Cannabis Use amongst British University Students: II. Patterns of Use and Attitudes to Use

Summary Three hundred and five students with experience of cannabis from 2 university colleges in Southern England were classified according to their degree of experience of the drug. Approximately half the sample had used it 10 times or less (‘novices’) and half more than 10 times (‘experienced users’). Forty per cent considered they had now stopped using (63 per cent of novices, 18 per cent of experienced users), and 25 per cent were using once a week or more (‘regular users’), this latter figure including 7 per cent using at least 4 times per week (‘heavy users’). More experienced users were differentiated from less experienced users on a number of other characteristics of their drug use. They differed in the nature of their first experience (with more experienced users being more likely to have it earlier, at school, enjoy it and want it for drug effect rather than curiosity), the attributed importance of the drug in their lives (the heavier the use the more attributed importance), the social role of the drug (with it playing a greater part in the lives of more experienced), the preferred level of intoxication (heavy users tending to aim for higher levels), the effects experienced (greater range with greater experience) the reasons given for using, the reservations about using, and experience with other drugs. Discussion focusses on what the drug may offer individuals by looking at differences between those who decide to stop (and when) and those who continue using, and amongst those who continue, different patterns of use and the costs and benefits associated with them. Questions raised for future analyses include whether use patterns may be predicted by non‐drug variables.