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. 2015 Sep 1:154:214-21.
doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2015.06.046. Epub 2015 Jul 15.

The role of decision-making in cannabis-related problems among young adults

Raul Gonzalez  1 , Randi M Schuster  2 , Robin M Mermelstein  3 , Kathleen R Diviak  4
Affiliations

The role of decision-making in cannabis-related problems among young adults

Raul Gonzalez et al. Drug Alcohol Depend. .

Abstract

Background: Deficits in decision-making and episodic memory are often reported among heavy cannabis users, yet little is known on how they influence negative consequences from cannabis use. Individual differences in decision-making may explain, in part, why some individuals experience significant problems from their cannabis use whereas others do not. We hypothesized that poor decision-making would moderate relationships between amount of cannabis use and problems from cannabis use whereas episodic memory performance would not.

Method: Young adult cannabis users (n=52) with cannabis as their drug of choice and with minimal comorbidities completed semi-structured interviews, self-report questionnaires, and measures of neurocognitive functioning, with decision-making accessed via the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), episodic memory via the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test - Revised (HVLT) and problems from cannabis use with the Marijuana Problems Scale.

Results: Strong relationships were observed between amount of cannabis use (lifetime, 12-month, and 30-day) and problems reported from use, but only among participants with low (impaired) decision-making (R(2)=.39 to .51; p<.01). No significant relationships were observed among those with better (low average to high average) decision-making performance (p>.05). In contrast, episodic memory performance was not a significant moderator of the relationship between amount of cannabis use and cannabis problems (p>.05).

Conclusions: Cannabis users with poor decision-making may be at greater risk for experiencing significant negative consequences from their cannabis use. Our results lend further support to emerging evidence of decision-making as a risk factor for addiction and extend these findings to cannabis users.

Keywords: Addiction; Cannabis; Decision-making.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest: Research reported in this article was supported by National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health. The authors have no other conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Relationship between lifetime, 12-month, and 30-day cannabis consumption and problems experienced from use stratified by decision-making performance. Amounts of cannabis use are presented in “joints” and are square-root transformed; IGT, Iowa Gambling Task
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