Active clinical trials for "Marijuana Abuse"

This trial will examine the efficacy of lithium in providing symptomatic relief from the withdrawal discomfort experienced by some dependent users of cannabis on cessation of regular use. Significant withdrawal may be a barrier to achieving abstinence in some clients and can be associated with marked disturbances in mood, sleep, hostility and aggression. Relief from such symptoms may be important in helping some clients achieve a period of abstinence and facilitate subsequent entry into a relapse prevention program.

The goal of this research is to improve treatment outcome for marijuana-dependent individuals. The current study builds on the findings of our prior NIDA-funded marijuana treatment study in which improved client outcomes were associated with greater treatment attendance, greater client self-efficacy, and greater use of coping skills. We will use a contingency management paradigm to provide tangible reinforcement for completing homework assignments that are designed to enhance coping skills. It is anticipated that this will result in greater homework compliance, leading to greater self-efficacy regarding one's ability to cope with high-risk situations. Improved self-efficacy will enhance the likelihood of employing coping skills in high-risk situations, thereby increasing the probability of achieving and maintaining abstinence.

Smoked marijuana (MJ) and dronabinol (also known as THC or by the trade name Marinol) are used to increase appetite, food intake, and weight in patients with HIV who experience unintended weight loss. This study will compare the effects of MJ and Marinol use in marijuana smokers who are HIV infected.

The purpose of the trial is to investigate the effect of specialized treatment of cannabis abuse among young people with psychosis. The specialized treatment consists of manualized individual treatment and group therapy. It will be compared with the standard treatment, which consists of non-specialized, non-manualized treatment. 140 patients will be randomised to one of the two treatments, and the investigator(s) will be blinded to the treatment received.

Cannabis is widely used worldwide and is associated with negative outcomes including cannabis use disorder (CanUD), psychosis, and cognitive impairment amongst others. Given the legalization of "recreational" and "medical" cannabis globally, the increasing availability of cannabis, the higher potency of cannabis, the availability of highly potent cannabinoid products, the commercialization of cannabis, and the rising rates of cannabis use, it is critical to understand how genetic factors influence 1) an individual's vulnerability for addiction and psychosis, 2) the response to cannabinoids, 3) the response to novel treatments for CanUD. CanUD is strongly genetically influenced; the investigators published the first CanUD genomewide association study (GWAS) with genomewide-significant results; however, the precise nature of the contribution of genetic factors in the development of CanUD is still not clear. Cannabis exposure has also been linked to a number of psychosis outcomes including schizophrenia (SCZ). SCZ is highly heritable and population-based and genetics studies both support a bidirectional genetic relationship between SCZ and CanUD. However, the precise contribution of genetic factors in the development of psychosis outcomes related to cannabis are not clear.

This study examines how marijuana use affects processes related to recovery from chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Half the participants will be individuals with chronic PTSD and heavy marijuana use and half will be individuals with chronic PTSD and no marijuana use. This study will assess how individuals with PTSD with heavy or no marijuana use perform on a discriminative conditioning and extinction paradigm designed to measure fear extinction learning, and how they respond to a brief daily imaginal exposure treatment in regards to PTSD symptom reduction.

This investigation will preliminarily determine if a course of high-frequency rTMS applied to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, will reduce behavioral craving, and fMRI cue-reactivity in treatment-seeking cannabis use disordered participants.

A hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial that is designed to assess the effectiveness of an intervention (The Teen Marijuana Check-Up) when delivered in real world settings. In addition, the study will assess the frequency of coaching support needed by providers to maintain adherent skill levels.

The cannabinoid delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the primary psychoactive component of marijuana. THC is believed to be a significant factor in the addictive potential associated with marijuana use. In addition, attenuated levels of endogenous endocannabinoids have been found in alcohol-dependent individuals as compared to social drinkers, suggesting that changes in the sensitivity of the endogenous endocannabinoid system play a role in the transition from recreational drug use to substance use disorders. Thus, pharmacotherapies that target the cannabinoid system may be effective strategies for reducing marijuana use and dependence. Recent preclinical data demonstrate that the neurosteroid pregnenolone (PREG) inhibits THC activation of cannabinoid receptors and decreases symptoms of marijuana intoxication. In addition, other studies show that PREG inhibits drug-seeking behavior. This pilot study will provide important preliminary data on the effect of an acute dose of PREG on cue-related craving in individuals with cannabis use disorder.

Cannabis use disorders are an important public health problem in the United States, but there are no effective medications available to treat these disorders. The investigators intend to test a medication with interesting properties, nabilone, as a treatment for cannabis dependence and to study the relationship of this treatment with the brain using functional MRI brain scans. Nabilone and marijuana have similar effects upon behaviors and the human body, suggesting that nabilone may decrease cannabis withdrawal symptoms while allowing treatment-seeking patients to benefit from behavioral treatments when they are trying to stop using cannabis. The investigators propose to assess the relationship of nabilone, when added to behavioral treatment, on cannabis use patterns in cannabis-dependent patients. The investigators also aim to determine the effects of nabilone on performance on neuropsychological tests and to assess the correlation of neuropsychological performance to brain changes using functional MRI brain scans. The investigators hypothesize that patients receiving nabilone will reduce their use of cannabis more than patients receiving placebo during this 10-week treatment trial.