KU addiction center study explores how next-day responsibilities influence cannabis use

LAWRENCE — People who use cannabis at least once a month may consume the drug before low-stakes activities, but what if they had other responsibilities, such as taking care of their children? 

That question was at the center of a study recently published by a diverse team of authors at the Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment and Brown University. The researchers explored how next-day responsibilities affected choices about cannabis consumption among 177 adults.   

Study participants evaluated how much cannabis they would consume at increasing prices in the context of activities scheduled for the next day that spanned work, leisure and caregiving.  

The findings, published in September, showed that people are less likely to consume cannabis if they had an upcoming activity, which is consistent with other studies, and would reduce use the most for job interviews and caring for children.   

However, people who rated the suitability of using cannabis in each situation more highly also were more likely to consider using the drug.  

“One of the things that we know about addictive disorders is that people often will continue to consume the substance despite it causing consequences for them,” said Michael Amlung, associate director for training at the Cofrin Logan Center at the KU Life Span Institute. “That could be an indicator of a potentially more problematic substance use pattern.”  

Choosing to consume substances even when they interfere with fulfilling responsibilities is one of the signs of substance use disorder, identified by the American Psychiatric Association.   

Amlung said that prior research had not explored why or why not people might reduce their cannabis consumption before an activity.  

“The themes that we identified were really unique, and nobody has really looked at the specific reasons for why people might reduce their consumption when they have important activities happening in the near future,” Amlung said.  

Researchers found there were commonalities among people who wouldn't alter their cannabis consumption. This included people who believed cannabis use wouldn’t interfere with their responsibilities, or it was considered socially acceptable, so they would continue their consumption patterns.  

Amlung said there was also a sizable group of study participants who said cannabis had positive effects for them — such as helping them sleep better or reducing anxiety — in which case they could be more likely to consume the drug.  However, Amlung emphasized that the science supporting the viewpoint that cannabis improves sleep or reduces anxiety is inconsistent. 

A diverse team of researchers that included graduate and undergraduate students contributed to the paper, along with faculty and a postdoctoral fellowship researcher. Amlung noted that it’s somewhat unusual for undergraduate students to be authors in a published scientific paper, but they earned their byline with their hard work as equal contributors to the research.  

“This captures one of the biggest things that KU prides itself on, which is engaging undergraduate students directly in scientific research,” Amlung said. 

If students are planning to go into a research or clinical science field, they should have a strong understanding of what’s involved, he said. 

“The best way for undergraduate students to get that exposure,” said Amlung, “is to actually do research.” 

The research, “Exploring the suitability of cannabis use with next-day responsibilities: A behavioral-economic and qualitative study,” was published in the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.