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Co-Use of Alcohol and Marijuana and Beliefs among Teens in Oregon

January 31, 2021

New research from the Prevention Research Center of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation examines whether recreational marijuana legalization in Oregon and marijuana and alcohol retail outlet density levels are associated with co-use and beliefs supportive of use of each among teens.

Using data from 11th graders who participated in the Student Wellness Survey from 2010-2018, researchers assessed  past-30-day co-use changes in counties with low, medium, and high densities of licensed marijuana and alcohol outlets.

Findings include:

  • A significant post-legalization increase in past-30-day co-use in 2016 in counties with the highest retail outlet density.
  • Significant post-legalization increases in perceived risk and parent approval of alcohol and marijuana use.
  • Legalization and greater retail availability of both marijuana and alcohol were positively associated with co-use among teens, and beliefs favorable to alcohol and marijuana use.

Says lead author, Dr. Grisel García-Ramírez: “Our results suggest that adolescents living in communities with greater retail availability of recreational marijuana and alcohol may have greater indirect access to these substances through diversion, as it is illegal for them to purchase and use them. So, their primary sources are likely to be social rather than commercial.”

Source:  García-Ramírez, Grisel, Mallie J. Paschall, and Joel W. Grube. “Retail Availability of Recreational Marijuana and Alcohol in Oregon Counties and Co-Use of Alcohol and Marijuana and Related Beliefs among Adolescents.” Substance Use & Misuse (2020): 1-8.

PRC in the News

The relationship between lifetime drinking and non-fatal acute myocardial infarction

October 24, 2019

Mug with beer foam
Beer mug (public domain)

New research from the Prevention Research Center of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation suggests that the impact of alcohol consumption on coronary heart disease may be underestimated.

Although much of the literature to date on the subject suggests that risk is lower among current moderate drinkers than nondrinkers or heavy drinkers, the relationship between lifetime patterns of alcohol consumption and coronary heart disease remains unclear.

[Read More…]
We are multi-disciplinary scientists who work to understand the large systems and specific contexts that affect health behaviors, especially the consumption of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.

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Recent Releases

  • Co-Use of Alcohol and Marijuana and Beliefs among Teens in Oregon
  • A Community-Level Intervention Reduces Alcohol-Related Motor Vehicle Crashes
  • Changes in Drinking Contexts: Adolescents’ Nightly Alcohol Use
  • Adverse Childhood Experiences are Associated with At-risk Drinking, Cannabis, and Illicit Drug Use among Women Urban Emergency Department Patients
  • Reducing Underage Drinking in California Indian Reservations: Community Awareness
  • Proximity to the Southern Border and DUI Arrests in California

Territorial Acknowledgment

We would like to acknowledge that at Prevention Research Center’s Berkeley office we work in unceded Huichin Ohlone territory.

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Resource Link for Community Action provides information and practical guidance that communities can use to prevent alcohol and other drug misuse.

For more information, contact Sue Thomas.

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Prevention Research Center is a center of Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation. Visit the main PIRE website at: https://www.pire.org