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Young people typically try alcohol or tobacco prior to ever experimenting with cannabis, according to longitudinal data published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.
Researchers with the University of Oklahoma tracked substance use patterns in a cohort of over 8,000 young adults (ages 18 to 24) over six years.
Consistent with prior studies, they determined that few young people (six percent) initiated their substance use with cannabis. Those who did so were less likely later in life to consume alcohol or to report either substance abuse or mental health issues.
By contrast, those who initiated their cannabis use at the same time they also began consuming alcohol and tobacco (22 percent of participants) were more likely to report polydrug use later in life.
Most respondents (52 percent) reported consuming alcohol prior to the use of any other controlled substance.
Investigators concluded: “Alcohol is overwhelmingly tried before either tobacco or cannabis. Cannabis initiation at an earlier age than alcohol and tobacco is uncommon. Those who initiated cannabis before alcohol and tobacco appeared less likely to have a wide constellation of substance use and mental health vulnerabilities compared to those who tried cannabis at the same age as they tried at least one other substance. Finally, the odds of reporting current substance use and poly-substance use were greatest among young adults who initiated cannabis at the same age as alcohol or tobacco.”
Full text of the study, “First use of cannabis compared to first use of alcohol and tobacco: Associations with single and poly-substance use behavior,” appears in Drug and Alcohol Dependence. Additional information is available from the NORML Fact Sheet, ‘Marijuana and the Gateway Theory.’
