Patterns of simultaneous polysubstance use in drug using university students

TLDR

Simultaneous polysubstance use (SPU) is common, yet little is known about how substances are used together. 149 drug‑using university students completed structured interviews detailing the type, order, and amount of all substances co‑administered during their most recent use. Alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis were most frequently co‑administered, with alcohol often preceding other drugs and being used in larger amounts when combined with cocaine or methylphenidate; tobacco use rose markedly when paired with many substances, while cannabis patterns were not systematically linked, indicating that SPU contexts routinely involve multiple substances whose use patterns may influence each other. © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Abstract

Abstract Simultaneous polysubstance use (SPU) is a common phenomenon, yet little is known about how various substances are used with one another. In the present study 149 drug‐using university students completed structured interviews about their use of various substances. For each substance ever used, participants provided details about the type, order and amount of all substances co‐administered during its most recent administration. Alcohol, tobacco and cannabis were frequently co‐administered with each other and with all other substances. Chi‐squared tests revealed that when alcohol was used in combination with any of cannabis, psilocybin, MDMA, cocaine, amphetamine, methylphenidate ( p s < 0.01) or LSD ( p < 0.05) its initial use preceded the administration of the other substance. Paired samples t‐tests revealed that when alcohol was used with cocaine ( p < 0.01) or methylphenidate ( p < 0.05) it was ingested in greater quantities than when used in their absence. Patterns of cannabis use were not systematically related to other substances administered. Finally, using one‐sample t‐tests, tobacco use was demonstrated to be increased relative to ‘sober’ smoking rates when used with alcohol, cannabis, psilocybin, MDMA, cocaine, amphetamine ( p s < 0.001), LSD ( p < 0.01) or methylphenidate ( p < 0.05). Results suggest that many substances are routinely used in a SPU context and that the pattern in which a substance is used may be related to other substances co‐administered. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.