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The public is increasingly reporting using cannabis for anxiety relief. Both cannabis use and the endocannabinoid system have been connected with anxiety relief/anxiolytic properties, but these relationships are complex, and the underlying mechanisms for them are unclear. Background/Objectives: Work is needed to understand how the endocannabinoid system, including the endocannabinoids anandamide (AEA) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), may be impacted by the main constituents of cannabis, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and cannabidiol (CBD). Methods: The current study examined how the ab libitum use of products differing in THC and CBD affected AEA and 2-AG among 292 individuals randomly assigned to THC-dominant use (N = 92), CBD-dominant use (N = 97), THC + CBD use (N = 74), or non-use (N = 29). Results: The findings suggest that AEA levels do not change differently based on 4 weeks of cannabis use or by cannabinoid content, as AEA similarly increased across all conditions from study weeks 2 to 4. In contrast, AEA decreased at an acute administration session with product conditions containing any THC having greater AEA levels on average than the non-use condition. With regard to 2-AG, its levels appeared to primarily be affected by THC-dominant use, both acutely and over 4 weeks, when controlling for baseline cannabis use and examining study product use frequency among use conditions. Conclusions: Overall, the results continue to shed light on the complicated relationship between cannabinoid content and endocannabinoid production, and highlight the need for continued research on their interplay in human subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study compared two mechanisms by which mindfulness may reduce hazardous drinking: effortful control and craving, "top-down" and "bottom-up" processes, respectively. These relationships were compared in a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial of mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP) versus relapse prevention (RP) treatments to explore if they differed based on more explicit versus subtle mindfulness training. Method: A total of 182 individuals (48.4% female; 21-60 years old) who reported drinking >14/21 drinks/week (for females/males, respectively) in the past 3 months but who wished to quit/reduce their drinking were recruited from Denver and Boulder, CO, United States. Participants were randomly assigned to either 8 weeks of MBRP or RP treatment and completed assessments at baseline, halfway through treatment, and at the end of treatment. The Five-Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire-Short Form, Alcohol Urge Questionnaire, and Effortful Control Scale completed halfway through treatment assessed the predictor, dispositional mindfulness, and mediators, craving and effortful control, respectively. The Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Task was completed after treatment and measured hazardous drinking. Cross-group path analyses were conducted including both mediators/treatments in the same model. Results: Comparing models with and without equality constraints across treatments, no paths significantly differed based on a chi-square test of difference, χ²(5) = 5.11, p = .40, and only the indirect effect of craving was significant (B = -1.01, p = .01). Conclusions: Findings suggest mindfulness may be associated with hazardous drinking reductions through craving but not effortful control and this indirect relationship works similarly across treatments engendering mindfulness explicitly and implicitly. Public Health Significance Statement This study indicated that effortful attentional control is not a significant mediator of the association between dispositional mindfulness and harmful alcohol use. In contrast, craving did mediate this relationship. The indirect relationship between mindfulness and harmful alcohol use via craving did not differ between mindfulness-based relapse prevention versus relapse prevention treatment, suggesting that reductions in craving may be affected by even slight increases in mindfulness and indicate the benefit of implementing mindfulness in alcohol treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study reexamined the factor structure of drinking motives using 205 unique items from 18 drinking motives scales with the inclusion of social tension reduction motives, which have been largely neglected in the literature. A new scale was created and compared with the Drinking Motives Questionnaire-Revised (DMQ-R) to predict alcohol use/problems. Young adults (N = 1,049) completed questionnaires assessing drinking motives and alcohol use/problems. A subset (N = 368) of participants completed a 6-month follow-up. Hierarchical factor analyses informed the creation of a four-factor (i.e., coping, social, enhancement, and social tension reduction) scale (i.e., the Young Adult Alcohol Motives Scale [YAAMS]). In general, the YAAMS performed similarly to the DMQ-R in predicting concurrent and prospective alcohol consumption (i.e., typical drinking quantity and frequency) and alcohol problems (i.e., Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test [AUDIT] and Brief Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire [B-YAACQ] scores), but there were some notable differences, including that the novel social tension reduction scale of the YAAMS was particularly relevant in predicting drinking frequency in those with social anxiety. Results suggest that drinking motives can be described by multiple factor structures and predict alcohol-related outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Cannabis concentrate products contain more of the intoxicating cannabinoid, tetrahydrocannabinol, than flower products and, thus, may produce greater harm. Indeed, concentrate use is associated with greater cannabis dependence and problems (e.g., anxiety) than flower use. Given this, continued examination of concentrate versus flower use differences on associations with various cannabis measures may be useful. These measures include behavioral economic demand for cannabis (i.e., its subjective reinforcing value), use frequency, and dependence. Method: In the present study of 480 cannabis users, those who were frequent concentrate users (n = 176) were compared with predominantly flower users (n = 304) regarding the relationship of two latent