Treatment of Cannabis Use Disorders: A Review of the Literature

Abstract

Cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug in the United States. Despite the fact that there are large numbers of people with cannabis dependence, relatively little attention has been paid to the treatment of this condition. This article seeks to critically review the existing literature about the various psychosocial and pharmacologic treatments of cannabis dependence. We begin with a discussion of the early treatment literature which draws primarily from anecdotal experience and open, uncontrolled trials and proceed through two recent, large, randomized controlled trials of psychotherapies for the treatment of cannabis dependence. We conclude that while a number of psychotherapies have been found to be effective in treating this disorder, with the exception of adding vouchers to reinforce negative urine toxicology screens, no form of psychotherapy has been found to be more effective than any other. In addition, we review the only two clinical pharmacotherapy trials for cannabis dependence as well as the pre-clinical laboratory pharmacotherapy trials in cannabis dependent individuals. We also review pertinent dual-diagnosis pharmacotherapy trials and discuss potential future directions in treatment research for the pharmacotherapy of cannabis dependence.

The Changes of the Cognitive and Psychomotor Functions in the Chronic Cannabis Users after a Month of Remission

“…At present, there are no effective treatments for cannabis abuse/dependence. Behavioral therapies are effective to some extent 5 . It may lead to acute and chronic health problems1.…”

The burden of disease attributable to cannabis use in Canada in 2012

“…As such, there are currently no approved pharmacotherapies for CUDs [70][71][72]. Treatment interventions are restricted mainly to psychosocial therapies, including cognitive-behavioral therapy and motivational enhancement therapy [72]. National data for substance abuse treatment admissions are not available in Canada, but evidence from Ontario indicates that CUDs constitute nearly one-third of all admissions to publically funded substance abuse treatment programs [73].…”

Pharmacotherapies for cannabis dependence

“…There are currently no accepted pharmacotherapies for the treatment of cannabis withdrawal or cessation (Nordstrom 2007). The identification and development of medications to fill this gap has become an increasing priority among researchers (Vandrey 2009).…”