Changes in Cannabis Use-Related Factors Prior to a Self-Quit Attempt in Young Adults

Abstract

Young adults who use cannabis frequently often attempt to quit on their own and may try several times before achieving cessation. Preparing to quit may increase the likelihood that abstinence will be achieved. However, little is known about the process of preparing to quit in this population and how that process relates to patterns of use during the quit attempt. In a community sample of 18-25 year olds reporting daily/near-daily cannabis use and planning to quit (N=34), we assessed changes in momentary and daily cannabis use-related factors during two weeks prior to a self-quit attempt, and evaluated whether these changes predicted abstinence, time to lapse, and cannabis use days during the 2-week quit attempt. Several factors changed from the first week to the second week prior to the quit attempt, including decrease in momentary positive affect, cannabis craving, availability, situational permissibility, use since last report, bad feeling following use, daily withdrawal symptoms and use in the past 24 hours, and increase in momentary and daily confidence to not use cannabis. Greater difference in cannabis use days between two weeks and one week (decrease in use) before the self-quit attempt predicted all three measures of quit success, including abstinence, longer time to lapse, and fewer use days. In summary, young adults preparing to quit cannabis demonstrated changes in advance of quitting that may reflect preparatory actions; only reducing cannabis use before a quit date predicted success with attempting abstinence. Further research on pre-quit changes will be important for developing effective tools and strategies to aid frequently-using young adults to successfully quit on their own.