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Comorbid Cannabis and Tobacco Use in Adolescents and Adults

  • Cannabis (F Filbey, Section Editor)
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Abstract

The prevalence of comorbid cannabis and tobacco use has been increasing among adolescents and adults and has been shown to be associated with a range of changes or deficits in physical, psychological, and behavioral outcomes. Moreover, comorbid use has been shown to have a differential effect on the structure and function of the brain, especially as it relates to the reward circuitry and learning and memory. This interaction might be mediated by the involvement of the endocannabinoid system and alterations in dopamine signaling in regions associated with reward and cognitive functioning. While current findings demonstrate a differential effect of comorbid use on neurobiological and behavioral correlates compared with single substance use, additional studies are needed controlling for potential psychiatric comorbidities, age of onset of use, and use of other substances. Understanding the neurobiological mechanisms associated with comorbid cannabis and tobacco use will be important in developing successful treatment outcomes in the future.

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Correspondence to Punitha Subramaniam.

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Punitha Subramaniam, Erin McGlade, and Deborah Yurgelun-Todd declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000 (5). Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Cannabis

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Subramaniam, P., McGlade, E. & Yurgelun-Todd, D. Comorbid Cannabis and Tobacco Use in Adolescents and Adults. Curr Addict Rep 3, 182–188 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40429-016-0101-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40429-016-0101-3

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