Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33309538›Full record

Trial reportProgress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry2021

Alcohol substitution during one month of cannabis abstinence among non-treatment seeking youth.

Randi Melissa Schuster, Kevin Potter, Erin Lamberth, Natali Rychik, Maya Hareli, Sophia Allen, Hannah C Broos, Audrey Mustoe, Jodi M Gilman, Gladys Pachas and 1 more

Registry-linked trialOpen access · greenAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03276221 (Cognitive Recovery With Cannabis Abstinence Among High School-Aged Adolescents), which is not on this map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.9field-weighted citation impact, top 25% 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.

NCT03276221 nacompletednot on this map

Cognitive Recovery With Cannabis Abstinence Among High School-Aged Adolescents

TypeinterventionalSponsorMassachusetts General HospitalRan2017 to 2022Enrolled201ConditionsCannabis Use, Cognitive Change, Adolescent BehaviorArmsAbstinence
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Financial Incentives for Substance Abstinence: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Review
  7. Article
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

11 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Randi Melissa SchusterCenter for Addiction Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, MA General Hospital, United States of America; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States of America. Electronic address: Rschuster@mgh.harvard.edu.
Kevin PotterCenter for Addiction Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, MA General Hospital, United States of America.
Erin LamberthCenter for Addiction Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, MA General Hospital, United States of America.
Natali RychikCenter for Addiction Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, MA General Hospital, United States of America.
Maya HareliDepartment of Psychology, Loyola University Chicago, United States of America.
Sophia AllenCenter for Addiction Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, MA General Hospital, United States of America.
Hannah C BroosDepartment of Psychology, University of Miami, United States of America.
Audrey MustoeCenter for Addiction Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, MA General Hospital, United States of America.
Jodi M GilmanCenter for Addiction Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, MA General Hospital, United States of America; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States of America.
Gladys PachasCenter for Addiction Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, MA General Hospital, United States of America.
A Eden EvinsCenter for Addiction Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, MA General Hospital, United States of America; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States of America.
Loyola University Chicago · USUniversity of Miami · US

Funding

Medical Marijuana, Neurocognition, and Subsequent Substance UseR01DA042043 · NIDA · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI GILMAN, JODI · 2017 to 2021
$3.3M
Mentoring in Addiction Treatment ResearchK24DA030443 · NIDA · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI EVINS, A EDEN · 2010 to 2020
$2.0M
Cognitive Recovery With Cannabis Abstinence Among High School-Aged AdolescentsK23DA042946 · NIDA · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · PI SCHUSTER, RANDI MELISSA · 2017 to 2021
$1.1M
NIDA NIH HHS K23 DA042946NIDA NIH HHS K24 DA030443NIDA NIH HHS R01 DA042043
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveCannabis and alcohol use are correlated behaviors among youth. It is not known whether discontinuation of cannabis use is associated with changes in alcohol use. This study assessed alcohol use in youth before, during, and after 4 weeks of paid cannabis abstinence.

methodsHealthy, non-treatment seeking, cannabis users (n = 160), aged 14-25 years, 84% of whom used alcohol in the last month, were enrolled for a 4-week study with a 2-4 week follow-up. Participants were randomly assigned to 4 weeks of either biochemically-verified cannabis abstinence achieved through a contingency management framework (CB-Abst) or monitoring with no abstinence requirement (CB-Mon). Participants were assessed at baseline and approximately 4, 6, 10, 17, 24, and 31 days after enrollment. A follow-up visit with no cannabis abstinence requirement for CB-Abst was conducted after 2-4 weeks.

resultsSixty percent of individuals assigned to the CB-Abst condition increased in frequency and quantity of alcohol consumption during the 4-week period of incentivized cannabis abstinence. As a whole, CB-Abst increased by a mean of 0.6 drinking days and 0.2 drinks per day in the initial week of abstinence (p's < 0.006). There was no evidence for further increases in drinking frequency or quantity during the 30-day abstinence period (p's > 0.53). There was no change in drinking frequency or quantity during the 4-week monitoring or follow-up periods among CB-Mon.

conclusionsOn average, 4 weeks of incentivized (i.e., paid) cannabis abstinence among non-treatment seeking youth was associated with increased frequency and amount of alcohol use in week 1 that was sustained over 4 weeks and resolved with resumption of cannabis use. However, there was notable variability in individual-level response, with 60% increasing in alcohol use and 23% actually decreasing in alcohol use during cannabis abstinence. Findings suggest that increased alcohol use during cannabis abstinence among youth merits further study to determine whether this behavior occurs among treatment seeking youth and its clinical significance.

Indexed as

AdolescentAdultAlcohol DrinkingFemaleFollow-Up StudiesHumansMaleMarijuana AbuseProspective StudiesTime FactorsYoung AdultAbstinenceAlcoholCannabisContingency ManagementMarijuanaSubstitutionYouth

Identifiers

PMID33309538
PMCPMC7882030
OpenAlexW3111144135

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

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.