Simultaneous Versus Concurrent Use of Alcohol and Cannabis in the National Alcohol Survey

Background Cannabis is the most commonly used drug among those who drink, yet no study has directly compared those who use cannabis and alcohol simultaneously versus concurrently (i.e., separately) in the adult general population. Here, we assess differences in demographics, alcohol‐related social c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research Vol. 39; no. 5; pp. 872 - 879
Main Authors: Subbaraman, Meenakshi S., Kerr, William C.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: England Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.05.2015
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Alcohol
Alcohol Drinking - epidemiology
Alcoholic Intoxication - epidemiology
Cannabis
Co-Use
Concurrent Use
Driving Under the Influence - statistics & numerical data
Female
Herb-Drug Interactions
Humans
Male
Marijuana Abuse - epidemiology
Middle Aged
Prevalence
Self-Injurious Behavior - epidemiology
Simultaneous Use
Surveys and Questionnaires
United States - epidemiology
Young Adult
United States
Co-Use
Concurrent Use
Alcohol
Cannabis
Simultaneous Use
ISSN:0145-6008, 1530-0277, 1530-0277
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Background Cannabis is the most commonly used drug among those who drink, yet no study has directly compared those who use cannabis and alcohol simultaneously versus concurrently (i.e., separately) in the adult general population. Here, we assess differences in demographics, alcohol‐related social consequences, harms to self, and drunk driving across simultaneous, concurrent, and alcohol‐only using groups. Methods Secondary analyses of the 2005 and 2010 National Alcohol Survey (N = 8,626; 4,522 female, 4,104 male), a Computer Assisted Telephone Interview survey of individuals aged 18 and older from all 50 states and DC. Blacks and Hispanics are over‐sampled. Data were collected using list‐assisted Random Digit Dialing. Multinomial and multivariable logistic regressions were used for analyses. Results The prevalence of simultaneous use was almost twice as high as concurrent use, implying that individuals who use both cannabis and alcohol tend to use them at the same time. Furthermore, simultaneous use was associated with increased frequency and quantity of alcohol use. Simultaneous use was also the most detrimental: compared to alcohol only, simultaneous use approximately doubled the odds of drunk driving, social consequences, and harms to self. The magnitudes of differences in problems remained when comparing drunk driving among simultaneous users to concurrent users. Conclusions The overall set of results is particularly important to bear in mind when studying and/or treating problems among alcohol/cannabis co‐users because they demonstrate that in the general population, co‐users are a heterogeneous group who experience different likelihoods of problems relative to co‐use patterns.
Bibliography:NIAAA - No. R01 AA021742; No. P50-AA005595
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ArticleID:ACER12698
ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ISSN:0145-6008
1530-0277
1530-0277
DOI:10.1111/acer.12698