Predictors of motives for marijuana use in African American adolescents and emerging adults.

African American adolescents use marijuana at higher rates and may be more vulnerable to psychosocial risk factors for marijuana use, including depression, post-traumatic stress, and having substance-using peers, compared to Caucasian adolescents. Little is known about how these factors contribute to African American adolescents' motives for marijuana use. This study examined the roles of depressive and post-traumatic stress symptoms and substance-using peers on marijuana use motives among African American adolescents and emerging adults and whether these motives predicted marijuana use. Findings suggest that identifying motives for marijuana use may help improve approaches to reduce use among this population.

Factors associated with early marijuana initiation in a criminal justice population.

PURPOSE: Initiation of marijuana during adolescence is associated with negative outcomes and is more common among those with criminal justice involvement. We sought to determine demographics, psychosocial factors, mental health factors, and criminal outcomes associated with earlier age at first marijuana use in a criminal justice population. METHODS: Data from structured, in-person interviews of adults in a criminal corrections program were analyzed. Participants (689 men and women ages 19 and older) were recruited for a larger smoking cessation trial (2009-2013) as a volunteer sample by flyers at a community corrections site. 516 had smoked both nicotine and marijuana and were included in the analysis. We determined associations between self-reported age at first marijuana use and sex, race, income, educational attainment, history of abuse, family problems, psychiatric problems, criminal record, and age of nicotine and alcohol initiation. RESULTS: Of 516 participants, 68% were men, and 64.5% were Black. No participants were of Hispanic ethnicity. Average age of marijuana initiation was 15.1years (SD 3.7years). After linear regression, earlier age at marijuana initiation was associated with male sex and more criminal offenses (person/violent and court). Race and psychiatric problems were not associated with earlier marijuana initiation. CONCLUSIONS: Earlier adolescent marijuana initiation is associated with more criminal offenses in a criminal justice population. Men initiate marijuana earlier than women. Adolescents at high risk of justice involvement may benefit from delayed initiation of marijuana, specifically men. Additional studies should examine prevention strategies for adolescent marijuana use that target those at highest risk.

Motivation for palatable food despite consequences in an animal model of binge eating.

OBJECTIVE: Binge eating involves an abnormal motivation for highly palatable food in that these foods are repeatedly consumed despite their binge-triggering effects and life-affecting consequences associated with binge eating. We determined if rats identified as binge-eating prone (BEP) similarly display abnormal motivation for palatable food. METHOD: Food-sated BEP and binge-eating resistant (BER) rats were given voluntary access to palatable food paired with increasing intensity of footshock. Later, they were exposed to a period of cyclic caloric restriction-refeeding. RESULTS: BEPs consumed significantly more and tolerated higher levels of footshock for palatable food than BERs. Cyclic restriction-refeeding increased BERs' tolerance of shock for palatable food. DISCUSSION: Previously observed parallels of the rat BEP model to human binge eating can now be extended to include an abnormal motivation for palatable food. This model should prove useful in identifying specific genes that interact with the nutritional environment to mediate binge eating and may point to novel physiological targets to treat compulsive overeating.