Using Young Adult Language to Describe the Effects of Simultaneous Alcohol and Marijuana Use: Implications for Assessment

Abstract

Introduction: Prevalence of alcohol and marijuana use is highest in young adulthood and an increasing number of young adults report simultaneous alcohol and marijuana (SAM) use, which is consistently linked with numerous negative consequences. To better understand reasons for engaging in SAM use and to refine measurement of subjective effects of SAM use, this study aimed to identify (1) how young adults describe subjective experiences during a SAM use occasion and (2) how language describing subjective effects changes as a function of level of alcohol and marijuana use. Methods: Using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk), 323 participants (53.6% women, 68.4% White, M age = 23.0 years) who reported past-month heavy episodic drinking and past-month SAM use were asked to list words to describe how they feel when using only alcohol, only marijuana, and various combinations of alcohol and marijuana. Results: SAM use language varied as a function of age and substance use behavior but was not associated with sex or race. Large differences in the terms used to describe subjective effects were observed when comparing different combinations of alcohol and marijuana use; most notably the term “cross-faded” appeared primarily when engaging at the heaviest combinations of alcohol and marijuana. Conclusion: Young adults have a wide range of vocabulary for describing subjective effects of SAM use, and subjective effects vary as a function of the level of each substance used. Future research should consider integrating such contemporary language when measuring subjective effects of SAM use.

Keywords:

• MTurk
• subjective effects
• alcohol
• cannabis
• simultaneous alcohol and marijuana use

Declaration of interest

The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA; grant numbers T32 DA017629 and P50 DA039838) and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA; grant number K01 AA026854). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.