Understanding Rates of Marijuana Use and Consequences Among Adolescents in a Changing Legal Landscape.

Purpose of Review:There is not one answer to address whether marijuana use has increased, decreased, or stayed the same given changes in state legalization of medical and non-medical marijuana in the USA. Recent Findings:Evidence suggests some health benefits for medical marijuana; however, initiation of marijuana use is a risk factor for developing problem cannabis use. Though use rates have remained stable over recent years, about one in three 10th graders report marijuana use, most adolescents do not view the drug as harmful, and over 650,000 youth aged 12 to 17 struggle with cannabis use disorder. Summary:Although the health benefits of medical marijuana are becoming better understood, more research is needed. Intervention and prevention programs must better address effects of marijuana, acknowledging that while there may be some benefits medically, marijuana use can affect functioning during adolescence when the brain is still developing

Interactions between herbivory and warming in aboveground biomass production of arctic vegetation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Many studies investigating the ecosystem effects of global climate change have focused on arctic ecosystems because the Arctic is expected to undergo the earliest and most pronounced changes in response to increasing global temperatures, and arctic ecosystems are considerably limited by low temperatures and permafrost. In these nutrient limited systems, a warmer climate is expected to increase plant biomass production, primarily through increases in shrubs over graminoids and forbs. But, the influence of vertebrate and invertebrate herbivores has been largely absent in studies investigating the effects of vegetation responses to climate change, despite the fact that herbivory can have a major influence on plant community composition, biomass and nutrient cycling. Here, we present results from a multi-annual field experiment investigating the effects of vertebrate herbivory on plant biomass response to simulated climate warming in arctic Greenland.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The results after four years of treatments did not give any clear evidence of increased biomass of shrubs in response climate warming. Nor did our study indicate that vertebrate grazing mediated any increased domination of shrubs over other functional plant groups in response to warming. However, our results indicate an important role of insect outbreaks on aboveground biomass. Intense caterpillar foraging from a two-year outbreak of the moth <it>Eurois occulta </it>during two growing seasons may have concealed any treatment effects. However, there was some evidence suggesting that vertebrate herbivores constrain the biomass production of shrubs over graminoids and forbs.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Although inconclusive, our results were likely constrained by the overwhelming influence of an unexpected caterpillar outbreak on aboveground biomass. It is likely that the role of large vertebrate herbivores in vegetation response to warming will become more evident as this experiment proceeds and the plant community recovers from the caterpillar outbreak. Due to the greater influence of invertebrate herbivory in this study, it is advisable to consider both the effect of invertebrate and vertebrate herbivores in studies investigating climate change effects on plant communities.</p

A text message intervention for quitting cigarette smoking among young adults experiencing homelessness: study protocol for a pilot randomized controlled trial.

BackgroundCigarette smoking is much more prevalent among young people experiencing homelessness than in the general population of adolescents and young adults. Although many young homeless smokers are motivated to quit, there are no empirically-evaluated smoking cessation programs for this population. It is important that any such program address the factors known to be associated with quitting-related outcomes among homeless young people, to provide ongoing support in a way that accommodates the mobility of this population, and does not rely on scarce service provider resources for its delivery. The objective of this project is to develop and pilot test a text messaging-based intervention (TMI), as an adjunct to brief cessation counseling and provision of nicotine patches, to help homeless young people who want to quit smoking.Methods/designThis pilot study will utilize a cluster cross-over randomized controlled design with up to 80 current smokers who desire to quit and are recruited from three drop-in centers serving young people experiencing homelessness in the Los Angeles area. All participants will be provided with a minimum standard of care: a 30-min group-based smoking cessation counseling session and free nicotine replacement. Half of these smokers will then also receive the TMI, as an adjunct to this standard care, which will provide 6 weeks of ongoing support for quitting. This support includes continued and more intensive education regarding nicotine dependence, quitting smoking, and relapse; does not require additional agency resources; can be available "on demand" to users; and includes features to personalize the quitting experience. This study will investigate whether receiving the TMI adjunct to standard smoking cessation care results in greater reductions in cigarette smoking compared to standard care alone over a 3-month period.DiscussionThis study has the potential to address an important gap in the clinical research literature on cigarette smoking cessation and provide empirical support for using a TMI to provide ongoing assistance and support for quitting among young smokers experiencing homelessness. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT03874585. Registered March 14, 2019, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/record/NCT03874585

A Within-Subjects Validation of a Group-Administered Timeline Followback for Alcohol Use

