People usually get high to when they are feeling down, according to a recent study.  

Researchers found that adolescents and young adults who smoke marijuana frequently are attempting to manage negative moods. The study identified moods that were occurring in the 24 hours before marijuana use and compared it with moods at other times.

"Young people who use marijuana frequently experience an increase in negative affect in the 24 hours leading up to a use event, which lends strong support to an affect-regulation model in this population," Lydia A. Shrier, the study's lead author, said in a statement.  

Using marijuana as a coping technique for negative moods may make it harder for people to stop using the drug

"One of the challenges is that people often may use marijuana to feel better but may feel worse afterward," Shrier added. "Marijuana use can be associated with anxiety and other negative states. People feel bad, they use, and they might momentarily feel better, but then they feel worse. They don't necessarily link feeling bad after using with the use itself, so it can become a vicious circle."

For the study, Shrier and her colleagues recruited 40 people who used marijuana at least twice a week. They were trained to use a handheld computer that signaled them at a random time within three-hour intervals (four to six times per day) for two weeks. At each signal, participants were asked about their mood, companionship, perceived availability of marijuana, and recent marijuana use. Participants were also asked to report just before and just after any marijuana use. They completed more than 3,600 reports.

Researchers found that negative affect was significantly increased during the 24 hours before marijuana use compared with other periods. However, positive affect did not vary in the period before marijuana use compared with other times.

Also, neither the availability of marijuana nor the presence of friends modified the likelihood that chronic users would use marijuana following a period of negative effect.

The findings were recently published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.