People who misuse sleep medications also commonly use cannabis, alcohol, and tobacco
Among adults who misused prescription sleep aids, 55.5% also used marijuana, and two distinct profiles emerged: a majority using marijuana/alcohol/tobacco and a smaller group adding cocaine, hallucinogens, and other prescriptions.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
Two polysubstance profiles identified: marijuana/alcohol/tobacco (MAT, 68.3%) and MAT plus cocaine/hallucinogens/prescription drugs (31.7%). The more complex profile was more common among younger, male, White adults.
Key Numbers
2,603 participants. Alcohol 90.4%, tobacco 61.5%, marijuana 55.5%. Average 3.6 additional substances. MAT profile: 68.3%. MAT+CHPR: 31.7%.
How They Did This
Latent class analysis of 2,603 NSDUH 2015-2019 participants with past 12-month sleep-motivated nonmedical use of prescription tranquilizers/sedatives plus additional substances.
Why This Research Matters
Sleep-motivated prescription drug misuse occurs overwhelmingly in polysubstance use contexts. Cannabis and alcohol are involved in nearly all cases, requiring integrated treatment.
The Bigger Picture
Understanding that cannabis is part of the picture for most prescription sleep aid misusers should inform comprehensive treatment planning.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Cross-sectional. NSDUH lacks frequency details. Self-reported motivations.
Questions This Raises
- ?Does addressing cannabis use improve outcomes for sleep aid misuse?
- ?Are stimulants driving the sleep problems?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- 55.5% of prescription sleep aid misusers also used marijuana
- Evidence Grade:
- Large nationally representative dataset with latent class analysis, limited by cross-sectional design.
- Study Age:
- Published in 2025, data 2015-2019.
- Original Title:
- Profiles of polysubstance use among people reporting past 12-month sleep-motivated nonmedical use of prescription tranquilizers/sedatives.
- Published In:
- The American journal on addictions, 34(3), 313-321 (2025)
- Authors:
- Falise, Alyssa M, Prasanna Surendran, Parvathy, Hoeflich, Carolin C, Striley, Catherine W, LaMontagne, Liva, Lopez-Quintero, Catalina
- Database ID:
- RTHC-06435
Evidence Hierarchy
A snapshot of a population at one point in time.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
Do people who misuse sleep medications also use cannabis?
Yes, 55.5% also used marijuana, alongside alcohol (90.4%) and tobacco (61.5%).
What puts someone at risk for the more complex pattern?
Being younger (18-25), male, White, and having health insurance were associated with the more complex polysubstance profile.
Read More on RethinkTHC
Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-06435APA
Falise, Alyssa M; Prasanna Surendran, Parvathy; Hoeflich, Carolin C; Striley, Catherine W; LaMontagne, Liva; Lopez-Quintero, Catalina. (2025). Profiles of polysubstance use among people reporting past 12-month sleep-motivated nonmedical use of prescription tranquilizers/sedatives.. The American journal on addictions, 34(3), 313-321. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajad.13665
MLA
Falise, Alyssa M, et al. "Profiles of polysubstance use among people reporting past 12-month sleep-motivated nonmedical use of prescription tranquilizers/sedatives.." The American journal on addictions, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajad.13665
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Profiles of polysubstance use among people reporting past 12..." RTHC-06435. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/falise-2025-profiles-of-polysubstance-use
Access the Original Study
Study data sourced from PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
This study breakdown was produced by the RethinkTHC research team. We analyze and report published research findings without making health recommendations. All interpretations are based solely on the published abstract and study data.