Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32328657›Full record

ArticleAlcohol and alcoholism (Oxford, Oxfordshire)2020

Inclusion of Cannabis Users in Alcohol Research Samples: Screening In, Screening Out, and Implications.

Alexandra Venegas, Lindsay R Meredith, Ziva D Cooper, Brandon Towns, Lara A Ray

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Alcohol and alcoholism (Oxford, Oxfordshire), 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Exacerbated cardiac dysfunction from combined alcohol binge and synthetic cannabinoid use.Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie · 2025
    Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Alexandra VenegasUniversity of California, Los Angeles, Department of Psychology, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Lindsay R MeredithUniversity of California, Los Angeles, Department of Psychology, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Ziva D CooperUniversity of California, Los Angeles, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Brandon TownsUniversity of California, Los Angeles, Department of Psychology, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Lara A RayUniversity of California, Los Angeles, Department of Psychology, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Funding

UCLA Clinical Translational Science InstituteUL1TR001881 · NCATS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI ARLEEN F. BROWN, ARASH NAEIM · 2016 to 2026
$118.1M
UCLA Clinical and Translational Science InstituteUL1TR000124 · NCATS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI DUBINETT, STEVEN M. · 2012 to 2015
$57.0M
UCLA Training Program in Translational Neuroscience of Drug Abuse (TNDA)T32DA024635 · NIDA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI LARA A. RAY, Kate M Wassum · 2008 to 2026
$6.2M
Clinical Neuroscience of Alcoholism: Integrating Neuroscience and Clinical TrialsK24AA025704 · NIAAA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI LARA A. RAY · 2018 to 2026
$1.3M
Optimizing Naltrexone for Individuals of East Asian DescentR01AA021744 · NIAAA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI RAY, LARA A. · 2013 to 2015
$1.3M
Modeling alcohol reward and reinforcement in the human laboratoryR21AA022752 · NIAAA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI RAY, LARA A. · 2014 to 2015
$399k
Development of Ibudilast as a Novel Treatment for AlcoholismR21AA022214 · NIAAA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI RAY, LARA A. · 2013 to 2014
$399k
NCATS NIH HHS UL1 TR000124NCATS NIH HHS UL1 TR001881NIAAA NIH HHS K24 AA025704NIAAA NIH HHS R01 AA021744NIAAA NIH HHS R21 AA022214NIAAA NIH HHS R21 AA022752NIDA NIH HHS T32 DA024635
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAlcohol and cannabis are frequently co-used, as 20-50% of those who drink alcohol report co-using cannabis. This study is based on the argument that alcohol researchers should enroll cannabis users in human laboratory studies of alcohol use disorder (AUD) to strengthen generalizability. This study examines how heavy drinking cannabis users differ from non-cannabis using heavy drinkers.

methodsIn a community sample of non-treatment-seeking heavy drinkers (n = 551, 35% female), cannabis users were identified through: (a) self-reported cannabis use in the past 6 months and (b) positive urine toxicology test for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Cannabis users, identified as described previously, were compared with non-cannabis users on demographic and clinical characteristics.

resultsThose who endorsed cannabis use in the past 6 months reported more binge drinking days. Participants who tested positive for THC had higher Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test scores and more binge drinking days. Younger age and being a tobacco smoker were associated with an increased likelihood of cannabis use in the past 6 months, whereas male gender and being a tobacco use were associated with a greater likelihood of testing positive for THC. Individuals with cannabis use disorder (CUD) endorsed more depression and anxiety and had higher AUD symptom counts than cannabis users without CUD.

conclusionsThe inclusion of cannabis users in AUD samples allows for increased clinical severity. Excluding cannabis users from AUD studies may limit representativeness and expend unnecessary study resources. Lastly, tobacco use may explain a large portion of the effects of cannabis use on sample characteristics. SHORT SUMMARY: Alcohol and cannabis are frequently co-used substances. In a sample of non-treatment-seeking heavy drinkers (n = 551, 35% female), cannabis users reported higher alcohol use and higher likelihood of tobacco use than non-cannabis users. Including cannabis users in alcohol research studies will improve representativeness and likely increase clinical severity.

Indexed as

Research SubjectsAdultAlcoholismFemaleHumansMaleMarijuana SmokingMass ScreeningSelf Report

Identifiers

PMID32328657
PMCPMC7307319

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.