Higher Executive Functioning Protects Against Stress-Induced Urge to Smoke Marijuana in Adolescents’ Daily Lives.

Marijuana use during adolescence co-occurs with significant neurodevelopmental changes, particularly in executive functioning, to detrimental effect. This is clinically important as higher executive functioning may be protective against stress-induced craving. We found, via momentary assessments, that executive functioning moderated the relationship between moment-to-moment stress and marijuana craving in adolescent users.