Poverty matters: Cannabis use among people with serious mental illness: Findings from the United States survey on drug use and health, 2015

Little is known about the influence of contextual characteristics on comorbid substance use and serious mental illness (SMI). To explore the role of poverty on comorbid SMI and cannabis use. We used data from the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, considering those in poverty, with income under 100% of the US poverty threshold. People in poverty were more likely to suffer from concurrent SMI and cannabis use (3.07%, 95% confidence interval (CI):1.84%; 5.07%), even controlling for gender, age, tobacco and alcohol use (odds ratio (OR)？=？2.77, 95% CI: 1.27; 6.03, p？=？.010). The magnitude of the association between SMI and cannabis use is influenced by poverty status. More research on potential mediators like income inequality and impoverished social capital is needed