The current study adds to our growing understanding of the health of Canadian youth with differing marijuana use trajectories by examining how marijuana use fre- quency is related to physical health indicators in ado- lescence and young adulthood. We extend past research by examining how trajectories of marijuana use are related to multiple physical health indicators; subjective health, health-promoting behaviours, body mass index, serious injuries and sexual risk behaviours.
This study examines the associations between these trajectory groups and multiple indicators of economic well-being in young adulthood (ages 22 to 29) to investigate which specific aspects of economic well-being were more likely to be impacted negatively by marijuana use.
The current study estimates classes of polysubstance use in a large group of adolescents (ages 12–18 at baseline) and examines the longitudinal trajectories of cigarette, alcohol, marijuana, and illicit drug use from adolescence to young adulthood for each class.
In the current study, we estimated trajectories of young marijuana users over a decade, i.e., from ages 15 to 28. Identification of heterogeneous trajectories of marijuana use can help distinguish between problematic and nonproblematic use patterns, identify subgroups of young people who are at increased risk for experiencing negative consequences from their use, and inform prevention efforts.