The reason behind why individuals choose to participate
in drug use is motivation. Motivation can be understood along two dimensions
(positive vs. negative affect regulation and intrinsic vs. extrinsic reasons). Based
on these dimensions researchers have developed specific factors impacting
motivation. Some of these are enhancement, social, coping, conformity, or
altered perception motives. Most research that studies why people smoke pot
just asks them why they are, or ask questions like “how often have you smoked
pot because… (insert motive)?”. What this research does not consider is that
people may use pot for different reasons given specific circumstances. Another
difficulty is that marijuana can impact memory which may be impacting their
recall. The best possible way to measure motivation would be to ask people
right before they used why they were using; because, motivation always precedes
use.
One study, conducted by Shrier and Scherer (2014)
wanted to figure out if individuals report different motivations for using
before and after they use. The sample consisted of 15-24 year olds who used
marijuana at least two times a week. Participants carried a hand held computer
that prompted them to take self-report surveys. They reported their motivation
for use immediately before they used and immediately after. They chose one of
the following possible motivations; for pleasure, to cope, to
conform, to be
more social, or to expand my mind. The results showed that 20% (1 in 5 events) of
the time participants reported a different reason for using before using than
after. Participants reported to use for pleasure the most often and this reason
was the most stable. Reason for use was more likely to change if they were
using on the weekend, if they reported using for an external reason rather than
an internal reason (the key finding), and if they were older.
There are a few limitations for this study.
Generalizability is low because the sample is small, and they were recruited
from medical clinics. Another limitation is that this was a heavy using group of
individuals. It is possible that they view use of marijuana as a lifestyle
choice so some of the motives (e.g. expansion, conforming) may not have applied,
but a motive like boredom could have. Even with limitations this research is important
and awesome. It is important for other research. Previously, studies have
retrospectively studied motivation for marijuana use, and this suggests that
there may be more to motivation. As members of society, we should care about
the impact of marijuana because it is the most commonly used illicit drug. Motivation
has to be understood in order to provide specific services, and to design
effective prevention/intervention programs.
Abstract
Shrier,
L. A., & Scherer, E. B. (2014). It depends on when you ask: Motives for
using marijuana assessed before versus after a marijuana use event. Addictive Behaviors 39, 1759-1765. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.adbeh.2014.07.018
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