Marijuana and alcohol dependence stunt young adult achievement

Dependence on both marijuana and alcohol has a damaging effect on the achievement of life goals in young adults, and the impact appears to be greater on men. Research presented last fall at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association suggests that the affected areas include educational achievement, employment and marriage.

UConn Health researchers used data from the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism, a federally supported study that examined outcomes for young adults whose behaviors had been assessed since age 12. Individuals dependent on both marijuana and alcohol were less likely to obtain full-time employment or get married, exhibiting lower social and economic potential, the researchers found.

Young men showed lower achievement on all of the measured variables, while young women's likelihood of full-time employment or marriage was not affected, the study found.

“Awareness of marijuana's potential deleterious effects will be important moving forward given the current move in the U.S. toward marijuana legalization for recreational/medicinal use,” said study lead author Elizabeth Harari, MD.