ArticleDrug and alcohol dependence2016
A contingency management method for 30-days abstinence in non-treatment seeking young adult cannabis users.
Article in Drug and alcohol dependence, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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.
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Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 34 citations in OpenAlex.
- Risky decision-making in individuals with substance use disorder: A meta-analysis and meta-regression review.Psychopharmacology · 2020Pooled it
- 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
- N-acetylcysteine for youth cannabis use disorder: randomized controlled trial main findings.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2025Trial
- Contingency management is associated with positive changes in attitudes and reductions in cannabis use even after discontinuation of incentives among non-treatment seeking youth.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2024Trial
- Assessing changes in sleep across four weeks among adolescents randomized to incentivized cannabis abstinence.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2023Trial
- Alcohol substitution during one month of cannabis abstinence among non-treatment seeking youth.Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry · 2021Trial
- Nicotine patch for cannabis withdrawal symptom relief: a randomized controlled trial.Psychopharmacology · 2020Trial
- One Month of Cannabis Abstinence in Adolescents and Young Adults Is Associated With Improved Memory.The Journal of clinical psychiatry · 2018Trial
- Pharmacotherapy for Cannabis Use Disorder: Preclinical and Clinical Models.Current topics in behavioral neurosciences · 2026Review
- Article
- Neurocognitive outcomes in adolescents with and without four weeks of cannabis abstinence: a randomized clinical trial using contingency management.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Evolution of the substance use landscape: Implications for contingency management.Journal of applied behavior analysis · 2025Review
- Feasibility and utility of a structured guide for cannabis tolerance breaks in young adults.Journal of American college health : J of ACH · 2025Article
- Review
- Contingency Management for Treatment of Cannabis Use Disorder in Co-Occurring Mental Health Disorders: A Systematic Review.Brain sciences · 2022Review
- Cannabis use and cannabis use disorder.Nature reviews. Disease primers · 2021Review
- Human Laboratory Models of Cannabis Use: Applications for Clinical and Translational Psychiatry Research.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Article
- Assessing Changes in Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety During Four Weeks of Cannabis Abstinence Among Adolescents.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2021Article
- The state of clinical outcome assessments for cannabis use disorder clinical trials: A review and research agenda.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2020Review
- Urinary 11-nor-9-carboxy-tetrahydrocannabinol elimination in adolescent and young adult cannabis users during one month of sustained and biochemically-verified abstinence.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundRates of young adult cannabis use are rising, perceived harm is at its historical nadir, and most users do not want to quit. Most studies evaluating effects of cannabis use in young adults are cross-sectional, limiting causal inference. A method to reliably induce abstinence periods in cannabis users would allow assessment of the effects of abstinence and resumption of use on a variety of outcomes in a within-subjects, repeated measures design.
methodsWe examined the efficacy and feasibility of a voucher-based contingency management procedure for incentivizing one month of continuous cannabis abstinence among young adults who reported at least weekly cannabis use, volunteered to participate in a laboratory study, and did not express a desire to discontinue cannabis use long-term. Continuous cannabis abstinence was reinforced with an escalating incentive schedule, and self-report of abstinence was confirmed by frequent quantitative assays of urine cannabis metabolite (THCCOOH) concentration. New cannabis use during the abstinence period was determined using an established algorithm of change in creatinine-adjusted cannabis metabolite concentrations between study visits.
resultsThirty-eight young adults, aged 18-25 years, enrolled and 34 (89.5%) attained biochemically confirmed 30-day abstinence. Among those who attained abstinence, 93.9% resumed regular use within two-weeks of incentive discontinuation.
conclusionFindings support the feasibility and efficacy of contingency management to elicit short-term, continuous cannabis abstinence among young adult, non-treatment seeking, regular cannabis users. Further work should test the effectiveness of this contingency management procedure for cannabis abstinence in periods longer than one month, which may be required to evaluate some effects of abstinence.
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Registered trials
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