Active clinical trials for "Marijuana Abuse"

This research is being done to measure the effects of both oral and vaporized cannabis (marijuana), at different doses, on the ability to perform certain tasks such as balancing, eye tracking, and computerized measures of memory and attention, as well as performance on a novel app (DRUID) that is being developed for field sobriety testing. The investigators will collect biological fluids (urine, blood, saliva/spit) after cannabis is eaten or vaporized to see if there are markers in those fluids that can predict performance on the behavioral tasks and the DRUID App. The results of this study will help us better understand the effects of using cannabis, and to help identify behaviors and/or substances in the body that relate to cannabis impairment.

Nearly 20 million Americans report use of cannabis in the past month, and heavy cannabis use has increased by nearly 60% in the U.S. since 2007. Heavy cannabis use is associated with lower educational attainment, reduced physical activity, and increased rates of addiction, unemployment, and neuropsychological deficits. Studies by the lab and others suggest that cannabis use is also associated with increased mental health symptoms and suicidal and nonsuicidal self-injury. In addition, cannabis is the illicit drug most strongly associated with drugged driving and traffic accidents, including fatal accidents. There is evidence that sustained abstinence from cannabis can lead to improvements in the functional outcomes of former users. However, he degree to which reductions in cannabis use might be associated with positive changes in functional outcomes is currently unknown. The overall objective of the present research is to use ecological momentary assessment (EMA), a real-time, naturalistic data collection method, to study the impact of reduced cannabis use on functional outcomes in heavy cannabis users. Contingency management (CM) will be used to promote reductions in frequency and quantity of cannabis use. CM is an intensive behavioral therapy that is highly effective at producing short-term reductions in illicit drug use. The investigators novel approach includes mobile technology to make CM more portable and feasible. The present research will use this technology in conjunction with state-of-the-art EMA methods to study the impact of reduced cannabis use on key functional outcomes. The investigators central hypothesis is that reductions in frequency and quantity of cannabis use will lead to positive changes in cannabis users' mental health, physical activity, working memory, health-related quality of life, and driving behavior.

This study will evaluate the individual and interactive pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic effects of smoked cannabis and nicotine.

This study is an open-label, single-dose, healthy volunteer phase 1 study after overnight fasting designed to study the safety and PK of medicated drops and tablet formulation for sublingual administration.

The objective of this study is to assess the effects of oral cannabidiol (CBD; 0, 200, 400, 800 mg) on smoked marijuana's (0, 5.6% THC) subjective, reinforcing, cognitive, and cardiovascular effects. This experiment is expected to reveal CBD's intrinsic effects when combined with placebo marijuana, as well as its ability to modulate the behavioral effects of active marijuana.

