The Cannabis Abuse Screening Test (CAST) and Its Applications

Cannabis is the most widely used illegal psychoactive substance in the world. There are many self-report screenings that are designed to detect the problematic use of cannabis, but in order to compare the various studies in different countries, and to effectively monitor phenomena related to problematic-cannabis-use, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) suggests the use of the Cannabis-Abuse Screening Test (CAST). Recently, several studies have investigated the association between problematic-cannabis-use detected by CAST and other components relating to the subject and the social and family environments. This study shows that the problematic-cannabis-use is positively related with the use of other substance (tobacco, alcohol, and other illegal substances) and truancy from school, as well as poor scholastic performance and gambling for money. The protective variables regarding problematic-cannabis-use are high self-esteem and satisfaction with health status. These results must be taken into consideration when designing interventions of prevention and of treatment targeting young people and families.