CanCope: Digital Intervention for Coping With Cannabis Craving

Cannabis Use Clinical Trial

Official title:

CanCope: Digital Intervention for Coping With Cannabis Craving

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT05328362
• Other study ID #: STUDY00032248
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: August 27, 2021
• Est. completion date: December 16, 2021

Study information

• Verified date: April 2022
• Source: Trustees of Dartmouth College
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

The CanCope Study is a micro-randomized trial conducted to gather evidence about and compare the effectiveness of a momentary intervention to help young adults cope with cannabis cravings as they attempt to reduce their use.

Description:

The CanCope Study is designed to test the effectiveness of two distinct strategies (mindfulness and distraction) to cope with cannabis cravings in young adults (19 - 25 years) who are attempting to reduce their cannabis use. Cannabis use is determined using a single-item question about the number of days out of the past 30 days the individual used cannabis. Young adults who reported using cannabis >10 out of the past 30 days, who were not pregnant or breastfeeding, and who were not currently in treatment for problems related to substance use were eligible to enroll in this four-week study.

The CanCope intervention was delivered to participants through the MetricWire app, which was available for download on the participants' personal smartphones. Participants were asked to complete five ecological momentary assessments (EMA) per day, which asked questions related to cannabis use including one question about current level of craving on a scale of 0 - 10. If a participant reported a craving level >4, a message was sent via the app encouraging the participant to try a mindfulness or distraction coping strategy, or the participant received a thank-you for completing the EMA which served as an attention control.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 55
• Est. completion date: December 16, 2021
• Est. primary completion date: December 16, 2021
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: All
• Age group: 19 Years to 25 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Used cannabis at least 10 out of the past 30 days

Exclusion Criteria:

• Currently pregnant or breastfeeding

• Currently in treatment for problems related to substance use

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Cannabis Use
• Marijuana Abuse

Intervention

Behavioral:
• CanCope
Messages prompted participants to use mindfulness-based or distraction-based coping strategies, or a thank-you message which served as an attention control. If participants reported elevated craving (4 or greater) prior to a decision point, they received either a coping strategy message or a control message. If participants reported craving levels of less than 4 they received a control message.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	Center for Technology and Behavioral Health	Lebanon	New Hampshire

Sponsors (2)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Trustees of Dartmouth College	University of Michigan

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Proportion of decision points followed by decreased craving - Proximal outcome	Participants were asked to rate their level of cannabis craving on a scale of 0 - 10 five times per day. Decision points occurred when participants submitted their cannabis craving rating. Participants were considered available for randomization when craving >=4. To determine the effect of messaging on craving, we will calculate the proportion of times a participant was available for intervention and craving at the subsequent EMA decreased when they were randomized to (1) mindfulness, (2) distraction, or (3) control out of the total number of times they were available and randomized to (1) mindfulness, (2) distraction, or (3) control. Proportions will be determined for each participant, then averaged across participants. There were up to 140 decision points (5 per day x 28 days) per participant for the intervention period.	2.8 hours after each decision point