Racial differences between African-American (AA) and European-American (EA) women in patterns of cannabis and other substance use are also important to consider. Racial disparities in trauma exposure and prevalence of cannabis use (Compton et al., 2004; Finlay et al., 2012) have been identified. African-American women are disproportionately exposed to traumatic stress and report higher rates of psychopathology (i.e., posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depression (MDD) (Duncan et al., 2014; McCutcheon et al., 2010; Roberts et al., 2011)). Research has shown differential patterns of cannabis use exist between African-American and European-American samples: AAs are more likely to use cannabis first (as opposed to alcohol (Sartor et al., 2013a)) and to use cannabis into adulthood (Finlay et al., 2012). Furthermore, rates of cannabis use disorder are increasing more quickly in AAs (Compton et al., 2004; Hasin et al., 2015). Unfortunately, AA women have been underrepresented in substance-related studies, which limit the examination of racial differences in the influence of environmental factors on multiple cannabis related phenotypes. Research has also shown differences in the impact of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) on cannabis involvement
