Distress Tolerance and Hazardous Cannabis Use: Does the Form of Cannabis Matter?

Abstract

Objectives. Among cannabis users, low distress tolerance may result in greater vulnerability for hazardous cannabis use and cannabis use disorder. Although this relationship has been reported in the past, the role of primary form of cannabis used has not been examined as a moderator of this association. While marijuana flower remains the preferred form of cannabis used, there has been an increasing popularity of other forms of cannabis, including concentrates and edibles. The aim of the current study was to examine the association between distress tolerance and hazardous cannabis use, as well as to determine whether the primary form of cannabis used would have a moderating effect on this relationship. Methods. Participants completed a survey on cannabis use, including questionnaires on distress tolerance and hazardous cannabis use. 695 (67.60% male) past-month cannabis users were included in the current analyses. Multiple linear regressions were used to assess whether distress tolerance, primary form of cannabis used, and their interaction were associated with hazardous cannabis use, while controlling for covariates such as demographic variables and past 30-day alcohol and cannabis use frequency. Results. There was a significant regression equation (F(13, 681) = 33.31, p < .001, R2 = 0.39) that included a main effect for distress tolerance (b = 0.64, p < 0.001), indicating that lower tolerance for distress was significantly related to hazardous cannabis use. There was also a main effect for primary form of cannabis used, where preference for using concentrates compared to marijuana flower was associated with hazardous cannabis use (b = 1.38, p = 0.006), preference for using marijuana flower compared to edibles was associated with hazardous cannabis use (b = -4.39, p < 0.001), and preference for using concentrates compared to edibles was associated with hazardous cannabis use (b = -5.76, p < 0.001). Furthermore, the primary form of cannabis used significantly moderated the relationship between distress tolerance and hazardous cannabis use (F(2, 681) = 3.77, p = 0.024, R2 change = 0.01). Specifically, the relationship between low distress tolerance and more hazardous cannabis use was moderated by preference for marijuana flower (b = 0.64, p < 0.001) and concentrates (b = 0.69, p < 0.001), but was not moderated by preference for using edibles as the primary form of cannabis (b = 0.18, p = 0.25). Conclusions. By determining which particular cannabis users have the strongest relationship between lower tolerance for distress and hazardous cannabis use, these findings can help inform interventions geared towards aiding individuals to better tolerate stressful situations so as to minimize their hazardous cannabis use.