Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37802317›Full record

Trial reportJournal of substance use and addiction treatment2024

Randomized controlled trial of zolpidem as a pharmacotherapy for cannabis use disorder.

Dustin C Lee, Nicolas J Schlienz, Evan S Herrmann, Erin L Martin, Jeannie Leoutsakos, Alan J Budney, Michael T Smith, D Andrew Tompkins, Aidan J Hampson, Ryan Vandrey

Open access · greenAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Journal of substance use and addiction treatment, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 31% 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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 2 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pharmacotherapies for cannabis use disorder.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. Pharmacotherapy for Cannabis Use Disorder: Preclinical and Clinical Models.Current topics in behavioral neurosciences · 2026
    Review
  3. 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

10 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Dustin C LeeDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. Electronic address: dlee214@jhmi.edu.
Nicolas J SchlienzDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Evan S HerrmannDivision of Therapeutics and Medical Consequences, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
Erin L MartinDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Jeannie LeoutsakosDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Alan J BudneyCenter for Technology and Behavioral Health, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Lebanon, NH, USA.
Michael T SmithDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
D Andrew TompkinsDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Aidan J HampsonDivision of Therapeutics and Medical Consequences, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
Ryan VandreyDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Johns Hopkins Medicine · USJohns Hopkins University · USNational Institutes of Health · USUniversity of California, San Francisco · US

Funding

Treatment Development & Evaluation CoreP30DA029926 · NIDA · DARTMOUTH COLLEGE · PI Lisa A. Marsch · 2011 to 2026
$21.5M
Role of Sleep in the Treatment of Cannabis DependenceU01DA031784 · NIDA · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI VANDREY, RYAN G · 2012 to 2016
$3.2M
Optimizing Pain Treatment while Reducing Abuse Liability in Opioid DependenceK23DA029609 · NIDA · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI TOMPKINS, DAVID ANDREW · 2012 to 2016
$929k
NIDA NIH HHS K23 DA029609NIDA NIH HHS P30 DA029926NIDA NIH HHS U01 DA031784
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSleep disturbance is commonly reported among individuals meeting criteria for cannabis use disorder (CUD), and people who use cannabis frequently report sleep disturbance as a contributor to failed quit attempts. The purpose of this study was to measure sleep in individuals enrolled in treatment for CUD, and to determine whether use of hypnotic medication during treatment increased abstinence rates.

methodThe study enrolled 127 adults seeking treatment for CUD in a 12-week clinical trial and randomized to receive extended-release zolpidem (zolpidem-XR) or placebo. All participants received computerized behavioral therapy and abstinence-based contingency management. The study conducted in-home ambulatory polysomnography (PSG) assessments at baseline and during treatment to objectively measure sleep. Self-report measures of recent sleep, Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), and drug use (Timeline Follow-Back) were collected at each study visit, and the study confirmed self-reported abstinence via quantitative urine drug testing.

resultParticipants randomized to placebo, but not zolpidem-XR exhibited significant sleep disturbance during week 1 of treatment. Sleep disturbance emerged in the zolpidem-XR group after study medication was stopped at the end of treatment. Though participants assigned to the zolpidem-XR condition had qualitatively greater rates of abstinence compared with placebo (27 % versus 15 % negative at end of treatment), the difference was not statistically significant. Treatment retention was poor (about 50 % drop out in both groups) and medication adherence was a challenge without the use of contingent incentives.

conclusionResults from this randomized controlled trial suggest that zolpidem-XR can attenuate abstinence-induced sleep disturbance early in treatment for CUD, but that sleep problems are likely to emerge after the medication is stopped. Further research should identify alternative pharmacotherapies and behavioral treatments for CUD and elucidate the role of sleep disturbance in the development and maintenance of CUD.

Indexed as

Hypnotics and SedativesMarijuana AbuseSleep Initiation and Maintenance DisordersZolpidemAdultHumansSleepHypnotics and SedativesZolpidemCannabis use disorderCannabis withdrawalRandomized controlled trialSleep

Identifiers

PMID37802317
PMCPMC12080489
OpenAlexW4387368552

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.