Passing on Pot: High School Seniors’ Reasons for Not Using Marijuana as Predictors of Future Use

Abstract

Marijuana use is relatively common among youth and increases during the transition to adulthood. Ye t a substantial number of adolescents and young adults do not use marijuana. The purpose of this study was to examine how high school seniors' reasons for intending not to use marijuana within the next 12 months were prospectively associated with marijuana use reported 1 year later. Method: Data were drawn from national longitudinal samples of U.S. high school seniors from the Monitoring the Future study (n = 3,044; 50% female; 65% White). Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine associations between reasons seniors indicated for intending not to use marijuana within the next 12 months and marijuana use reported 1 year later in the follow-up survey, controlling for sociodemographic characteristics and high school risk factors. Analy-ses were conducted separately among youth with and without lifetime marijuana use in high school. Results: In multivariable models, reasons associated with marijuana abstinence 1 year later among prior marijuana use abstainers were concerns about becoming addicted, use being against ones' beliefs, not liking marijuana users, and not having friends who use marijuana. Among prior marijuana users, not enjoying marijuana was a significant predictor of marijuana abstinence 1 year later. Conclusions: Reasons for abstaining from marijuana have predictive utility in relation to later use, but these associations differ between those with and without prior marijuana use. Understanding the underlying reasons for stopping marijuana use or maintaining abstinence may inform youth substance use prevention and intervention programs.

Associations of Parental Marijuana Use With Offspring Marijuana, Tobacco, and Alcohol Use and Opioid Misuse

“…Given the poor prognosis of substance use disorders for long-term outcomes, direct and indirect screening in medical settings of family members for marijuana use is an important and achievable goal endorsed by the US Preventive Services Task Force . A positive screening result should trigger counseling of parents on risks posed by using and storing marijuana, tobacco, or opioids at home, educating parents on risk and protective factors, and offering reassurances that substance use is modifiable . Reducing marijuana, tobacco, and other substance use by offspring living with a parent using substances is approachable by targeted strategies, such as strengthening families, or with universal prevention approaches that combine mass media campaigns adapted from tobacco cessation campaigns, including school- and community-based programs and changing statewide or community-wide policies and norms …”

Deterrence effect of penalties upon adolescent cannabis use

“…The influence of legal factors upon drug use decisions has been demonstrated in students, who reported its criminalised status as a reason for avoiding use in separate Canadian, US and Irish studies (Hathaway et al 2016;Martz et al 2018;Byrne et al 2022). An Australian survey found that the criminalisation of cannabis use was identified as a factor in decisions to avoid or reduce use, these impacts being more prominent in young frequent users ( Weatherburn et al 2003).…”

Dampened psychobiological responses to stress and substance use in adolescence

“…Youth below the poverty line may experience earlier exposure to substance use and substance-related crime, more targeted marketing of substances, and lower parental involvement (Biener & Siegel, 2000;Wills et al, 2004). They may also be more motivated to use substances for reasons beyond stress, such as due to boredom, sensation seeking, and pursuit of enhancing effects in order to compensate for a lack of pleasurable substance-free daily activities (Lee et al, 2018;Martz et al, 2018). Poverty status may similarly influence the types of substances that adolescents use.…”