Drug Use Observation

From as early as their days in elementary school, most young Americans have had to come to terms with MJ as a pervasive element in their lives (Levinthal, 2014). The National Survey on Drug Use and Health conducted in 2011, it is estimated that an astounding 108 million Americans, about 42% of the U.S. population over the age of twelve, have smoked MJ at least once during their lives. With this in mind, it is not surprising that more and more states are beginning to vote on whether to pass bills that would decriminalize and/or legalize MJ. Although MJ is undoubtedly the dominant illicit drug in the U.S. society and increased risk taking is a normal part of growing up and becoming an adult (Erickson, 1968; Verkooijen, Nielsen, & de Vries, 2007), it also makes young people vulnerable to serious health problems (Verkooijen, Nielsen, & de Vries, 2007) such as social anxiety and driving impairments.

Social Anxiety

Individuals with elevated social anxiety appear particularly vulnerable to MJ related problems (Buckner & Schmidt, 2009). Nearly one third of people with cannabis dependence also have social anxiety disorder (SAD), a rate higher than for any other anxiety disorder (Agosti, Nunes, & Levin, 2002; Buckner et al, 2012). No other mood or anxiety disorder remained significantly related to subsequent cannabis dependence after controlling for Axis I disorder comorbidity, suggesting that clinically elevated social anxiety is an important risk factor for MJ related problems (Buckner, Matthews, Silgado, & Heimberg, 2012).

Socially anxious individuals may use MJ to manage chronically elevated anxiety. In partial support of this hypothesis, Buckner (2007) reported that elevated social anxiety was related to using MJ to cope with nega...

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Buckner, J. D., Matthews, R. A., Silgado, J., & Heimberg, R. (2012). Marijuana-related problems and Social anxiety: The role of marijuana behaviors of social situations. Psychology of Addictive Behavior, 151-156.

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Delong, F. L., & Levy , B. I. (1974). A model of attention describing the cognitive effects of marijuana. Marijuana: Effects on human behavior , 103-117.

Levinthal, C. F. (2014). Drugs, Behavior, and Modern Society . Boston: Pearson .

Verkooijen, K. T., Nielsen, G. A., & de Vries, N. K. (2007). Youth crowds and substance abuse: The impact of perceived group norm and multiple group identification. Psychology of Addictive Behavior, 55-61.