ABOUT US
The Cannabls, Health, And Young Adults (CHAYA) Study was Initially funded in 2013 by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to examine the natural history of cannabis use among young adult users and how their cannabis practices evolved over time. This longitudinal study enabled us to document changes and stability in young cannabis users' substance use, health behaviors and health outcomes.
With the legalization of recreational cannabis that occurred in California in 2016, we received additional funds to continue to follow the original sample (N=366) to examine the impact of recent legalization and related policies on their cannabis practices and health outcomes.
Further, we wanted to examine how cannabis legalization and policy is impacting a younger cohort of 18-20 year-olds who are not yet eligible to access recreational cannabis but can still access medical cannabis under California's medical cannabis policy (cite).
In 2024 we were awarded funding for another 5 years to continue this work! In this new study, we proposed to focus on studying and understanding cannabis use in a “controlled” manner, which is defined as using in a way that doesn’t compromise responsibilities to family and work, and/or minimize risk to self. We are interested in understanding how controlled use manifest differently in different policy environments where access to cannabis and potent products is high or increasing. In addition to using quantitative survey and qualitative interviews as we have in the past, we will also be adding an Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) approach to collect “real-time” data over the course of 21 days at various times to assess contexts and reasons/motivations for engaging in cannabis use and determine instances of controlled use. We hope that findings from this and previous work will contribute to development of programs, policies, and interventions related to the rapidly-changing landscape of cannabis use and its consequences.
With the legalization of recreational cannabis that occurred in California in 2016, we received additional funds to continue to follow the original sample (N=366) to examine the impact of recent legalization and related policies on their cannabis practices and health outcomes.
Further, we wanted to examine how cannabis legalization and policy is impacting a younger cohort of 18-20 year-olds who are not yet eligible to access recreational cannabis but can still access medical cannabis under California's medical cannabis policy (cite).
In 2024 we were awarded funding for another 5 years to continue this work! In this new study, we proposed to focus on studying and understanding cannabis use in a “controlled” manner, which is defined as using in a way that doesn’t compromise responsibilities to family and work, and/or minimize risk to self. We are interested in understanding how controlled use manifest differently in different policy environments where access to cannabis and potent products is high or increasing. In addition to using quantitative survey and qualitative interviews as we have in the past, we will also be adding an Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) approach to collect “real-time” data over the course of 21 days at various times to assess contexts and reasons/motivations for engaging in cannabis use and determine instances of controlled use. We hope that findings from this and previous work will contribute to development of programs, policies, and interventions related to the rapidly-changing landscape of cannabis use and its consequences.
Who is leading this research?
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The study is being led by Stephen Lankenau, PhD (Drexel University) and Carolyn F. Wong, PhD (Children’s Hospital Los Angeles). This is the fourth NIDA-funded study examining drug use among young adults in Los Angeles. Dr. Lankenau and Dr. Wong have collaborated on three previously NIDA-funded studies based in Los Angeles.
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Inviting voices from the community to inform this work…
A community advisory board (CAB) comprised of stakeholders in Los Angeles, including:
- young adult users
- advocates
- public health officials
- representatives from law enforcement
- growers
- vendors/business owners
- substance use program team members
- mental health providers
- other interested scientists
