Assessing and Treating Cannabis Use Disorder

Topics: Cannabis | Depression | Marijuana | Potency | Substance Use Disorder | Weed | Withdrawal

CCPR: Tell us a little bit about your background. Dr. Gobbi: I trained in medicine, psychiatry, and psychotherapy in Rome, Italy, then received a PhD in neuroscience, working in preclinical psychopharmacology. I now work in our mood disorder clinic and ER, and I direct our basic psychopharmacology lab (neurobiological psychiatry unit), including resear

Motivational Interviewing With Teens About Weed

Topics: Cannabis | Marijuana | Motivational Interviewing | Outpatient | Primary care | Substance use disorders | teens | Weed

With motivational interviewing (MI), people are more likely to accept and act when they feel ownership; MI is specifically helpful for teens, who are at an age where they do not want suggestions from others. We spoke with Dr. Elizabeth D’Amico, nationally recognized for her work developing, implementing, and evaluating interventions for adolescents, a

A Psychosocial Intervention for Chronic Pain and SUD

Topics: Clinical practice | Marijuana | observational study | Pain | quality of life

REVIEW OF: Ilgen MA et al, JAMA Psychiatry 2020; published online July 29, 2020 Co-occurring substance use disorders (SUD) and chronic pain can be tough to treat. Little research has focused directly on this phenomenon, since most studies of pain exclude individuals with SUD. However, a few small, open studies of psychotherapeutic pain management in

Medical Marijuana for Chronic Pain: The Cart Before the Horse?

Topics: Clinical practice | Harm reduction | Marijuana | Pain

In 2019, 17.5% of the American population used cannabis in the past year—up from 11.0% in 2002 (www.samhsa.gov/data/release/2019-national-survey-drug-use-and-health-nsduh-releases). As more states legalize cannabis for medical or recreational use, it’s becoming more common for our patients to add medical marijuana to their medication regimen for var

Medical Cannabis for Chronic Pain and Quality of Life

Topics: Clinical practice | Marijuana | observational study | Pain | quality of life

REVIEW OF: Safakish R et al, Pain Medicine 2020 Jun 18;pnaa163. Epub ahead of print. Although chronic pain affects 10%–30% of the adult population and contributes to a host of physical and mental health problems, we often find ourselves with limited options to assist the patient with pain in front of us. While medical cannabis (MJ) has shown promis

N-acetylcysteine Not Effective for Cannabis Use Disorder in Adults

Topics: Addiction | Addiction Treatment | Cannabis | Marijuana | Substance Use Disorder

Review of: Gray KM et al, Drug and Alcohol Dependence 2017;177:249–257 N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is an over-the-counter supplement related to the amino acid cysteine. In addition to its use as an antidote for acetaminophen poisoning, it has shown evidence of efficacy in some psychiatric disorders. For substance use disorders, its primary mechanism of

Is There a Case for Cannabis in the Treatment of Pain?

Topics: Cannabidiol | Cannabis | Marijuana | Opioids | Pain | Research | Research Update

Review of: Da Vita et al, JAMA Psychiatry 2018;75(11):1118-1127 Study Type: Meta-analysis of placebo-controlled trials In the midst of the opioid epidemic, researchers are looking for new ways to treat chronic pain. Interestingly, states that have legalized medical marijuana have fewer opioid prescriptions but no clear reduction in mortality over