Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2018 Jun;30(3):226-237.
doi: 10.1080/09540261.2018.1465399. Epub 2018 Jun 26.

Co-use of cannabis, tobacco, and alcohol during adolescence: policy and regulatory implications

Nicolas J Schlienz  1 , Dustin C Lee  1
Affiliations
Review

Co-use of cannabis, tobacco, and alcohol during adolescence: policy and regulatory implications

Nicolas J Schlienz et al. Int Rev Psychiatry. 2018 Jun.

Abstract

Legislative reforms have legalized use of cannabis for medical and recreational purposes. Efforts to evaluate the public health impact of these changes have predominantly focused on determining whether liberalizing cannabis policies has increased cannabis use patterns. Co-use of cannabis and other licit substances, namely tobacco and alcohol, is common during the developmental period of adolescence, which is generally characterized by an increase in risk-taking and novelty-seeking. However, limited research has sought to evaluate the potential implications of reforms to medical and recreational cannabis laws on concurrent and simultaneous use of cannabis, tobacco, and alcohol during adolescence. The current report reviews the extant literature detailing the prevalence and outcomes associated with concurrent and simultaneous cannabis-tobacco and cannabis-alcohol use, including recent work that has examined how concurrent and simultaneous use may be influenced by cannabis reform. This review details how the cannabis landscape and cannabis retail marketplace have evolved and briefly summarizes the corresponding policy and regulatory challenges that have emerged. The report concludes with a focused cannabis co-use research agenda that adopts different strategies including behavioural economic, self-administration, and survey research methods.

Keywords: Cannabis; adolescence; alcohol; co-use; marijuana; policy; reform; simultaneous use; tobacco.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Abrams DI, Vizoso HP, Shade SB, Jay C, Kelly ME, & Benowitz NL (2007). Vaporization as a smokeless cannabis delivery system: a pilot study. Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 82, 572–578. [CrossRef][10.1038/sj.clpt.6100200][TQ1][TQ2] - PubMed
    1. Agrawal A, Budney AJ, & Lynskey MT (2012). The co-occurring use and misuse of cannabis and tobacco: a review. Addiction, 107, 1221–1233. [CrossRef][10.1111/j.1360-0443.2012.03837.x] - PMC - PubMed
    1. Agrawal A, & Lynskey MT (2009). Tobacco and cannabis co-occurrence: does route of administration matter?. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 99, 240–247. [CrossRef][10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2008.08.007] - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ammerman S, Ryan S, & Adelman WP (2015). The impact of marijuana policies on youth: clinical, research, and legal update. Pediatrics, 135, e769–e785. [PMC][10.1542/peds.2014-4147] [25624385] - PubMed
    1. Amos A, Wiltshire S, Bostock Y, Haw S, McNeill A (2004). ‘You can’t go without a fag… you need it for your hash’—a qualitative exploration of smoking, cannabis and young people. Addiction, 99, 77–81. [CrossRef][10.1111/j.1360-0443.2004.00531.x] - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources