Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2010, 7(1), 46-59; doi:10.3390/ijerph7010046
Article

Challenging the “Inoffensiveness” of Regular Cannabis Use by Its Associations with Other Current Risky Substance Use—A Census of 20-Year-Old Swiss Men

Gerhard Gmel 1,2,3,4,* email, Jacques Gaume 1 email, Carole Willi 5 email, Pierre-André Michaud 6 email, Jacques Cornuz 5,7 email and Jean-Bernard Daeppen 1 email
1 Alcohol Treatment Centre, Lausanne University Hospital CHUV, Mont-Paisible 16, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland 2 Swiss Institute for the Prevention of Alcohol and Drug Problems, Case postale 870, 1001 Lausanne, Switzerland 3 Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 250 College St, Toronto, Ontario, M5T 1R8, Canada 4 University of the West of England, Frenchay Campus Coldharbour Lane, Bristol BS16 1QY, UK 5 Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Lausanne, Rue du Bugnon 44, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland 6 Research Group on Adolescent Health, Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Lausanne, Av. de Beaumont 48, 1012 Lausanne, Switzerland 7 Department of Ambulatory Care and Community Medicine, University of Lausanne, Rue du Bugnon 44, 1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 16 November 2009 / Accepted: 29 December 2009 / Published: 4 January 2010
PDF Full-text Download PDF Full-Text [186 KB, uploaded 4 January 2010 12:46 CET]
Abstract: 3,537 men enrolling in 2007 for mandatory army recruitment procedures were assessed for the co-occurrence of risky licit substance use among risky cannabis users. Risky cannabis use was defined as at least twice weekly; risky alcohol use as 6+ drinks more than once/monthly, or more than 20 drinks per week; and risky tobacco use as daily smoking. Ninety-five percent of all risky cannabis users reported other risky use. They began using cannabis earlier than did non-risky users, but age of onset was unrelated to other risky substance use. A pressing public health issue among cannabis users stems from risky licit substance use warranting preventive efforts within this age group.
Keywords: risky cannabis use; co-occurring risky licit substance use; early onset; Switzerland

Article Statistics

Click here to load and display the download statistics.

Cite This Article

MDPI and ACS Style

Gmel, G.; Gaume, J.; Willi, C.; Michaud, P.-A.; Cornuz, J.; Daeppen, J.-B. Challenging the “Inoffensiveness” of Regular Cannabis Use by Its Associations with Other Current Risky Substance Use—A Census of 20-Year-Old Swiss Men. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2010, 7, 46-59.

AMA Style

Gmel G, Gaume J, Willi C, Michaud P-A, Cornuz J, Daeppen J-B. Challenging the “Inoffensiveness” of Regular Cannabis Use by Its Associations with Other Current Risky Substance Use—A Census of 20-Year-Old Swiss Men. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2010; 7(1):46-59.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Gmel, Gerhard; Gaume, Jacques; Willi, Carole; Michaud, Pierre-André; Cornuz, Jacques; Daeppen, Jean-Bernard. 2010. "Challenging the “Inoffensiveness” of Regular Cannabis Use by Its Associations with Other Current Risky Substance Use—A Census of 20-Year-Old Swiss Men." Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 7, no. 1: 46-59.

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health EISSN 1660-4601 Published by MDPI AG, Basel, Switzerland RSS E-Mail Table of Contents Alert