Trial reportDrug and alcohol dependence2017
A randomized placebo-controlled trial of N-acetylcysteine for cannabis use disorder in adults.
Trial report in Drug and alcohol dependence, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04964843 (A Pilot Study of N-acetylcysteine for Alcohol Use Disorder), which is not on this map. Cited by 88 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.
A Pilot Study of N-acetylcysteine for Alcohol Use Disorder
Who cites it
88 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 150 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pharmacotherapies for cannabis use disorder.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Effect of N-acetylcysteine on craving in substance use disorders (SUD): a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Pooled it
- Pharmacotherapies for cannabis use disorder: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.The International journal on drug policy · 2021Pooled it
- Sex- and Gender-Based Analysis in Cannabis Treatment Outcomes: A Systematic Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Pooled 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
- N-Acetylcysteine for the Treatment of Psychiatric Disorders: A Review of Current Evidence.BioMed research international · 2018Pooled 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
- Longitudinal craving profiles in cannabis use disorder: A latent class growth analysis of the achieving cannabis cessation: Evaluating N-Acetylcysteine Treatment (ACCENT) (CTN-0053) trial.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2026Trial
- A multi-site study examining the tobacco withdrawal trajectory in people with tobacco and cannabis co-use.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2025Trial
- N-acetylcysteine for youth cannabis use disorder: randomized controlled trial main findings.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2025Trial
- A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of N-acetylcysteine as an adjuvant treatment for alcohol use disorder.Revista brasileira de psiquiatria (Sao Paulo, Brazil : 1999) · 2025Trial
- 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
- The therapeutic effect of N-acetylcysteine as an add-on to methadone maintenance therapy medication in outpatients with substance use disorders: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial.Brain and behavior · 2023Trial
- Characterizing cannabis use reduction and change in functioning during treatment: Initial steps on the path to new clinical endpoints.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2022Trial
- Evaluating cannabis use risk reduction as an alternative clinical outcome for cannabis use disorder.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 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
- Blunts versus joints: Cannabis use characteristics and consequences among treatment-seeking adults.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2019Trial
28 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
23 authors at 10 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundCannabis use disorder (CUD) is a prevalent and impairing condition, and established psychosocial treatments convey limited efficacy. In light of recent findings supporting the efficacy of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) for CUD in adolescents, the objective of this trial was to evaluate its efficacy in adults.
methodsIn a 12-week double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial, treatment-seeking adults ages 18-50 with CUD (N=302), enrolled across six National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network-affiliated clinical sites, were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to a 12-week course of NAC 1200mg (n=153) or placebo (n=149) twice daily. All participants received contingency management (CM) and medical management. The primary efficacy measure was the odds of negative urine cannabinoid tests during treatment, compared between NAC and placebo participants.
resultsThere was not statistically significant evidence that the NAC and placebo groups differed in cannabis abstinence (odds ratio=1.00, 95% confidence interval 0.63-1.59, p=0.984). Overall, 22.3% of urine cannabinoid tests in the NAC group were negative, compared with 22.4% in the placebo group. Many participants were medication non-adherent; exploratory analysis within medication-adherent subgroups revealed no significant differential abstinence outcomes by treatment group.
conclusionsIn contrast with prior findings in adolescents, there is no evidence that NAC 1200mg twice daily plus CM is differentially efficacious for CUD in adults when compared to placebo plus CM. This discrepant finding between adolescents and adults with CUD may have been influenced by differences in development, cannabis use profiles, responses to embedded behavioral treatment, medication adherence, and other factors.
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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.