TY - JOUR
T1 - Trends in cannabis use among U.S. adults amid the COVID-19 pandemic
AU - Brenneke, Savannah G.
AU - Nordeck, Courtney D.
AU - Riehm, Kira E.
AU - Schmid, Ian
AU - Tormohlen, Kayla N.
AU - Smail, Emily J.
AU - Johnson, Renee M.
AU - Kalb, Luther G.
AU - Stuart, Elizabeth A.
AU - Thrul, Johannes
N1 - Funding Information:
The project described in this paper relies on data from surveys administered by the Understanding America Study (UAS), which is maintained by the Center for Economic and Social Research (CESR) at the University of Southern California (USC) . The content of this paper is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of USC or UAS. For questions or additional information about the UAS, contact Tania Gutsche, Project and Panel Manager, CESR, USC, at tgutsche@usc.edu. UAS is funded through multiple sources, including the Social Security Administration and the National Institute on Aging under grant 5U01AG054580 . The UAS coronavirus surveys referred to in this paper were initiated and financed by USC and funded in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The parent study protocol was approved by the USC IRB (UP-14-00148), and data access was granted by UAS’ data user agreement.
Funding Information:
The project described in this paper relies on data from surveys administered by the Understanding America Study (UAS), which is maintained by the Center for Economic and Social Research (CESR) at the University of Southern California (USC). The content of this paper is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of USC or UAS. For questions or additional information about the UAS, contact Tania Gutsche, Project and Panel Manager, CESR, USC, at tgutsche@usc.edu. UAS is funded through multiple sources, including the Social Security Administration and the National Institute on Aging under grant 5U01AG054580. The UAS coronavirus surveys referred to in this paper were initiated and financed by USC and funded in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The parent study protocol was approved by the USC IRB (UP-14-00148), and data access was granted by UAS? data user agreement. Ms. Brenneke and Nordeck were supported by the NIDA Drug Dependence Epidemiology Training Program (T32DA007292). Ms. Riehm was supported by the NIMH Mental Health Services and Systems Training Program (5T32MH109436-03) and by a Doctoral Foreign Study Award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Mr. Schmid was supported by NIMH grant T32MH122357.
Funding Information:
Ms. Brenneke and Nordeck were supported by the NIDA Drug Dependence Epidemiology Training Program ( T32DA007292 ). Ms. Riehm was supported by the NIMH Mental Health Services and Systems Training Program ( 5T32MH109436-03 ) and by a Doctoral Foreign Study Award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Mr. Schmid was supported by NIMH grant T32MH122357 .
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2022/2
Y1 - 2022/2
N2 - Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on mental health and alcohol use in the US, however there is little research on its impacts on cannabis use. Considering the role of cannabis as a coping strategy or self-medicating behavior, there is a need to understand how individuals who use cannabis have adapted their use amid the pandemic. Therefore, this study examined changes in self-reported cannabis use among US adults in the context of COVID-19 pandemic by (1) describing trends of use during the first 8 months of the pandemic among adults who used cannabis in this period; and (2) characterizing trends of use within sociodemographic subgroups and by state cannabis policy status. Methods: The sample consisted of 1,761 US adults who used cannabis at least once during the 8-month study period from the nationally representative Understanding America Study. Linear mixed-effect models were used to model changes in the number of days of past-week cannabis use across 16 waves from March 10, 2020, to November 11, 2020. Results: Compared to early March, the number of days cannabis was used per week was significantly higher at the start of April (β=0.11, 95% CI=0.03, 0.18) and May (β=0.21,95% CI=0.05, 0.36). In subsequent months (June - November), the number of days of cannabis use attenuated to levels comparable to March. Trends of cannabis use across the study period generally did not differ across sociodemographic characteristics and state cannabis policy status. Conclusion: Though increases in use were marginal among many groups, the evolving pandemic and the growing concern for the mental health of segments of the U.S. population warrant close monitoring of coping behaviors, including substance use.
AB - Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on mental health and alcohol use in the US, however there is little research on its impacts on cannabis use. Considering the role of cannabis as a coping strategy or self-medicating behavior, there is a need to understand how individuals who use cannabis have adapted their use amid the pandemic. Therefore, this study examined changes in self-reported cannabis use among US adults in the context of COVID-19 pandemic by (1) describing trends of use during the first 8 months of the pandemic among adults who used cannabis in this period; and (2) characterizing trends of use within sociodemographic subgroups and by state cannabis policy status. Methods: The sample consisted of 1,761 US adults who used cannabis at least once during the 8-month study period from the nationally representative Understanding America Study. Linear mixed-effect models were used to model changes in the number of days of past-week cannabis use across 16 waves from March 10, 2020, to November 11, 2020. Results: Compared to early March, the number of days cannabis was used per week was significantly higher at the start of April (β=0.11, 95% CI=0.03, 0.18) and May (β=0.21,95% CI=0.05, 0.36). In subsequent months (June - November), the number of days of cannabis use attenuated to levels comparable to March. Trends of cannabis use across the study period generally did not differ across sociodemographic characteristics and state cannabis policy status. Conclusion: Though increases in use were marginal among many groups, the evolving pandemic and the growing concern for the mental health of segments of the U.S. population warrant close monitoring of coping behaviors, including substance use.
KW - COVID-19
KW - Cannabis
KW - Marijuana
KW - SARS-CoV-2
KW - United States
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U2 - 10.1016/j.drugpo.2021.103517
DO - 10.1016/j.drugpo.2021.103517
M3 - Article
C2 - 34894469
AN - SCOPUS:85120933144
SN - 0955-3959
VL - 100
JO - International Journal of Drug Policy
JF - International Journal of Drug Policy
M1 - 103517
ER -