Predictive validity of cannabis consumption measures: Results from a national longitudinal study

Abstract

Background Validating the utility of cannabis consumption measures for predicting later cannabis related symptomatology or progression to cannabis use disorder (CUD) is crucial for prevention and intervention work that may use consumption measures for quick screening. This study examined whether cannabis use quantity and frequency predicted CUD symptom counts, progression to onset of CUD, and persistence of CUD. Methods Data from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) at Wave 1 (2001–2002) and Wave 2 (2004–2005) were used to identify three risk samples: (1) current cannabis users at Wave 1 who were at risk for having CUD symptoms at Wave 2; (2) current users without lifetime CUD who were at risk for incident CUD; and (3) current users with past-year CUD who were at risk for persistent CUD. Logistic regression and zero-inflated Poisson models were used to examine the longitudinal effect of cannabis consumption on CUD outcomes. Results Higher frequency of cannabis use predicted lower likelihood of being symptom-free but it did not predict the severity of CUD symptomatology. Higher frequency of cannabis use also predicted higher likelihood of progression to onset of CUD and persistence of CUD. Cannabis use quantity, however, did not predict any of the developmental stages of CUD symptomatology examined in this study. Conclusions This study has provided a new piece of evidence to support the predictive validity of cannabis use frequency based on national longitudinal data. The result supports the common practice of including frequency items in cannabis screening tools.

Prevalence and correlates of cannabis use disorder among Australians using cannabis products to treat a medical condition

“…Several of the variables we identified as having 'important' associations with CUD matched correlates from studies among recreational users. Consuming cannabis more frequently (both days used and times per day) and in greater quantities was the most important correlate of both any-and moderate-severe-CUD in our sample of medical cannabis users, consistent with findings in recreational users [25][26][27][28][29][30]. Being younger was associated with greater risk of CUD, consistent with studies of recreational users [31] and also in one of the two prior studies of medical users [68].…”

“…As almost all (98%) participants in this survey reported using illicitly sourced cannabis, we have not applied these exclusion criteria in determining CUD rates in this study. Nevertheless, if the physiological criteria of withdrawal and tolerance were excluded from CUD criteria, then we would be reporting lower rates of CUD in our sample [25 Withdrawal symptoms were commonly reported in this sample, with almost half (47%) reporting sleep disturbances, over a quarter of participants reporting symptoms of restlessness, anxiety or depressed mood, and over a third (35%) meeting criteria for CWS. It is important that clinicians and consumers are aware of the potential for such symptoms on stopping cannabis, and wherever possible, a dose taper should be considered rather than abrupt discontinuation.…”

“…A previous online survey by our research group found that 40.8% of a sample of Australian medical cannabis users met criteria for DSM-5 CUD [15] in the preceding 12 months, compared with an estimated 32% lifetime prevalence among the general population of cannabis-using Australians [24]. The risk factors associated with CUD among recreational users have been studied extensively and include: (i) cannabis use variables such as frequency or quantity of cannabis use [25][26][27][28][29][30] or age of first use or regular use [31][32][33][34][35]; (ii) other drug use, especially tobacco [26,27,31,[36][37][38][39][40]; (iii) psychopathology including mood [27,29,31,36,39,[41][42][43] and externalising disorders [29,39,[44][45][46][47][48][49], criminality and social deviance [26,36,37,41], and psychosis [47]; (iv) personality factors such as neuroticism and impulsivity [29,35,…”

Australian daily cannabis users' use of police avoidance strategies and compensatory behaviours to manage the risks of drug driving

“…The relationship identified here may be explained by cannabis use disorder (CUD). For instance, consuming cannabis more times per day is associated with CUD [33, 34] and CUD has been associated with greater drug driving [8, 35]. The prevalence of CUD is not assessable with the current methodology; however, CUD is prevalent among those using cannabis daily [36] and should be kept in mind when interpreting the findings.…”

Cannabinoids - Recent Perspectives and Applications in Human Health

“…Those who use marijuana can develop cannabis use disorder (addiction) [82,85,86,93,[248][249][250][251][252] Treatment for cannabis use disorder can reduce use and dependence [4,6,8,9,[253][254][255][256][257] Those using daily or near daily can experience withdrawal symptoms when abstaining [11,[258][259][260][261][262][263][264][265][266][267][268][269][270] Table 8. Marijuana use and neurological, cognitive, mental health effects.…”