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Abstract
Cannabis is the most prevalent federally illicit substance used on collegiate campuses with 44% of college students reporting annual cannabis use (CU) in 2020 compared to 38% in 2015, and 25% of college students reported using cannabis-based products in the past 30 days (Schulenberg et al., 2021). Daily CU also is on the rise. Specifically, in 2020, 8% of college students reported daily or near daily CU compared to nearly 5% in 2015 (Schulenberg et al., 2021). Negative outcomes related to CU include cannabis use disorders (CUDs; Hasin et al., 2016), respiratory issues, lower educational and career achievement, and greater risk of vehicular crashes (Carliner, 2017). Another concern related to chronic CU via the method of inhalation includes a higher probability to suffer an ischemic stroke (Thanvi & Treadwell, 2009). Specific neurological disorders associated with CU include cognitive dysfunction (attention, verbal, and nonverbal learning; Shrivastava et al., 2011) problems with behavioral sequelae (Sorkhou, 2021), difficulty with memory (National Institute on Drug Abuse; NIDA, 2019a), and alterations in the brain (Archie & Cucullo, 2019; Battistella et al., 2014). Other potential negative outcomes associated with CU include amotivational syndrome, and some scholars argue that CU is a “gateway” to harder drugs, which are defined as drugs that have the propensity to be highly addictive and can be injected (Kandel, 1975; Kandel et al., 2006; Secades-Villa et al., 2015). As such, it is important to examine predictors of CU, particularly among collegiate populations. Some previously identified predictors include self and emotion regulation as well as adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and poverty, yet these potential predictors have not been examined simultaneously. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which ACEs, self-regulation (SR), emotion regulation (ER), and childhood poverty predict CU problems in traditional-aged college students. Additionally, the study aims to examine differences in CU methods, frequency, and social patterns of CU in traditional-aged college students from a timepoint before the COVID-19 pandemic compared to present day.