drug demand metrics assessed by the Marijuana Purchase Task to cannabis use frequency (i.e., days of cannabis use) and cannabis dependence (i.e., Marijuana Dependence Scale scores). Results: Two previously observed latent factors emerged, based on confirmatory factor analysis: amplitude, reflecting maximum consumption, and persistence, reflecting cost insensitivity. Group comparisons showed that amplitude was greater among the concentrate versus flower group, but no difference was found for persistence. Further, using structural path invariance testing, the factors were differentially associated with cannabis use frequency across groups. Amplitude was positively associated with frequency for both groups, whereas persistence was negatively associated with frequency for the flower group. Neither factor was associated with dependence for either group. Conclusions: Findings continue to indicate that the demand metrics, although distinct, can be parsimoniously condensed into two factors. In addition, method of administration (i.e., concentrate vs. flower use) may affect how demand for cannabis relates to frequency of use. Associations were notably stronger with frequency relative to dependence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Researchers have long been interested in identifying risk factors for binge drinking behavior (4+/5+ drinks/occasion for females/males), but many studies have demonstrated that a substantial proportion of young adults are drinking at levels far beyond (often 2 to 3 times) the standard binge threshold. The consumption of such large quantities of alcohol, typically referred to as high‐intensity drinking (HID), can cause severe alcohol‐related problems, such as blackouts, unintended sexual experiences, and death. This study is the first to investigate whether personality is indirectly associated with the likelihood of HID via drinking motives in a large (N = 999) sample of underage young adult drinkers. We hypothesized that trait neuroticism would be indirectly associated with the likelihood of HID via coping motives and that extraversion would be indirectly associated with the likelihood of HID via social and enhancement motives. Methods: To investigate these hypotheses, we used two archival data sets that recruited current underage (18‐ to 20‐year‐old) adult drinkers residing in the United States from online panel services. Participants completed self‐report survey items assessing constructs of interest. To investigate the role of drinking motives in the association between personality and HID, both the direct and indirect effects were calculated via three path analyses. Results: Findings revealed that neuroticism was partially indirectly associated with the likelihood of HID via coping motives (b = 0.02, SE = 0.004, p < 0.01). In addition, extraversion was indirectly associated with the likelihood of HID via social (b = 0.031, SE = 0.002, p < 0.01) and enhancement motives (b = 0.01, SE = 0.002, p = 0.01). Conclusions: These findings are an initial step in examining the interplay among personality traits, drinking motives, and HID in underage drinkers and point to the need for longitudinal studies assessing these associations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: Solitary drinking in adolescents and young adults is associated with greater risk for alcohol problems, but it is unclear whether this association exists in older demographics. The current paper is the first meta‐analysis and systematic review, to our knowledge, to determine whether adult solitary drinking is associated with greater risk for alcohol problems. Methods: PsychINFO, PubMed and Google Scholar were searched following a pre‐registered International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) protocol (CRD42019147075) and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses (PRISMA) methodology. Following the methodology used in our recent systematic review and meta‐analysis on adolescent/young adult solitary drinking, we systematically reviewed solitary drinking measures/definitions, prevalence rates and associated demographic variables in adults. We then meta‐analyzed (using random‐effects models) associations between adult solitary drinking and alcohol use/problems, negative affect and negative/positive reinforcement‐related variables (e.g. drinking to cope or for enhancement). Results: Solitary drinking was defined as drinking while physically alone in nearly all studies, but measures varied. Prevalence rates were generally in the 30–40% range, with some exceptions. In general, males were more likely than females to report drinking alone, and married individuals were less likely than unmarried individuals to report drinking alone; racial/ethnic differences were mixed. Meta‐analytical results showed significant effects for the associations between solitary drinking and the following factors: alcohol consumption, r = 0.25, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.18, 0.33, k = 15, I2 = 97.41; drinking problems, r = 0.15, 95% CI = 0.10, 0.21, k = 14, I2 = 92.70; and negative reinforcement, r = 0.24, 95% CI = 0.14, 0.32, k = 11, I2 = 89.77; but not positive reinforcement, r = 0.02, 95% CI = 0.06, 0.09, k = 8, I2 = 76.18; or negative affect, r = 0.03, 95% CI = −0.02, 0.08, k = 8, I2 = 52.06. Study quality moderated the association between solitary drinking and negative affect (β = −0.07, P < 0.01) such that lower‐quality studies were significantly associated with larger effect sizes. Study quality was generally low; the majority of studies were cross‐sectional. Conclusions: Solitary drinking appears to have a small positive association with alcohol problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Trait impulsivity is thought to play a key role in predicting behaviors on the externalizing spectrum, such as drug and alcohol use and aggression. Research suggests that impulsivity may not be a unitary construct, but rather multidimensional in nature with dimensions varying across self-report assessments and laboratory behavioral tasks. Few studies with large samples have included a range of impulsivity-related measures and assessed several externalizing behaviors to clarify the predictive validity of these assessments on important life outcomes. Methods: Community adults (N = 1295) between the ages of 30 and 54 completed a multidimensional assessment of impulsivity-related traits (including 54 self-report scales of personality traits