The definitive marijuana guide from Cannabis UK
Clinical profile of participants in a brief intervention program for cannabis use disorder
by
Copeland J, Swift W, Rees V.
ABSTRACT
The increasing demand for cannabis dependence treatment
has led to the identification of significant gaps in the knowledge of effective
interventions. A randomized controlled trial of brief cognitive-behavioral
interventions (CBT) for cannabis dependence was undertaken to address this
issue. A total of 229 participants were assessed and allocated to either
a 6-session CBT program, a single-session brief intervention, or a delayed-treatment
control group. This paper demonstrates that individuals with cannabis use
disorder will present for a brief intervention program. While they report
similar patterns of cannabis use to nontreatment samples, they report a
range of serious health and psychosocial consequences. While they appear
relatively socially stable, they typically demonstrated severe cannabis
dependence and significantly elevated levels of psychological distress,
with the most commonly cited reason for cannabis use being stress relief.
There were clinically relevant gender differences among the sample. This
study provides more evidence of the demand for, and nature of issues relevant
to, interventions for cannabis use disorders, and supports the need for
further research into how best to assist individuals with these disorders.
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