Do marijuana use motives matter? Meta-analytic associations with marijuana use frequency and problems

As laws expanding the accessibility of marijuana proliferate, it is increasingly important to understand how various motivations for use are differentially associated with marijuana use (e.g., frequency, quantity) and problems associated with marijuana use (e.g., reduced productivity, relationship conflict, legal issues). We conducted a meta-analytic review (k = 48, N = 11,274) of the zero-order and partial association between five marijuana use motives (i.e., coping, enhancement, social, conformity, and expansion) and a range of marijuana use outcomes (e.g., use frequency, problematic use). For marijuana use frequency zero-order correlations, we found significant positive correlations for coping, enhancement, social, and expansion, but not conformity. For marijuana use problems zero-order correlations, we found significant positive correlations for all five motives. When adjusting for the other motives, only coping, enhancement, and expansion were significantly positively associated with marijuana use frequency, and conformity was significantly negatively related to marijuana use frequency. For marijuana use problems, only coping and conformity had significant positive correlations. These results show that marijuana use motives are an important part of understanding the frequency of marijuana use and the development of marijuana use problems. These results may have implications for intervention development and public policy.