The Relationship Between Delay Discounting and Marijuana Use

        

Many people with marijuana addiction don’t keep using because they don’t care about the consequences or long-term effects, they often use because the short-term rewards feel more important than future, long-term goals. This is directly tied to a psychological concept referred to as delay discounting, which means that individuals tend to choose smaller rewards in the present over larger rewards in the future. In the case regarding marijuana use, using the psychoactive drug might bring quick relief from high levels of stress or a mood boost, while the negative effects, like memory problems, low motivation, or trouble in relationships/work, are more often than not, delayed. Because those consequences are further in the future and seemingly not as imminent, they don’t always carry enough weight in the current moment to subdue the urge to use. This is similar to Walter Mischel’s well-known marshmallow test, where children who couldn’t wait for a second marshmallow often had more difficulty with self-control later in life. In the same way, someone using marijuana may struggle to resist the immediate high, even if they know it goes against their long-term goals.

        This concept is further backed by empirical evidence. More specifically speaking, a 2020 meta-analysis by Strickland et al. looked at 27 studies with around 24,782 participants and found a clear, indisputable pattern where people who used marijuana more often or more heavily were also more likely to choose immediate rewards over delayed ones. This tendency was especially strong when studies looked at people with more serious cannabis problems or used real, incentivized tasks instead of hypothetical ones. While the overall effect size was small, ultimately suggesting the relationship isn’t necessarily very strong across all marijuana users, it just became notably stronger in individuals with more severe cannabis use and in studies that used real, incentivized decisions. This highlights that delay discounting may play a critical role as marijuana use becomes more dependent and further problematic.. It shows that long-term usage of marijuana, or overarching marijuana addiction, isn’t just a lack of willpower, it’s a challenge rooted in how our brains weigh short-term versus long-term outcomes. Understanding this type of research, as well as advocating for more in-depth, and ethical empirical research regarding marijuana and other drug addictions, can help reduce stigma and lead to better treatment strategies.

Reference

Strickland, C. J., Lee, C. D., Vandrey, R., Johnson, W. M. (2020). A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of  Delay Discounting and Cannabis Use. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 29(6), 696-710. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8376219/