Associations of Cannabis Use Motives and Cannabis Demand in Young Adults

Background: Cannabis is the most commonly used illicit substance among young adults and is associated with a variety of negative consequences. Studies have shown that both cannabis demand and certain cannabis motives are associated with higher levels and frequency of cannabis use, as well as associated problems. No study has yet to examine the relationship between cannabis use motives and cannabis demand. The purpose of the current study was to examine the associations between individual cannabis motives and cannabis demand. Methods: Data were collected from 95 young adult cannabis users who reported using cannabis at least once in the last 30 days. (M age = 20.63; Female = 50.5%; M cannabis use days per month = 14.64). Participants completed questionnaires assessing cannabis use frequency, cannabis use motives, and a cannabis purchase task. Amplitude, representative of the amount consumed at an unrestricted price, and persistence, representative of sensitivity to escalating price, were calculated and used in the analyses. Results: Initial correlational analyses demonstrated significant relationships between demand and total number of cannabis motives and conformity, enjoyment, coping, experimentation, boredom, celebration, and sleep motives (ps < .05). A series of hierarchical linear regressions were conducted to determine the specific associations between the aforementioned individual cannabis motives and amplitude and persistence. Step one controlled for age, gender, and cannabis use frequency, and the motives were added in step two. Regression models indicated that total number of motives, enjoyment, conformity, and coping motives were significant predictors of persistence even after controlling for cannabis use frequency. Motives were not significant predictors of amplitude. Conclusion: Findings from this study suggest that young adults who use cannabis for enjoyment, conformity, or coping reasons may experience greater reinforcement efficacy of cannabis which may place them at increased risk to develop cannabis use disorder or other related problems associated with their use. Further, young adults with these cannabis use motives may be less sensitive to increases in price and continue to purchase cannabis at higher prices. These findings can be used to inform cannabis interventions by targeting specific motives for use.