Bolts Olivia L, Prince Mark A, Noel Nora E
Department of Psychology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.
Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, North Carolina, USA.
Subst Use Misuse. 2023;58(7):939-946. doi: 10.1080/10826084.2023.2198596. Epub 2023 Apr 10.
: Recent and prospective changes to nonmedical/recreational cannabis laws in the United States and abroad raise questions about how legalization may influence cannabis use behaviors. : In the current study, we examined links between legalization, context-specific likelihood of using cannabis, and cannabis expectancies using cross-sectional survey data from 121 college students who had never used or were abstaining from cannabis in a U.S. state where laws prohibit nonmedical cannabis. : We found that across scenarios, 61% of students reported they would be more likely to use cannabis if it were legal. Social/sexual facilitation expectancies predicted a higher likelihood of using cannabis after legalization in a social context. Relaxation/tension reduction expectancies predicted a higher likelihood of using in an anxiety relief context. Perceptual/cognitive enhancement expectancies predicted a higher likelihood of using in a pain relief context. Cognitive/behavioral impairment expectancies predicted a lower likelihood of using in social, pain relief, relaxation, and concert contexts. Global negative effects expectancies predicted a lower likelihood of using in relaxation and concert contexts. : Our findings suggest that among college students who do not use cannabis, expectancies are linked to cannabis use likelihood in certain contexts if cannabis were legal. This work highlights cannabis expectancies and contexts as possible targets for evidence-based public health education and clinical prevention initiatives related to the potential increase in cannabis use associated with cannabis policy implementation. College students may benefit from initiatives that address cannabis expectancies and enhance harm reduction skills to help them effectively navigate contexts in which cannabis is available to them.
美国国内外非医疗/娱乐用大麻法律近期及未来的变化引发了关于合法化如何影响大麻使用行为的问题。在当前研究中，我们使用来自121名大学生的横断面调查数据，考察了合法化、特定情境下使用大麻的可能性以及大麻预期之间的联系，这些学生来自美国一个法律禁止非医疗用大麻的州，他们从未使用过大麻或正在戒除大麻。我们发现，在各种情境下，61%的学生表示如果大麻合法化，他们更有可能使用大麻。社会/性促进预期预测在社会情境下大麻合法化后使用大麻的可能性更高。放松/减轻紧张预期预测在缓解焦虑情境下使用大麻的可能性更高。感知/认知增强预期预测在缓解疼痛情境下使用大麻的可能性更高。认知/行为损害预期预测在社交、缓解疼痛、放松和音乐会情境下使用大麻的可能性较低。总体负面影响预期预测在放松和音乐会情境下使用大麻的可能性较低。我们的研究结果表明，在不使用大麻的大学生中，如果大麻合法化，预期与特定情境下使用大麻的可能性相关。这项工作强调大麻预期和情境可能是基于证据的公共卫生教育和临床预防举措的目标，这些举措与大麻政策实施可能导致的大麻使用增加有关。大学生可能会从解决大麻预期并提高减少伤害技能的举措中受益，以帮助他们有效应对可获得大麻的情境。
