Trial reportThe American journal of psychiatry2012
A double-blind randomized controlled trial of N-acetylcysteine in cannabis-dependent adolescents.
Trial report in The American journal of psychiatry, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. It is linked to 3 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 137 papers, 10 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.
The Effect of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) on Treatment of Alcohol and Cocaine Use Disorders: A Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial.
Imaging Framework for Testing GABAergic/Glutamatergic Drugs in Bipolar Alcoholics
A Pilot Study of N-acetylcysteine for Alcohol Use Disorder
Who cites it
137 citing papers in PubMed, 10 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 300 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
- Systematic review of outcome domains and measures used in psychosocial and pharmacological treatment trials for cannabis use disorder.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2019Pooled it
- Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments (CANMAT) and International Society for Bipolar Disorders (ISBD) 2018 guidelines for the management of patients with bipolar disorder.Bipolar disorders · 2018Guideline
- A scoping review and meta-analysis of psychosocial and pharmacological treatments for cannabis and tobacco use among African Americans.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2017Pooled it
- Assessment and management of treatment-refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder in children.Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry · 2015Pooled it
- Pharmacotherapies for cannabis dependence.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2014Pooled it
- Evidence Base on Outpatient Behavioral Treatments for Adolescent Substance Use, Update 2018-2023: Current Status, Best Practices, and Opportunities for Advancing the Science.Journal of clinical child and adolescent psychology : the official journal for the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, American Psychological Association, Division 53Pooled it
- A Randomized Controlled Trial of N-acetylcysteine for Adolescent and Young Adult Alcohol Use Disorder.Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry · 2026Trial
- N-acetylcysteine for youth cannabis use disorder: randomized controlled trial main findings.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2025Trial
- A preliminary randomized controlled trial of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation applied to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in treatment seeking participants with cannabis use disorder.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2024Trial
- Who responds to a multi-component treatment for cannabis use disorder? Using multivariable and machine learning models to classify treatment responders and non-responders.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2023Trial
- N-acetylcysteine does not alter neurometabolite levels in non-treatment seeking adolescents who use alcohol heavily: A preliminary randomized clinical trial.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2023Trial
- Findings from a pilot open-label trial of N-acetylcysteine for the treatment of pediatric mania and hypomania.BMC psychiatry · 2022Trial
- Varenicline as a treatment for cannabis use disorder: A placebo-controlled pilot trial.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2021Trial
- Evaluating N-acetylcysteine for early and end-of-treatment abstinence in adult cigarette smokers.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2021Trial
- Depressive symptoms and cannabis use in a placebo-controlled trial of N-Acetylcysteine for adult cannabis use disorder.Psychopharmacology · 2020Trial
- The effect of N-acetylcysteine on alcohol use during a cannabis cessation trial.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2018Trial
77 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectivePreclinical findings suggest that the over-the-counter supplement N-acetylcysteine (NAC), via glutamate modulation in the nucleus accumbens, holds promise as a pharmacotherapy for substance dependence. The authors investigated NAC as a novel cannabis cessation treatment in adolescents, a vulnerable group for whom existing treatments have shown limited efficacy.
methodIn an 8-week double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial, treatment-seeking cannabis-dependent adolescents (ages 15-21 years; N=116) received NAC (1200 mg) or placebo twice daily as well as a contingency management intervention and brief (<10 minutes) weekly cessation counseling. The primary efficacy measure was the odds of negative weekly urine cannabinoid test results during treatment among participants receiving NAC compared with those receiving placebo, in an intent-to-treat analysis. The primary tolerability measure was frequency of adverse events, compared by treatment group.
resultsParticipants receiving NAC had more than twice the odds, compared with those receiving placebo, of having negative urine cannabinoid test results during treatment (odds ratio=2.4, 95% CI=1.1-5.2). Exploratory secondary abstinence outcomes favored NAC but were not statistically significant. NAC was well tolerated, with minimal adverse events.
conclusionsThis is the first randomized controlled trial of pharmacotherapy for cannabis dependence in any age group to yield a positive primary cessation outcome in an intent-to-treat analysis. Findings support NAC as a pharmacotherapy to complement psychosocial treatment for cannabis dependence in adolescents.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.