Puff, Puff, Drink: The Association Between Blunt and Alcohol Use Among African American Adolescents and Young Adults

Although African Americans report lower levels of alcohol use relative to their White counterparts, they experience higher rates of alcohol-related problems (e.g., alcohol dependence). One understudied connection between alcohol use and dependence is the dual use of illicit drugs, especially marijuana use. It is speculated that blunt use in combination with alcohol will have more adverse alcohol-related consequences among African Americans than alcohol use alone or alcohol and nonblunt marijuana use. The current study uses pooled data from the 2011-2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health to examine the odds of alcohol dependence based on alcohol and marijuana typology in comparison to alcohol only users. Among 11,124 African American adolescents (12-17) and young adults (18-25) who consumed alcohol in the past year, 57.5%, 36.8%, and 5.7% reported alcohol use alone and in combination with blunt use and nonblunt marijuana use, respectively. Relative to alcohol users only, youth who used alcohol and blunts had increased odds of having alcohol dependence. This association was not found among youth who reported alcohol and nonblunt marijuana use. The increased rates of alcohol dependence highlight the public health concern of dual alcohol and a specific type of marijuana use (i.e., blunts) among African American youth. Public Policy Relevance Statement Despite lower rates of alcohol use, African Americans have a higher risk of alcohol dependence compared to other racial/ethnic groups. Using data from a national sample of African American adolescents and young adults, this study found that relative to past year alcohol use only, alcohol and blunt use (rather than other forms of marijuana use) was associated with increased odds of alcohol dependence. It is important that policymakers understand the link between blunts and alcohol dependence among African American youth to inform regulations and policies related to marijuana and alcohol.