Cannabis sativa is one of the most ancient psychotropic drugs known to humanity. Although most Western countries have outlawed the use of cannabis according to the UN Convention of Psychotropic Substances, an increasing number of states in the USA, Canada and several European countries allow the medicinal use of cannabis subject to a doctor's recommendation. In oncology, the beneficial effects of treatment with the plant or treatment with medicine produced from its components are related to symptoms of the disease: pain, nausea and vomiting, loss of appetite and weight loss. There is only partial clinical evidence of the efficacy of cannabis for these indications. In Israel, according to Ministry of Health regulations, permission to use medicinal cannabis for oncology patients can be given for two indications: to relieve disease-related symptoms in advanced disease or during chemotherapy treatment to reduce side effects. The indications are very wide and allow a great deal of freedom for the physician's decisions, but also cause high demands for cannabis from patients. The cannabis plant and the synthetic drugs based on the plant are considered to be medically safe. Most of the adverse effects are related to the fact that the plant and the drugs are psychoactive. Among the effects named were dizziness, euphoria, difficulty concentrating, disturbances in thinking, memory loss, and loss of coordination. Recently, we published the results of a prospective, observational study evaluating the medical necessity for medicinal cannabis treatment in cancer patients on supportive or palliative care. No significant side effects, except for memory lessening in patients with prolonged cannabis use (p=0.002), were noted. Chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) is a phenomenon of cognitive decline that patients may experience during or after chemotherapy. Memory loss and lack of concentration and attention are the most frequent symptoms encountered. Evidence suggests that CRCI is of significant concern to patients and has become a major quality-of-life issue for survivors, with estimates of its frequency ranging from 14-85% of patients. The influence of cannabis use on cognitive functions of oncology patients has never been tested. Theoretically, the combination of chemotherapy and cannabis can cause severe reduction in cognitive functions in additive or synergistic ways. However, this hypothesis, too, has never been tested, although the number of patients using cannabis during chemotherapy treatments in Israel and in other Western countries is growing. Goals of current research: The main goal of the study is to evaluate prospectively the level of reduction in cognitive function of cancer patients who are on active oncology treatments and use cannabis, comparing to a group of patients without cannabis treatment. The second goal is to identify high-risk groups for cognitive impairment due to cannabis use. Patients and Methods: The study will be comprised of a cannabis user group that will include patients who will come for guidance sessions before being issued with a cannabis license and a control group of patients on active oncology treatments, meeting the same inclusion and exclusion criteria (except for cannabis use), and willing to complete the same pack of questionnaires and cognitive tests at the same three time points. All patients will sign an informed consent form. The study includes questionnaires on quality of life (EORTC-Q30), anxiety, depression (HADS) and fatigue (BFI), and cognitive tests (MoCA, DSST, Digital Finger Tapping) administered by the nurses who give guidance on cannabis according to the patient's language (Hebrew, Russian or Arabic). The nurses will have a short guidance course on "how to do cognitive tests" and a monthly meeting with a neuropsychologist to test the quality of the cognitive tests. The questionnaires and cognitive tests will be done on the day of entering the study (T0) and after 3 (T3) and 6 months (T6). The patients will be asked not to use cannabis in the 12 hours before the interviews after 3 and 6 months. Sample size: The sample size was built to show a difference of 1.1 points in the MoCA test (half the SD for the normal population) between two groups after three months of cannabis use. The number of patients needed with a power of 80%, β≤0.05 and SD=3.1 (the SD for mild cognitive impairment in the MoCA test) is calculated at 42 patients in each group (total 84 patients). Due to an expected drop-out of 20%, the number of patients to be included in the study is 101.

Motor vehicle collisions are the leading cause of death for young people. The investigators have recently found that driving after using cannabis is more common among young Canadian drivers than driving after drinking. While this observation raises concerns, the effects of cannabis on driving-related skills in this age group are not well understood. As well, evidence suggests that residual effects of cannabis on driving-related skills may be observed up to 24 hours later. These residual effects may have important implications for the effects of cannabis use on collision risk, but little evidence on them in available. This study will examine the effects of a single dose of cannabis (marijuana) on driving-related skills immediately following consumption, 24 hours later, and 48 hours later. To date, the residual effect at 48 hours has not been examined. A total of 142 subjects aged 19 to 25 years old will be randomly assigned to smoke either a placebo or active cannabis cigarette (12.5% THC potency). Following an eligibility screening and practice session, participants will attend 3 testing days; drug-administration, 24-hour follow-up and 48-hour follow-up. The effects of cannabis/placebo on performance of driving-related skills using a high-fidelity driving simulator will be assessed on each testing day. The effects of cannabis on mood, cognition, memory and complex reaction time will also be assessed. Identifying factors that affect the collision risks experienced by young drivers is a public health priority. While many young people believe that cannabis does not impair driving, some recent studies suggest that these may be very dangerous beliefs. This study will provide important information on how cannabis may affect the driving skills of young drivers, to inform efforts to understand and address cannabis-related collision in this age group.

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether or not marijuana blunts will produce comparable plasma THC levels as marijuana joints and if blunts will produce larger cardiovascular and subjective effects.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether Integrated Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or Twelve Step Facilitation Therapy is most effective for treatment of dually diagnosed veterans with depressive and substance use disorders.

Epidemiological studies have established a link between collisions while driving and cannabis use. With the changing legal landscape around cannabis, there is much interest in determining per se limits of cannabis while driving. The present study will evaluate driving on a driving simulator after smoking placebo or cannabis with 3 different levels of THC. THC is the active component in cannabis and blood, urine and oral fluid levels of THC will be correlated with driving impairment.