Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31712969›Full record

Trial reportPsychopharmacology2020

Depressive symptoms and cannabis use in a placebo-controlled trial of N-Acetylcysteine for adult cannabis use disorder.

Rachel L Tomko, Nathaniel L Baker, Caitlyn O Hood, Amanda K Gilmore, Erin A McClure, Lindsay M Squeglia, Aimee L McRae-Clark, Susan C Sonne, Kevin M Gray

Registry-linked trialOpen access · greenAbstract readMulticenter StudyRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Psychopharmacology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT01675661 (Achieving Cannabis Cessation), which is not on this map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.1field-weighted citation impact, top 14% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

NCT01675661 phase3completednot on this map

Achieving Cannabis Cessation: Evaluating N-Acetylcysteine Treatment (ACCENT)

TypeinterventionalSponsorMedical University of South CarolinaRan2014 to 2015Enrolled302ConditionsCannabis DependenceArmsN-Acetylcysteine, Placebo
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 26 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pharmacotherapies for cannabis use disorder.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Trial
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Rachel L TomkoDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, MSC 861, 67 President Street, Charleston, SC, 29425-8610, USA. tomko@musc.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6961-4399
Nathaniel L BakerDepartment of Public Health Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, MSC 861, 67 President Street, Charleston, SC, 29425-8610, USA.
Caitlyn O HoodDepartment of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 40506, USA.
Amanda K GilmoreDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, MSC 861, 67 President Street, Charleston, SC, 29425-8610, USA.
Erin A McClureDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, MSC 861, 67 President Street, Charleston, SC, 29425-8610, USA.
Lindsay M SquegliaDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, MSC 861, 67 President Street, Charleston, SC, 29425-8610, USA.
Aimee L McRae-ClarkDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, MSC 861, 67 President Street, Charleston, SC, 29425-8610, USA.
Susan C SonneDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, MSC 861, 67 President Street, Charleston, SC, 29425-8610, USA.
Kevin M GrayDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, MSC 861, 67 President Street, Charleston, SC, 29425-8610, USA.
Medical University of South Carolina · USUniversity of Kentucky · US

Funding

The National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials NetworkUG1DA015831 · NIDA · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI Gail D'Onofrio, Roger D. Weiss · 2015 to 2026
$110.8M
Project-004UG1DA020024 · NIDA · UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER · PI Steven J Shoptaw, MADHUKAR H. TRIVEDI · 2015 to 2026
$71.6M
The National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials NetworkU10DA013045 · NIDA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI LING, WALTER NMN · 1999 to 2015
$52.6M
Southern Consortium Node of the Clinical Trials Network (Varenicline)UG1DA013727 · NIDA · MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA · PI KATHLEEN T. BRADY, Kelly S. Barth · 2015 to 2026
$24.8M
Clinical Trials Network: Pacific Northwest Node (CTN-0082, -0131, -0139 and dissemination library)UG1DA013714 · NIDA · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · PI Mary Akiko Hatch, John M. Roll · 2015 to 2026
$19.8M
Interdisciplinary Women's Health Research at MUSCK12HD055885 · NICHD · MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA · PI MCGINTY, JACQUELINE F. · 2007 to 2021
$7.2M
Drug Abuse Research Training (DART) ProgramR25DA020537 · NIDA · MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA · PI KATHLEEN T. BRADY, Sudie E Back · 2006 to 2026
$6.3M
Research Training in Drug Abuse BehaviorT32DA035200 · NIDA · UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY · PI CRAIG R RUSH, William Walton Stoops · 2013 to 2026
$4.4M
MID-CAREER AWARD IN PATIENT-ORIENTED DRUG ABUSE RESEARCHK24DA038240 · NIDA · MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA · PI MCRAE-CLARK, AIMEE L · 2014 to 2023
$1.9M
Technology-Based Prevention for Adolescent Substance Use, Sexual Assault, and Sexual Risk in Primary CareK23DA042935 · NIDA · MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA · PI GILMORE, AMANDA KATHERINE · 2017 to 2021
$1.1M
Neuroscience-informed Treatment Development for Adolescent Alcohol Use DisordersK23AA025399 · NIAAA · MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA · PI SQUEGLIA, LINDSAY · 2016 to 2020
$1.0M
Technological Innovations for the Remote Monitoring of Smoking in AdolescentsK01DA036739 · NIDA · MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA · PI MCCLURE, ERIN A · 2014 to 2018
$771k
HHS HHSN271201200017CNational Institute of Child Health and Human Development K12HD055885NIAAA NIH HHS K23 AA025399NIAAA NIH HHS K23AA025399NICHD NIH HHS K12 HD055885NIDA NIH HHS HHSN271201200017CNIDA NIH HHS K01 DA036739NIDA NIH HHS K01DA036739NIDA NIH HHS K23 DA042935NIDA NIH HHS K23DA042935NIDA NIH HHS K24 DA038240NIDA NIH HHS K24DA038240NIDA NIH HHS R25 DA020537NIDA NIH HHS T32 DA035200NIDA NIH HHS T32DA035200NIDA NIH HHS U10 DA013045NIDA NIH HHS U10DA013045NIDA NIH HHS UG1 DA013714NIDA NIH HHS UG1DA013714NIDA NIH HHS UG1 DA013727NIDA NIH HHS UG1DA013727NIDA NIH HHS UG1 DA015831NIDA NIH HHS UG1DA015831NIDA NIH HHS UG1 DA020024NIDA NIH HHS UG1DA020024
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

rationaleDepression is common among individuals with cannabis use disorder (CUD), particularly individuals who present to CUD treatment. Treatments that consider this comorbidity are essential.

objectivesThe goal of this secondary analysis was to examine whether N-acetylcysteine (NAC) reduced depressive symptoms among adults (age 18-50) with CUD (N = 302) and whether the effect of NAC on cannabis cessation varied as a result of baseline levels of depression. Bidirectional associations between cannabis use amount and depression were also examined.

methodsData for this secondary analysis were from a National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (NIDA CTN) multi-site clinical trial for CUD. Adults with CUD (N = 302) were randomized to receive 2400 mg of NAC daily or matched placebo for 12 weeks. All participants received abstinence-based contingency management. Cannabis quantity was measured by self-report, and weekly urinary cannabinoid levels (11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol) confirmed abstinence. Depressive symptoms were measured by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.

resultsDepressive symptoms did not differ between the NAC and placebo groups during treatment. There was no significant interaction between treatment and baseline depression predicting cannabis abstinence during treatment. Higher baseline depression was associated with decreased abstinence throughout treatment and a significant gender interaction suggested that this may be particularly true for females. Cross-lagged panel models suggested that depressive symptoms preceded increased cannabis use amounts (in grams) during the subsequent month. The reverse pathway was not significant (i.e., greater cannabis use preceding depressive symptoms).

conclusionsResults from this study suggest that depression may be a risk factor for poor CUD treatment outcome and therefore should be addressed in the context of treatment. However, results do not support the use of NAC to concurrently treat co-occurring depressive symptoms and CUD in adults.

trial registrationClinicaltrials.gov: NCT01675661.

Indexed as

AcetylcysteineAdultCannabisComorbidityDepressionDouble-Blind MethodDronabinolFemaleFree Radical ScavengersHumansMaleMarijuana AbuseMotivationTreatment OutcomeYoung AdultAcetylcysteineDronabinolFree Radical ScavengersCannabisCannabis use disorderDepressionMarijuanaMoodN-acetylcysteineStructural equation modeling

Identifiers

PMID31712969
PMCPMC7024037
OpenAlexW2984436214

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.