Giving Compass' Take:

· A new RAND Corporation study examining the usage of cannabis and tobacco/nicotine products together has produced negative results; young adults exhibited lower functionality and more problematic behaviors.

· What other risks are associated with the co-use of cannabis and tobacco or nicotine have?

· Learn more about the effects of cannabis use on teens.

More than a third of young adults report using both cannabis and tobacco or nicotine products, providing a unique challenge to public health officials as cannabis is legalized in more jurisdictions, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

Studying a group of young adults from California, researchers examined the many different ways that cannabis and tobacco or nicotine products are used together—a byproduct of the introduction of new vaping devices and other delivery methods.

Among those surveyed, young adults who used cannabis and tobacco or nicotine together in some way (either using one right after the other or by mixing the products together) tended to consume more marijuana and tobacco or nicotine products, and report poorer functioning and more problematic behaviors compared to those who did not use both products together. The study is published online by the journal Psychology of Addictive Behaviors.

“There is growing concern that as more states legalize marijuana, there also will be an increase in tobacco use because the two substances may be used together,” said Joan Tucker, lead author of the study and a senior behavioral scientist at RAND, a nonprofit research organization. “Co-use of cannabis and tobacco could reverse some of the progress made on reducing rates of tobacco use.”

Read the full article about the use of cannabis and tobacco/nicotine products by Joan S. Tucker at RAND Corporation.