View clinical trials related to Marijuana Abuse.
Filter by:This is an 8 week, outpatient research study testing the use of long-acting naltrexone (Vivitrol) as a treatment for marijuana dependence. Vivitrol is a medication that is effective in treating dependence on opiates and opioids, and in treating dependence on alcohol. It is FDA approved for these disorders. It is a long-acting medication that contains enough medicine in each injection to last for one month. One way it works is by blocking the effects of opiates, including opiates released by the body in response to drugs and alcohol. In this study, we are interested in testing the effects of Vivitrol in people with marijuana dependence. Individuals participating in this study will receive two Vivitrol injections, each given four weeks apart, (week 1 and week 5). The injection is given in the muscle of the buttock on one side. Participants will attend clinic visits two times a week during this 8-week study for medical management for drug use and for monitoring of physical and psychological health.
Study of the effects of smoked cannabis consumption on performance on a driving simulator and reaction time. The study aims to explore the relationship between concentrations of cannabis in the blood, driving performance and reaction time.
The purpose of this trial is to investigate a novel treatment for cannabis dependence: cannabidiol. Between 96 and 168 young people who want to quit cannabis and meet criteria for moderate cannabis use disorder (DSM-5) will be recruited from the community. Stage one aims to identify the Most Effective Dose (MEDmg) of oral cannabidiol for reducing cannabis use over four treatment weeks. Stage two will determine whether the MED identified in stage 1 can offer an effective treatment for cannabis dependence.
Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the US, but treatment for marijuana dependence is not fully effective. In the current proposal we are exploring the idea that more tailored teaching of coping skills may result in improved outcomes for marijuana-dependence than those seen thus far. Participants will be 275 men and women meeting criteria for marijuana dependence and randomly assigned to 9 sessions of treatment in one of 4 treatment conditions: Standardized MET plus CB (SMET-CB); SMET+ CM (SMET-CB-CM); IATP; or IATP + CM (IATP-CM). Patients in all treatments will engage in ES via cell-phone for two weeks prior to treatment, for a weekly period during treatment, for another week after treatment has ended, and for two weekly periods at months 8 and 14. In the IATP conditions, the information gathered from the pretreatment and during-treatment ES periods will provide data for a functional analysis of patients' drug use and urges to use. It is hypothesized that IATP conditions will yield significantly better coping skills acquisition than SMET-CB conditions, both at posttreatment and at extended follow-ups, and that change in coping skills will predict better outcomes for the IATP conditions
Studies show that certain reminders of drug use such as the sight of someone using marijuana, pictures of blunts, particular moments throughout the day, prompt marijuana users to smoke marijuana. We are measuring the brain and behavioral responses of marijuana dependent individuals to these reminders (cues) We will examine brain responses during cue exposure and determine whether these responses are associated with treatment outcome. We are testing the hypothesis that the medication baclofen reduces brain responses during marijuana cue exposure and/or craving in marijuana dependent individuals. Baclofen is FDA-approved for other uses, but not for the treatment of marijuana dependence. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) will be used to measure the brain's response to marijuana cues. fMRI is a painless technique that takes special pictures of the brain (or other parts of your body). It does not involve radiation or injections. Eligible participants will have a 50% chance of receiving placebo (sugar pill) and a 50% chance of receiving baclofen. Neither the participant nor study personnel will know whether participants are receiving baclofen or placebo. Participants will also receive twice weekly psychosocial treatment with a certified clinician. Twelve weeks of treatment will be followed by a 12 week follow up.
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.
In this translational research proposal, based on our formulation, we seek to confirm and expand upon data obtained in our pilot study suggesting that cannabis and the cannabinoid agonist dronabinol, given in low dose to patients with schizophrenia and co-occurring cannabis use disorder, will in fact ameliorate the brain reward circuit dysregulation in these patients and, thereby, provide evidence in support of the role of cannabis as a "self-medication" agent for them.
This project tests the feasibility and utility of a novel, integrated approach to treatment of patients with cannabis use disorder (CUD) and anxiety disorders.
Marijuana (Cannabis sativa) is the most widely used illicit drug worldwide, with 17.4 million Americans reporting past month use in 2010 and 4.6 million meeting criteria for dependence, underscoring the public health importance of understanding the biological implications of use. How heavy cannabis use affects brain structure and cognitive performance in late life is unknown. The ongoing maturation in the adolescent brain, including the developmental circuitry underlying memory performance and executive control puts the adolescent brain at high risk for detrimental effects of heavy cannabis use. With the aging of the 'baby boomer' generation, many people who used cannabis heavily as adolescents are now entering their senior years when age-related cognitive decline may begin. Cannabis use doubled in less than a decade during the 1970's when 38% of those surveyed in the U.S. Survey on Drug Abuse reported using cannabis and 12% of those users reported using cannabis more than 20 times a month. Understanding how heavy, early cannabis use may affect neurobiological and cognitive outcomes is of high importance for this aging population, which is already at risk for memory and cognitive deficits in aging. Because cannabis use appears to have a primary effect within the hippocampus, the main structure for memory and the structure affected most by age-related memory impairments and pre-clinical Alzheimer's disease, we expect that the effects of chronic cannabis use may be greatest during aging. To our knowledge, no study has investigated the long-term effects of adolescent cannabis use on hippocampal morphology and cognitive performance in an aging population. Investigators will investigate hippocampal integrity and cognitive performance using high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and neuropsychological testing in an aging population of subjects (55-70 years old) who used cannabis more than 20 times a month for at least a year during adolescence. Investigators will compare data collected from heavy cannabis users to subjects who did not use cannabis but are matched for age, gender, education, light tobacco and light alcohol use. Finally, because family history and genetic risk are known to accelerate hippocampal morphology and memory decline in aging, the investigators will investigate whether possession of the APOE ε4 variant in heavy cannabis users is synergistically related to thinner hippocampal cortex and white matter deficits.
Currently, marijuana (MJ) is the most popular illicit drug, but there are few effective interventions to help young adults (age 18 to 25 years) to reduce their MJ intake. In this study, we will develop and initially test a smart phone app designed to promote exercise/physical activity as a positive alternative to MJ use. The app will be tested in an efficacy study in which MJ users are randomly to either receive personalized feedback about MJ use + use the exercise app or personalized feedback only. The results will contribute to knowledge about exercise/physical activity as a strategy for reducing young adults' MJ use and problems.