Trajectories of adolescent alcohol and cannabis use into young adulthood

Abstract

Background: Both alcohol and cannabis use carry health risks. Both are commonly initiated in adolescence. To date little research has described trajectories of adolescent cannabis or alcohol use or compared their respective consequences in young adulthood. Methods: The design was a 10-year eight-wave cohort study of a state-wide community sample of 1943 Victorians initially aged 14-15 years. Moderate- and high-risk alcohol use was defined according to total weekly alcohol consumption. Moderate- and high-risk cannabis use were defined as weekly and daily use, respectively. Results: Around 90% of young adults used either alcohol or cannabis. Although an association existed between alcohol and ..