Single- and Cross-Commodity Delay Discounting of Cannabis

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Economics
• Addiction Science
• Psychology

Background:

• High rates of delay discounting are linked to substance misuse.
• Associations between cannabis use and delay discounting are inconsistent.
• Limited research exists on cross-commodity delay discounting for cannabis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine delay discounting in young adult cannabis users using single- and cross-commodity tasks.
• To investigate associations between delay discounting rates and cannabis use frequency, disorder symptoms, problems, and craving.

Main Methods:

• 115 young adult cannabis users completed single-commodity (money, cannabis) and cross-commodity (cannabis now vs. money later; money now vs. cannabis later) delay discounting tasks.
• Data collected on cannabis use frequency, cannabis use disorder symptom count, cannabis-related problems, and craving.

Main Results:

• Modest associations were found between cannabis use measures and delay discounting in single-commodity tasks.
• Significant associations emerged between cannabis use measures and delay discounting in cross-commodity tasks.
• Problematic cannabis use correlated with a preference for immediate cannabis over delayed money, and vice versa.

Conclusions:

• Problematic cannabis use may involve a willingness to wait for delayed cannabis access, not solely an inability to delay gratification.
• Cross-commodity delay discounting tasks offer unique insights into the decision-making processes of cannabis users.
• Findings challenge previous models of substance misuse based solely on delay discounting of single commodities.