Research & Resources

Simultaneous Use of Prescription Stimulant Medication Related to Alcohol and Marijuana Use

This study evaluated differences in alcohol and marijuana use patterns, consequences, and motives among three groups of college students: those with no history of nonmedical use of prescription stimulants (NPS), those who used NPS with no simultaneous substance use, and those who used NPS with simultaneous alcohol and/or marijuana use. Participants included 1,108 students from three universities who reported past-year marijuana and alcohol use. Overall, 32.8 percent reported lifetime NPS use, with 12.5 percent indicating NPS use in the previous 3 months, of which 51.1 percent reported simultaneous alcohol use and 40.2 percent reported simultaneous marijuana use. The study found significant group differences for all drinking and marijuana outcomes, with the heaviest rates among those using NPS with simultaneous alcohol and/or marijuana use. This group also reported greater motives for using marijuana to alter the effects of other substances. Researchers surmised that college students engaging in simultaneous NPS and alcohol or marijuana use are a high-risk group that should be the focus of prevention and intervention programs in the campus setting.
This paper, “Patterns, Consequences, and Motives in Simultaneous Use of Prescription Stimulant Medication with Alcohol and Marijuana,” was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and published in the journal Substance use and misuse.

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