DEMOGRAPHIC AND HEALTH CHARACTERISTICS OF HEAVY MARIJUANA SMOKERS IN LOS-ANGELES COUNTY

The demographic, life-style, and self-reported health characteristics of a convenience sample of 207 male and 70 female, non-Hispanic White, heavy marijuana users in Los Angeles County were compared with those of more representative county and national samples. Consistent with other researchers' findings, heavy marijuana users were found to differ significantly in living arrangements, job stability, and income. Heavy marijuana users did not differ in completed education, self-reported physical health, or use of alcohol and cigarettes. Heavy marijuana users were less likely to be married than nonusers, but reported the same number of close friends with whom they interacted more frequently than same-aged comparison groups. Our findings suggest that heavy marijuana users are not homogeneous, and that female users differ significantly from male users. Some longitudinal studies of United States adolescents suggest that persistent use of marijuana is correlated with delinquent and antisocial behavior, impaired physical and mental health, delayed or atypical assumption of adult occupational and familial roles, lack of motivation, and excessive use of other legal and illegal drugs (Yamaguchi and Kandel, 1985a, 1985b; Kandel and Yamaguchi, 1987; Newcomb and Bentler, 1988; Kaplan et al., 1986; Hendin et al., 1987). In the study reported here, we examined whether a volunteer sample of continuous heavy users of marijuana differed from representative Los Angeles County and national samples in demographics and self-reported health and substance use. We also evaluated whether heavy use of marijuana was correlated with delayed adoption of adult familial and occupational roles, rejection of traditional religion, use of other illegal drugs, and self-reported physical and social health problems.