Mental health access could prevent college drug use patterns

This large-scale study of over 44,000 college students reveals an important link between psychological distress and simultaneous alcohol and cannabis (SAC) use. Using data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, researchers found that students experiencing higher levels of psychological distress had significantly elevated odds of using alcohol and cannabis together in the past 30 days, as well as developing co-occurring alcohol and cannabis use disorders. The study employed the Kessler-6 scale to measure psychological distress, a validated tool for assessing mental health struggles common among young adults.

The most striking finding was that unmet need for mental health treatment mediated these associations, meaning that a lack of access to appropriate mental health care partially explains why distressed students turn to simultaneous substance use. Specifically, unmet treatment need accounted for 23.59% of the effect on SAC use and 13.11% of the effect on co-occurring use disorders. This suggests that students are using alcohol and cannabis together as a potential coping mechanism when professional mental health support is unavailable or inaccessible.

These findings have important implications for college health policy and intervention. Rather than focusing solely on reducing substance use among stressed students, addressing barriers to mental health treatment—such as cost, wait times, stigma, and limited campus resources—could significantly reduce the dual use of alcohol and cannabis. The research underscores that mental health care access is a critical public health lever for preventing problematic substance use patterns in college populations.