TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2021//
TI  - Marijuana use and high-risk health behaviors among diverse college students post- legalization of recreational marijuana use
JO  - Public health in practice (Oxford, England)
A1  - Chandler, Laura
A1  - Abdujawad, Aimn W.
A1  - Mitra, Sinjini
A1  - McEligot, Archana J.
SP  - e100195
EP  - e100195
VL  - 2
IS  - 
N2  - OBJECTIVES  This study examined high-risk health behaviors in marijuana-users among a diverse college population in Southern California, post legalization of marijuana for recreational use.   Study design  A cross-sectional research design was employed utilizing existing data via the 2018 National College Health Assessment (NCHA) from a large Minority-Serving Institution (MSI) population [n = 1345 (Hispanic/Latino/a, n = 456; White, n = 353; Asian Pacific Islander (API), n = 288; Multiracial/Biracial, n = 195; Other, n = 53)].   Methods  Chi square and t-tests assessed differences in descriptive characteristics (age, gender, race/ethnicity and GPA) and high-risk behaviors (alcohol, tobacco and sexual behaviors) among marijuana users and non-users. Logistic regression analyses examined the relationship between race/ethnicity and high-risk behaviors with marijuana use (dependent variable).   Results  Among marijuana-users, significant (p = 0.004) differences were observed between race/ethnicity with Whites reporting using most (32.7%), followed by Hispanics (27.6%) and then APIs (17.8%). Marijuana-users compared with non-users consistently reported high-risk alcohol behaviors (p < 0.0001), were more likely to smoke tobacco (p < 0.0001) and engaged in more high-risk sexual behaviors (p < 0.0001). Logistic regression showed after adjusting for demographic characteristics and high-risk behaviors, race/ethnicity was borderline significantly associated with marijuana use, specifically for Whites (OR = 1.53; 95% CI: (−0.01, 0.86), p = 0.06) and the Other race/ethnicity category (OR = 2.32; 95% CI: (0.12, 1.56), p = 0.02) compared with APIs.   Conclusion  Our findings clearly demonstrate deleterious high-risk behaviors such as alcohol use, tobacco use, and certain sexual behaviors occur more among marijuana-users compared to non-users, post legalization of marijuana for recreational use. Further, race-ethnic differences were observed. Therefore, continued examination of marijuana use trends and high-risk behaviors is critical in monitoring the implications of marijuana policy changes, specifically in diverse populations.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 2666-5352
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.puhip.2021.100195
ID  - ref1
ER  -