Drug Use & Misuse
Our faculty's body of research includes: a marijuana administration laboratory to investigate various determinants of marijuana use and its effects; interventions to modify drug use in prisoners on release; investigating ways to address smoking in substance treatment programs; longitudinal studies on the developmental course of substance use throughout adolescence; medications for adolescents with comorbid cannabis and alcohol use; and dissemination/implementation of research findings.
Behavioral economics plays a substantial role in our drug use portfolio. BSS’s portfolio on drug use and HIV includes research on drug use and HIV prevention in Latino adolescents, the syndemics of drug use with alcohol use and HIV risk in developing countries, drug and alcohol use in sexual minorities, and using new technologies to study and intervene in HIV risk behavior in substance users. Significant work has focused on comorbidity, particularly the comorbidity of alcohol and cannabis use and the comorbidity of affective disorders with cannabis use.
Smoking and Tobacco Use
Our faculty conduct a diverse body of research on tobacco and nicotine use and exposure, ranging from longitudinal studies on the initiation of electronic and combustible cigarette use in adolescence to studies of smoking cessation and environmental tobacco smoke avoidance in adulthood.
Our researchers conduct laboratory-based studies to investigate the reinforcing properties of nicotine, the effects of smoking abstinence, and the effects of pharmacotherapies on smoking, mood, and behavior. They also conduct randomized controlled trials to test novel behavioral and pharmacological methods of helping smokers quit, including studies using motivational interviewing, positive psychology, physical activity promotion, and contingency management to improve smoking outcomes. Smoking cessation interventions employ in-person counseling, text messaging, video, and web-based programs.
A particular focus of our tobacco research touches upon smoking cessation and the impact of tobacco regulatory policies in underserved and high-risk groups including: smokers with substance use disorders; smokers who drink alcohol heavily; pregnant women; people living with HIV; sedentary smokers; racial, ethnic, and sexual minorities; and people living with mental illness.
