Associations between Butane Hash Oil Use, Sensation Seeking, and Delay Discounting

High-potency cannabis concentrates, such as Butane Hash Oil (BHO), are becoming increasingly popular in the United States. It is important to identify risk factors that might distinguish BHO and marijuana (buds and flower of the cannabis plant) use of cannabis because there are consequences associated with BHO use that may not associated with marijuana use, due to the higher THC content of BHO as compared to marijuana. The goal of this study was to gain a better understanding of how two risk factors, sensation seeking and delay discounting, relate to young adult BHO use in order to guide the development of targeted prevention and intervention strategies. A sample of 1,086 college students were recruited to complete a survey about their health and behavior for course credit or extra credit. Participants who had used cannabis in the past year (33%, n=363) completed questions about their cannabis use, including their use of BHO and cannabis-related risk factors, as well as measures of sensation seeking and delay discounting. Of the past-year cannabis users with useable data (n=339), 45% (n=152) had used BHO in the past year. Sensation seeking was found to be associated with past-year BHO use after controlling for demographics, age of first cannabis use, and other substance use including binge drinking and illicit drug use other than cannabis (OR=1.55, p=0.040), however delay discounting was not (OR=0.92, p=0.334). There was no evidence of an interaction between sensation seeking and delay discounting. Longitudinal research is necessary to determine if cannabis users with high sensation seeking tend to seek out BHO and/or if BHO use increases risk for sensation seeking.