Objective The current study uses a within-subjects randomized design with the Timeline Followback (TLFB) method administered in groups or to individuals to determine the equivalence of these methods. Method One hundred and four male and female college students who reported drinking at least once in the past 3 months completed the TLFB during a one-on-one interview, as well as in a group setting days apart. The two administrations were counterbalanced among the participants. Drinking variables assessed were drinking days, average drinks, total drinks, and maximum drinks consumed both during a 3-month (90 days) and a 1-month (30 days) period. Results Repeated measures analyses revealed no differences within subjects between the individual TLFB and the group TLFB on any of the four assessed drinking variables in the past 3 months and the past 1 month. Pearson’s correlation coefficients revealed strong and significant correlations between the two administration styles. Heavy episodic drinking behavior was similar across administration styles as well. No differences between administration styles were consistent regardless of which administration was received first. Conclusions The study suggests that the group TLFB yields similarly accurate results to the previously validated individual TLFB. The group-administered TLFB could be used in clinical and research settings as an efficient means of collecting information from large numbers of individuals

Normative Misperceptions of Drinking Among College Students: A Look at the Specific Contexts of Prepartying and Drinking Games

Objective In the collegiate context, misperceptions of student drinking norms are among the most salient predictors of heavy drinking, Despite overall overestimations of peer alcohol use, misperceptions of context-specific behaviors have been infrequently studied. The present study examines students\u27 perceptions of the high-risk behaviors of prepartying and drinking games and investigates the relationship between perceived and actual behaviors. Method A sample of 524 college students completed an online assessment of actual and perceived alcohol use related to prepartying and drinking games. Quantity and frequency of overall drinking, prepartying, and drinking games were assessed for perceptions of all students at the university, as well as for male and female students separately. Questions also assessed participants\u27 overall drinking, prepartying, and drinking game behaviors. Results Participants significantly overestimated the prepartying and drinking game behaviors of all students, male students, and female students at their university. For men, perceptions of same-sex prepartying quantity and drinking game frequency and quantity were associated with actual behavior. For women, perceptions of both same-sex and other-sex prepartying quantity were associated with actual behavior. Conclusions These findings provide preliminary support for the association between context-specific perceived norms and actual prepartying and drinking game behaviors. Addressing these same-sex and opposite-sex norms during interventions may help students reduce their own engagement in these risky behaviors

Partying Before the Party: Examining Prepartying Behavior Among College Students

Objective: The authors examined the phenomenon known to college students as prepartying, which is the consumption of alcohol prior to attending an event or activity (eg, party, bar, concert) at which more alcohol may be consumed. Participants: To explore the extent of this behavior, the authors surveyed 227 college students about each drinking event over a 1-month period. Results: Principal results revealed that 64% of participants engaged in prepartying (75% of drinkers) and that prepartying is involved in approximately 45% of all drinking events. Prepartying was predictive of more drinking throughout the day of the drinking event and alcohol-related negative consequences. Men and women engaged in this behavior at similar rates, and prepartying was most related to social reasons for drinking. Conclusion: Because prepartying is well-known among students, the authors suggest that clinicians and researchers target it to better understand college drinking and to help students understand the associated dangers

Prepartying Promotes Heightened Risk in the College Environment: An Event-level Report

Due to the emergence of research literature examining the prepartying behavior of college students, the present study examines students’ varying drinking rates, blood alcohol levels (BALs), and alcohol-related consequences during two drinking events – one involving prepartying and one devoid of prepartying. Two-hundred and thirty-eight student drinkers completed an online drinking assessment detailing their two most recent drinking occasions involving and not involving prepartying. Participants responded to a series of questions regarding quantities consumed on the drinking day and occurrence of alcohol-related consequences. While men did not differ in drinking or estimated BALs, between the two drinking days, female participants drank significantly more drinks and reached higher BALs on the prepartying drinking day. Both males and females reported increased experience of alcohol-related consequences on the prepartying drinking day. In analyzing the prepartying drinking day specifically, we found that while men drink more alcohol during prepartying, but both men and women reached similar BALs during the event. Also, mount consumed during prepartying related to further drinking throughout the evening.. It appears that prepartying may influence women to reach comparable levels of intoxication and alcohol-related consequences as their male peers. Quick drinking during prepartying may raise BAC levels and lead to alcohol-related consequences particularly for female students

Drinking game participation among college students: Gender and ethnic implications

Participation in drinking games by college students has recently sparked research attention. While previous research indicates that women play drinking games at lower frequencies than men, the current study reveals that college women may be playing games at rates similar to college men. In a sample of 105 coed college students, participants completed a 3-month Timeline Followback recording every drinking event and quantity consumed. They then were prompted to identify which drinking events involved drinking games and how much alcohol was consumed during game playing. Both men and women engaged in drinking games at similar rates and consumed more drinks on game playing days than on non-game drinking days. However, drinking game participation was related to alcohol-related consequences in women only. Further, while Caucasian participants played drinking games more often than non-Caucasian participants, an association between game participation and alcohol-related consequences emerged in non-Caucasian participants