alcohol and marijuana (SAM) use may inform interventions and help offset negative consequences. To date, research has not yet examined motives for SAM use. The current study tested a 26-item measure of motives for SAM use in a community sample of young adults to identify the factor structure and to evaluate associations of subscales of SAM motives with alcohol and marijuana motives and substance use. Young adults from the Seattle metropolitan area (N=286; 58% female, 67% White/Caucasian) were asked about their motives for using alcohol, marijuana, and SAM as well as their use of alcohol and marijuana and related consequences in the past month. Exploratory factor analysis with promax rotation identified four factors to characterize motives for SAM use: (1) conformity (8 items, α=0.87, e.g., "to fit in with a group I like," "pressure from others"), (2) positive effects (6 items, α=0.88, e.g., "cross-faded effects are better," "to get a better high") (3) calm/coping (3 items, α=0.77, e.g., "to calm me down," "to cope with anxiety"), and (4) social (5 items, α=0.78, e.g., "because it is customary on special occasions," "as a way to celebrate"). Results revealed that alcohol, marijuana, and SAM motives were moderately correlated. Even after controlling for alcohol or marijuana motives, SAM motives were associated with SAM use and marijuana use/consequences (but not alcohol use/consequences).

A Daily Study Comparing Alcohol‐Related Positive and Negative Consequences for Days With Only Alcohol Use Versus Days With Simultaneous Alcohol and Marijuana Use in a Community Sample of Young Adults

“…Previous studies indicate that some young adults consciously use alcohol and marijuana simultaneously to get cross‐faded effects, meaning to enhance the intoxicated effects (Patrick and Lee, ). Further, specific reasons young adults engage in SAM use have been found to be related to enhancing positive effects, such as to attain better or enhanced effects when alcohol and marijuana are combined (Patrick et al, ). If young adults’ goals for SAM use are to increase their positive effects of substance use or to be cross‐faded, it makes sense that SAM use would also be associated with greater alcohol use compared to alcohol‐only days.…”

Cannabis and Alcohol: From Basic Science to Public Policy

“…The Virtual Issue addresses the potential risks and benefits of alcohol and cannabis co‐use, which may depend on the particular subgroup of individuals, and whether these drugs are used simultaneously (i.e., drug effects overlap) (Pakula et al., ) or concurrently (i.e., drug effects do not overlap in time) (Subbaraman et al., ). Simultaneous drug use may be perceived as a means to complement or enhance the effects of each substance (Patrick et al., ), despite some individuals reporting negative effects (Lee et al., ). The positive perception of complementary drug effects is concerning given the greater health risks associated with simultaneous use (Volkow et al., ; Yurasek et al., ).…”

Are Co‐users of Alcohol and Marijuana More Willing to Experience Consequences From Drinking? A Longitudinal Examination Among First‐Year College Students

“…As co‐users drink more heavily and experience more consequences than alcohol‐only users, quantity of alcohol use may be driving the association between co‐user status and willingness; however, the role of cannabis use quantity remains unclear. Recent work suggests there are distinct profiles of alcohol and marijuana co‐users based on their level of use and whether they use both substances simultaneously (Patrick et al., ). Further parsing out the association between types of co‐users (based on a variety of characteristics of their use patterns) and willingness to experience negative consequences would be an important future contribution in better understanding which co‐users are most at risk for harms.…”

“…For example, greater education on the severity of consequences, such as blacking out from drinking or experiencing withdrawal symptoms, may be needed for co‐users who may not perceive certain consequences as adverse. Also, higher willingness to experience consequences despite expressed adverse effects associated with couse (Lee et al., ) may suggest that co‐users have especially strong—and potentially unique (Patrick et al., )—motivations or expectancies (Barnwell and Earleywine, ) for cousing alcohol and marijuana. Focusing on reasons for use may be a critical target for future interventions focused on couse.…”

“…Prospectively, behavioral willingness was found to be associated with greater likelihood of marijuana use, more frequent marijuana use, and more marijuana‐related consequences. Willingness to experience consequences may be an especially salient factor to consider when developing interventions targeting alcohol and marijuana couse, in light of unique reasons for (Patrick et al., ) and subjective effects when (Lee et al., ) cousing these substances. In other words, as young adults continue to engage in couse despite reporting more adverse effects (e.g., clumsy, confused, dizzy) when using alcohol and marijuana together than when using either substance alone (Lee et al., ), co‐users may be particularly more willing to experience harms from drinking to achieve perceived benefits of couse.…”