Beliefs among college students on settings and emotions conducive to alcohol and marijuana use

Two hundred college student alcohol and marijuana users rated their desire to drink alcohol and desire to smoke marijuana in or after different settings shown via color photographic slides. Contrary to the compensation hypothesis (that these drugs are used to escape from unpleasant circumstances), desire for both alcohol and marijuana was greater both in and after more pleasant settings than unpleasant ones. These results were more consistent with an amplification hypothesis, that alcohol and marijuana intensify emotions already present.