ArticleNeuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology2013
Nabilone decreases marijuana withdrawal and a laboratory measure of marijuana relapse.
Article in Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 73 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
73 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 126 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
- Cannabinoids in the Treatment of Cannabis Use Disorder: Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Pooled it
- Pharmacotherapies for cannabis dependence.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2019Pooled it
- A Systematic Review of the Efficacy of Cannabinoid Agonist Replacement Therapy for Cannabis Withdrawal Symptoms.CNS drugs · 2018Pooled it
- Pharmacotherapies for cannabis dependence.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2014Pooled it
- Signaling-specific inhibition of the CBNature medicine · 2023Trial
- Psychological and endocannabinoid responses to aerobic exercise in substance use disorder patients.Substance abuse · 2021Trial
- Acute effects of cannabinoids on symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder: A human laboratory study.Depression and anxiety · 2020Trial
- Nicotine patch for cannabis withdrawal symptom relief: a randomized controlled trial.Psychopharmacology · 2020Trial
- Nabilone for non-motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease: a randomized placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel-group, enriched enrolment randomized withdrawal study (The NMS-Nab Study).Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996) · 2019Trial
- Trial
- Nabilone pharmacotherapy for cannabis dependence: A randomized, controlled pilot study.The American journal on addictions · 2017Trial
- Mixed-amphetamine salts increase abstinence from marijuana in patients with co-occurring attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and cocaine dependence.The American journal on addictions · 2016Trial
- Effects of zolpidem alone and in combination with nabilone on cannabis withdrawal and a laboratory model of relapse in cannabis users.Psychopharmacology · 2016Trial
- Dronabinol and lofexidine for cannabis use disorder: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2016Trial
- An fMRI-Based Neural Signature of Decisions to Smoke Cannabis.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2015Trial
- Naltrexone Maintenance Decreases Cannabis Self-Administration and Subjective Effects in Daily Cannabis Smokers.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2015Trial
- Lithium carbonate in the management of cannabis withdrawal: a randomized placebo-controlled trial in an inpatient setting.Psychopharmacology · 2014Trial
- Do withdrawal-like symptoms mediate increased marijuana smoking in individuals treated with venlafaxine-XR?Drug and alcohol dependence · 2014Trial
- Pharmacotherapy for Cannabis Use Disorder: Preclinical and Clinical Models.Current topics in behavioral neurosciences · 2026Review
13 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
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Few individuals seeking treatment for marijuana use achieve sustained abstinence. The cannabinoid receptor agonist, Δ(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC; dronabinol), decreases marijuana withdrawal symptoms, yet does not decrease marijuana use in the laboratory or clinic. Dronabinol has poor bioavailability, which may contribute to its poor efficacy. The FDA-approved synthetic analog of THC, nabilone, has higher bioavailability and clearer dose-linearity than dronabinol. This study tested whether nabilone administration would decrease marijuana withdrawal symptoms and a laboratory measure of marijuana relapse relative to placebo. Daily, nontreatment-seeking marijuana smokers (8 men and 3 women), who reported smoking 8.3±3.1 marijuana cigarettes/day completed this within-subject study comprising three, 8-day inpatient phases; each phase tested a different nabilone dose (0, 6, 8 mg/day, administered in counter-balanced order on days 2-8). On the first inpatient day, participants took placebo capsules and smoked active marijuana (5.6% THC) at six timepoints. For the next 3 days, they had the opportunity to self-administer placebo marijuana (0.0% THC; withdrawal), followed by 4 days in which active marijuana was available for self-administration (5.6% THC; relapse). Both nabilone dose conditions decreased marijuana relapse and reversed withdrawal-related irritability and disruptions in sleep and food intake (p<0.05). Nabilone (8 mg/day) modestly worsened psychomotor task performance. Neither dose condition increased ratings of capsule 'liking' or desire to take the capsules relative to placebo. Thus, nabilone maintenance produced a robust attenuation of marijuana withdrawal symptoms and a laboratory measure of relapse even with once per day dosing. These data support testing of nabilone for patients seeking marijuana treatment.
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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.