Cannabis Use Among Muslim American Undergraduates: Private Religiosity, Normative Climates, and Campus Harm-Reduction Implications

Background: As cannabis laws liberalize across U.S. states, campus norms are shifting. However, little is known about how these changes affect Muslim American undergraduates, particularly in relation to religiosity and immigration background. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted between 2021–2022 with 183 Muslim-identifying undergraduate students. Measures included lifetime and recent cannabis use, a polysubstance co-use index, and predictors such as private and public religiosity, immigrant generation, and sociodemographic. Logistic regressions were used to estimate associations (odds ratios [ORs] and 95% confidence intervals [CIs]). Model fit was assessed, and complete-case analysis was applied. Results: Lower private religiosity was associated with higher odds of use (aOR=2.35, 95% CI:1.18–4.67), as was foreign-born status (aOR=1.92, 95% CI:1.01–3.67). Public religiosity and high school location were not significant. Polysubstance involvement was the strongest correlate (aOR=3.84, 95% CI:2.10–7.03). Users reported markedly higher alcohol, cigarette, and hookah use than abstainers (all p<.001). Conclusions: Private religiosity may protect against cannabis use, while immigrant status increases vulnerability. Situated within a campus policy context that combines federal Drug-Free Schools requirements with liberal state cannabis laws, these findings highlight how Muslim undergraduates navigate overlapping moral, legal, and social sanctions. From a harm-reduction perspective, results underscore the need for faith-sensitive, non-punitive campus responses that reduce health, social, and disciplinary harms, rather than relying solely on abstinence-based or punitive approaches.