Understanding Tobacco and Cannabis Co-Use in Young Adult Priority Populations in California

Overview

Commercial tobacco-related disparities are among the greatest in American Indian (AI) people in California, and it is important to understand how the evolving commercial tobacco and cannabis markets and new tobacco endgame policies will impact health equity. The central goal of this study is to understand the evolving products, methods, motivations, and practices of commercial tobacco and cannabis use in AI young adults and the contextual, social, and pharmacological factors driving use patterns and practices.

Specific aims include

1. Describe the products, methods, motivations, and practices of tobacco and cannabis co-use as they co-evolve over time and how contextual and pharmacological factors accompany product experimentation, escalation, switching, and cessation.
2. Compare participant perceptions of the effects of tobacco and cannabis use (e.g., psychoactive effects, adverse experiences) with biomarkers of nicotine, THC, and toxicant exposure.
3. Describe the perceived impact of tobacco endgame policies on tobacco and cannabis co-use among AI young adults in California.
4. Explore how cessation programs can be adapted to address both tobacco and cannabis for AI young adults in California.

We propose a longitudinal concurrent mixed methods study of American Indian young adults using tobacco and cannabis from northern, central and southern California over 2 waves of data collection.