Estimating usual grams per day of marijuana use from purchases

Abstract

Background Quantifying average amounts of marijuana used per day or per occasion of use helps inform understanding population-level patterns of use and use-related harm, but better estimates and estimation methods are needed. Users have difficulty in reporting use amounts, but purchase amounts may be more clearly recalled. Methods Measures of individual’s use and purchasing frequency and details of purchases, such as the amounts and products bought and the cost of these were collected in six cross-sectional representative surveys of the population 18 and older in the state of Washington from 2014 to 2016. Analyses utilize purchase information on both flower and other marijuana products to estimate mean amounts per use day and predict use amounts for non-purchasers. Results Mean marijuana use per use day among purchasers was 1.35 g and non-purchasers estimated mean use amount per day was 0.71 g. Lower mean use per day was found for women and the most frequent users. Based on these estimates, total past year marijuana use for purchasers had a mean of 184.8 g and the mean for non-purchasers was 28 g. Conclusions Methods based on purchasing details can be used to estimate individual’s marijuana quantity per occasion and total use amount per year, providing additional outcome measures for analyses of predictors of individual marijuana consumption and facilitating more detailed analyses of risks for marijuana harms.