The increased accessibility to cannabis and attenuation of respective criminalization across the United States are two primary factors which have led to increased cannabis use across the country in all adult and adolescent demographics. Additional factors may include lack of perceived health consequences and even the converse, the positing of perceived health benefits. While accessibility and legalization most likely continue to trend upward, it is important for early behavioral health and public health research to develop the motivations and effects of short-term and chronic cannabis use. In efforts to mitigate use, protective behavioral strategies (PBS) are often employed against cannabis consumption in manners similar to that against alcohol consumption. This study aims to identify relationships between PBS-use and cannabis consequences in a population of college students.
The study’s sample was composed of 2226 undergraduate students from 10 universities spanning different regions of the United States (N=2226, 68.8% female, mean age = 20.28). Eligibility criteria included current university enrollment and reporting past-month cannabis use. The following measures were assessed in participants using an online survey software: demographics, cannabis use (via Marijuana Use Grid), experiences of cannabis consequences (via 21-item Marijuana Consequences Questionnaire), and use of cannabis PBS in the prior month (via Protective Behavioral Strategies for Marijuana scale). The data was analyzed using regression and covariate analysis.
Results of the study found that participants (all eligible participants reported at least past-month usage) used cannabis on average 10.8 days per month, and 71.6% reported a negative cannabis-related consequence at least once in the prior month. Additionally, the regression model found statistically significant effects throughout. As cannabis PBS implementation increased, the strength of relationship between risk factors and negative consequences decreased significantly.
Takeaway: PBS utilization in cannabis users continues to show promise as being a useful set of techniques in reducing use and subsequent consequences. Interventions designed for college students will most likely benefit from employing PBS in their design.