Trial reportNeuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology2012
A proof-of-concept randomized controlled study of gabapentin: effects on cannabis use, withdrawal and executive function deficits in cannabis-dependent adults.
Trial report in Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT00395044 (Gabapentin for Cannabis Withdrawal and Use), which is not on this map. Cited by 101 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Gabapentin for Cannabis Withdrawal and Use
Who cites it
101 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 237 citations in OpenAlex.
- Evidence-based consensus guidelines for the pharmacological management of substance dependence: Recommendations from the British Association for Psychopharmacology.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2026Guideline
- Pharmacotherapies for cannabis use disorder.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Pharmacotherapies for cannabis use disorder: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.The International journal on drug policy · 2021Pooled it
- Pharmacotherapies for cannabis dependence.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2019Pooled it
- Use of Gabapentin in the Treatment of Substance Use and Psychiatric Disorders: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2019Pooled it
- Systematic review of outcome domains and measures used in psychosocial and pharmacological treatment trials for cannabis use disorder.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2019Pooled it
- Pharmacotherapies for cannabis dependence.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2014Pooled it
- Effect of four-week cannabidiol treatment on cognitive function: secondary outcomes from a randomised clinical trial for the treatment of cannabis use disorder.Psychopharmacology · 2023Trial
- Results from a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover, multimodal-MRI pilot study of gabapentin for co-occurring bipolar and cannabis use disorders.Addiction biology · 2022Trial
- Trial
- Nabilone pharmacotherapy for cannabis dependence: A randomized, controlled pilot study.The American journal on addictions · 2017Trial
- Topiramate and motivational enhancement therapy for cannabis use among youth: a randomized placebo-controlled pilot study.Addiction biology · 2017Trial
- Pilot trial of gabapentin for the treatment of benzodiazepine abuse or dependence in methadone maintenance patients.The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse · 2016Trial
- Effects of fixed or self-titrated dosages of Sativex on cannabis withdrawal and cravings.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2016Trial
- Buspirone treatment of cannabis dependence: A randomized, placebo-controlled trial.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2015Trial
- Lithium carbonate in the management of cannabis withdrawal: a randomized placebo-controlled trial in an inpatient setting.Psychopharmacology · 2014Trial
- Achieving cannabis cessation -- evaluating N-acetylcysteine treatment (ACCENT): design and implementation of a multi-site, randomized controlled study in the National Institute on Drug Abuse Clinical Trials Network.Contemporary clinical trials · 2014Trial
- Do withdrawal-like symptoms mediate increased marijuana smoking in individuals treated with venlafaxine-XR?Drug and alcohol dependence · 2014Trial
- Open-label pilot study of quetiapine treatment for cannabis dependence.The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse · 2014Trial
- Gabapentin treatment for alcohol dependence: a randomized clinical trial.JAMA internal medicine · 2014Trial
41 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
There are no FDA-approved pharmacotherapies for cannabis dependence. Cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug in the world, and patients seeking treatment for primary cannabis dependence represent 25% of all substance use admissions. We conducted a phase IIa proof-of-concept pilot study to examine the safety and efficacy of a calcium channel/GABA modulating drug, gabapentin, for the treatment of cannabis dependence. A 12-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted in 50 unpaid treatment-seeking male and female outpatients, aged 18-65 years, diagnosed with current cannabis dependence. Subjects received either gabapentin (1200 mg/day) or matched placebo. Manual-guided, abstinence-oriented individual counseling was provided weekly to all participants. Cannabis use was measured by weekly urine toxicology and by self-report using the Timeline Followback Interview. Cannabis withdrawal symptoms were assessed using the Marijuana Withdrawal Checklist. Executive function was measured using subtests from the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System. Relative to placebo, gabapentin significantly reduced cannabis use as measured both by urine toxicology (p=0.001) and by the Timeline Followback Interview (p=0.004), and significantly decreased withdrawal symptoms as measured by the Marijuana Withdrawal Checklist (p<0.001). Gabapentin was also associated with significantly greater improvement in overall performance on tests of executive function (p=0.029). This POC pilot study provides preliminary support for the safety and efficacy of gabapentin for treatment of cannabis dependence that merits further study, and provides an alternative conceptual framework for treatment of addiction aimed at restoring homeostasis in brain stress systems that are dysregulated in drug dependence and withdrawal.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.