Childhood maltreatment – experiencing sexual abuse, physical abuse or neglect in childhood – has long been established as a risk factor for early cannabis initiation (Bensley et al., 1999; Harrison et al., 1997; Nelson et al., 2006; Sartor et al., 2015; Werner et al., 2016) and cannabis use disorder (CUD) (Duncan et al., 2008; Kendler et al., 2000; Rogosch et al., 2010). Data from the National Epidemiologic Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions demonstrate the robustness of these associations: elevated risk for CUD was observed in individuals who reported childhood physical abuse, sexual abuse, or neglect even after adjusting for demographic characteristics and a wide range of psychiatric conditions (Afifi et al., 2012). There is also evidence that the magnitude and stability of the associations between childhood maltreatment and cannabis initiation and the transition to problem use differ between African-Americans (AAs) and European-Americans (EAs) (Sartor et al., 2015). In addition, in a recent study by our group using the current sample to examine specific traumatic experiences in relation to the timing of cannabis initiation, childhood sexual abuse predicted cannabis initiation