implicated in impulsive behaviors, and four behavioral tasks purporting to assess a construct similar to impulsivity) and reported on five externalizing behavioral outcomes (i.e. drug, alcohol, and cigarette use, and physical and verbal aggression). We ran an exploratory factor analysis on the trait scales, and then a structural equation model predicting the externalizing behaviors from the three higher-order personality factors (i.e. Disinhibition v. Constraint/Conscientiousness, Neuroticism/Negative Emotionality, and Extraversion/Positive Emotionality) and the four behavioral tasks. Results: Relations between the self-report factors and behavioral tasks were small or nonexistent. Associations between the self-report factors and the externalizing outcomes were generally medium to large, but relationships between the behavioral tasks and externalizing outcomes were either nonexistent or small. Conclusions: These results partially replicate and extend recent meta-analytic findings reported by Sharma et al. (2014) to further clarify the predictive validity of impulsivity-related trait scales and laboratory behavioral tasks on externalizing behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Solitary drinking is a risky drinking pattern associated with increased substance use and psychosocial problems. However, very little is known regarding the associations between drinking alone and broader health status and behaviors., Purpose: Accordingly, this study examined the relationship between health metrics and solitary drinking among individuals who currently drink (N = 99, 46.46% female, 88.89% White)., Methods: U.S. participants between 21 and 40 years old were recruited. Measures included self-reported diet, physical activity, sleep, cannabis use, general and solitary alcohol use, and objective anthropomorphic measures (e.g., body mass index [BMI]) using data from both a baseline appointment and 30 days of daily diary responses. Adjusting for general alcohol use, age, and gender, associations at baseline were assessed through regression analyses, while daily data were analyzed via mixed effects models., Results: Several health measures were associated with solitary drinking. Specifically, solitary drinking was related to consuming fewer servings of fruits and vegetables and greater quantities of alcohol based on daily data. Baseline data showed an association between solitary drinking and higher BMIs, poorer sleep quality, greater sugar consumption, and hazardous drinking., Conclusions: These findings suggest that beyond substance and psychosocial problems associated with solitary drinking, this drinking behavior may be a warning sign for health risks and, subsequently, broader health problems., (© Society of Behavioral Medicine 2024. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Introduction: In Colorado, both cannabis and psilocybin are legal and becoming more commonly used. However, there is almost no research detailing the public health concerns regarding negative outcomes (e.g., dependence) of cannabis and psilocybin co-use and motives that may perpetuate these negative outcomes (e.g., coping, boredom). Methods: Using data from a larger observational study on cannabis and metabolic processes, regular cannabis users (use ≥7 times/month; n = 97, 35.1% female, 89.7% WHITE) who used psilocybin in the past 3 months ( n = 34) were compared with those who had not used psilocybin in the past 3 months ( n = 63) on cannabis dependence as measured by the Marijuana Dependence Scale and endorsement of 12 cannabis motives from the Comprehensive Marijuana Motives Questionnaire. Correlations between motives and dependence were also examined and compared across groups. Results: Findings revealed that individuals who had recently used psilocybin had greater cannabis dependence scores than those who had not used recently [ F (1, 95) = 5.53, p = 0.02], and more strongly endorsed that their cannabis use was motivated by enjoyment [ F (1, 91) = 4.31, p = 0.04], boredom [ F (1, 91) = 9.10, p < 0.01], and availability [ F (1, 91) = 9.46, p < 0.01]. Correlations between dependence scores and coping and boredom motives were also significantly positive for both groups (all p values <0.05) whereas positive correlations with experimentation, celebration, and availability motives were only significant for recent psilocybin users (all p values <0.05). Discussion: These results suggest there are motivational differences for cannabis use among those who co-use cannabis and psilocybin, and there may be a greater risk for harm for these individuals.

Highly potent cannabis concentrates are widely available and associated with affective disturbance and cannabis use disorder. Little is known about the effects of concentrated Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) and their relationship to long-term affect. We explored how baseline affective symptoms (anxiety and depression) relate to acute (i.e., immediate or short-term) subjective mood and intoxication effects during naturalistic use of cannabis concentrates. Fifty-four cannabis users (48% female; M age = 29.87) were assigned to ad libitum use of either a THC-dominant (84.99% THC and THCa, < 1% CBD) or CBD-dominant (74.7% CBD, 4.1% CBDa, 4.5% THC and THCa) concentrate. Individuals were assessed at baseline and before, immediately after, and 1 hr after naturalistic use of their assigned product. Models regressed each outcome on time, product condition, baseline affective symptoms, and their interactions. An interaction emerged between condition and baseline depression symptoms on positive mood ( F = 9.47, p < .005); higher depression symptom level was associated with higher positive mood with THC-dominant product use. There was an interaction between condition, baseline depression symptoms, and time on negative mood ( F = 5.55, p < .01); negative mood decreased with CBD-dominant product use for all depression symptom levels but increased with THC-dominant product use at high levels. Finally, there was an interaction between condition and time on intoxication ( F = 3.72, p = .03); the THC-dominant condition was more intoxicated postuse than the CBD-dominant condition. This novel exploratory study suggests that baseline affect moderates the acute effects of ad libitum use of THC and CBD concentrates such that preexisting affective symptoms modulate the intensity of subjective drug experiences. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).