(PS1-57) Type of Cannabis Consumption Differentially Predicts Cannabis Use Frequency and Protective Behavioral Strategies, but Not Cannabis-related Problems

As the legalization of recreational cannabis use burgeons and prevalence of cannabis use increases, people are consuming cannabis in new ways (e.g., eating, vaporizing, “dabbing” concentrated oils). Research has explored the intersecting influence of cannabis use frequency and protective behavioral strategies (PBS; e.g., avoid using too much, using a little and then waiting) on cannabis use problems (e.g., social, vocational, legal problems), finding frequency of use to be a risk factor and PBS to be a protective factor. However, this line of research has largely failed to take into account the type of cannabis consumption. Unlike alcoholic beverages, there is no standard unit of consumption for cannabis, making some PBS (e.g., limiting use) difficult to implement. It is also possible that long-term or addicted consumers might use more potent forms of cannabis more often to achieve desired effects or overcome tolerance. Therapists encounter patients who consume cannabis in a variety of ways and CBT interventions often aim to help patients reduce their frequency of use and increase PBS to decrease problems. Thus, it is important to determine whether type of cannabis consumption influences frequency of use, PBS, and problems.

We explored whether outcomes of cannabis use frequency, PBS, and cannabis-related problems varied by type of cannabis consumption among college students (n = 175; M_age = 20.73, SD = 4.05; 49.4% White, 76.6% female). Due to sample size limitations, three univariate regressions were modeled. Predictors were type of consumption: smoking (n = 73; reference), eating (n = 49), vaping (n = 41), and dabbing (n = 12). Models were significant for use frequency (F_{(3, 171)} = 4.76, p = .003, R²_Adj = .061) and PBS (F_{(3, 164)} = 4.69, p= .004, R²_Adj = .062), but not problems. Vapers (b = .702) and dabbers (b = 1.06) used significantly more days in the past month than smokers. Vapers (β = -.173) and dabbers (β = -.233) engaged in less PBS than smokers. No differences emerged between smokers and eaters.

Our findings suggest that patients’ manner of consumption may be a useful prognostic variable when providing CBTs to cannabis users. Therapists may wish to attend specifically to patients who vape and dab cannabis since they appear to use cannabis more often and engage in fewer PBS. A simple way to help these individuals is to engage them in harm reduction interventions, exploring smoking or eating cannabis instead. No difference was found between manner of consumption and problems, but this analysis was cross sectional and utilized a relatively small sample. Longitudinal designs using larger samples conducive to multivariate statistics are needed, since cannabis use frequency, PBS, and problems are typically correlated.