The Role of Life Events/Contextual Factors and Cannabis Use in Patterns of Other Drug Use Among Young Adult Cannabis Users in Los Angeles: A Qualitative Inquiry

Abstract

This analysis examined the role of impactful life events/stressful contextual factors and cannabis use in the patterns of illicit drug use. It utilized semi-structured qualitative interviews with 40 young adult medical cannabis patients and 22 non-patient users collected in Los Angeles during 2014–2015. Three patterns of illicit drug use emerged based on participants’ narratives: regular/problematic, recreational/occasional, and never users. Among regular/problematic users, a common theme was the lasting impact of traumatic life events or stressful contextual factors on transition to and away from problematic drug use, and using cannabis to cope with negative after effects of drug use. In contrast, most recreational/occasional and never users, who reported impactful life events or stressful contextual factors, used cannabis to cope with those experiences. Family history of addiction and acceptance of cannabis use within a family as protective factors against illicit drug use among some recreational/occasional and never users was an unexpected finding.

COVID-19’s Impact on Substance Use and Well-Being of Younger Adult Cannabis Users in California: A Mixed Methods Inquiry

“…A baseline quantitative sample was recruited in 2014–2015 in Los Angeles, California, through targeted (e.g., college campuses and medical cannabis dispensaries) and chain-referral sampling strategies ( Biernacki & Waldorf, 1981 ; Watters & Biernacki, 1989 ), and consisted of 18-to-26-year-old medical cannabis patients ( n = 210) and non-patient cannabis users ( n = 156) (see ( Lankenau et al, 2017b ) for more details). A baseline qualitative sample ( n = 62) was derived from the baseline quantitative sample based on the presence/absence of a chronic health condition; frequency of cannabis use (median = 25 hits per day, range 2–101 hits per day; 52.9% of the baseline qualitative sample reported 25 hits per day or less); and Emotion Regulation Questionnaire’s emotion suppression (median score = 3.25, range 1.24–6.25; 58.8% of the baseline qualitative sample scored 3.25 or less on emotion suppression subscale) and cognitive reappraisal (median score=4.83, range 1.67–7.00; 52.9% of the baseline qualitative sample scored 4.83 or less on cognitive reappraisal subscale) subscales scores (see ( Fedorova et al, 2020 ) for more details; ( Gross & John, 2003 ). Emotion regulation has been identified as an important construct in substance use research including cannabis use among young adults ( Nichols et al, 2021 ; Wong et al, 2013 ).…”

“…Qualitative interviews were transcribed verbatim. All transcripts were coded by the first author in consultation with co-authors, who has done coding extensively for related qualitative manuscripts, using Atlas.ti (version 9.0) software ( Fedorova et al, 2020 ; Lankenau et al, 2018 ; Reed et al, 2020 ). Thematic analysis was performed deductively, driven by research questions and interview guide probes ( Braun & Clarke, 2012 ).…”

The Relationship Between Negative Life Events and Internet Addiction Disorder Among Adolescents and College Students in China: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…In recent years, IAD has become an important global mental health problem ( 69 ). Negative life events have been proven to have an important role in problematic behaviors, and also have attached further attention ( 70 , 71 ). Numerous studies have explored the relationship between negative life events and IAD, but the results are still inconsistent ( 24 , 25 , 47 , 72 – 74 ).…”