DECEMBER 11, 2020
LaTrice Montgomery, PhD
Research Assistant Professor
Licensed Clinical Psychologist
Associate Editor, Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment
Addiction Sciences Division
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
About the Presentation: Approximately 40% of Black cannabis smokers report heavy levels of past month blunt use. Blunts are hollowed out tobacco cigar shells that are filled with cannabis. Blunt use has been associated with more severe cannabis use problems, such as an inability to cut down use, and health problems, such as an increased risk of cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases due to high levels of carbon monoxide exposure. Despite these negative drug use and health effects, few interventions have been designed to address blunt use, especially among Black young adults. Social media sites, such as Twitter, present unique opportunities to deliver online health-based interventions due to their popularity and ability to reach underserved and vulnerable populations who might be reluctant to enter or remain engaged in traditional substance use disorder treatment. This presentation will discuss the development and planning of a Twitter-based intervention designed to reduce heavy blunt use among Black young adults.
About the Presenter: Dr. Montgomery is a Research Associate Professor and Licensed Clinical Psychologist in the Addiction Sciences Division of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. She received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Cincinnati (UC) and completed her internship in the Department of Psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine. Her research focuses on cannabis and tobacco co-use (especially via blunts), medical marijuana and racial disparities in the prevention and treatment of substance use disorders. She currently has a career development award (K23) from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to develop and pilot test a Twitter-based intervention designed to promote blunt use reduction among young adults who frequently smoke blunts. Dr. Montgomery also has a pilot grant from UC to conduct a mixed methods study on the health and social effects of medical marijuana.