Trial reportThe American journal of psychiatry2026
Acute Effects of Cannabis on Alcohol Craving and Consumption: A Randomized Controlled Crossover Trial.
Trial report in The American journal of psychiatry, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 2 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Cannabinoid exposure across substance use disorders: Short-term symptom benefits without sustained therapeutic gains in a tier-weighted systematic review.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2026Pooled it
- Modulating the endocannabinoid system in alcohol use disorder: A translational systematic review and meta-analysis of preclinical and human studies.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Working memory capacity predicts cannabis-induced effects on alcohol urge.Addictive behaviors · 2026Trial
- Cannabidiol and Alcohol Use Disorders: An Updated Review of Therapeutic Potential.Alcohol, clinical & experimental research · 2026Review
- Safety of Co-Administered Cannabidiol (CBD) and alcohol: a Phase I study.Journal of cannabis research · 2026Article
- Cannabis-Related Hospitalizations Before and After Partial Legalization: An Analysis From Five Psychiatric Clinics in the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area.Deutsches Arzteblatt international · 2026Article
- Redefining Recovery: The Expanding Cannabis Landscape and Its Implications for the California Sober Approach in Addiction.International journal of mental health and addiction · 2026Article
- Behavioral phenotypes associated with cannabis and alcohol substitution.Harm reduction journal · 2026Observational
- Co-Use of Alcohol and Cannabis: How Are They Related?The American journal of psychiatry · 2026Article
- Pharmacological interventions for alcohol use disorder: novel insights from recent clinical trials.Expert review of clinical pharmacologyReview
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveCannabis use is strongly linked with heavy drinking and worse alcohol treatment outcomes; however, it may also contribute to decreased alcohol consumption. To date, no human studies have established a causal effect of cannabis on alcohol motivation. The aim of this double-blind crossover randomized clinical trial was to examine dose-dependent acute effects of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on alcohol craving and consumption.
methodsAcross three experimental days, 157 participants reporting heavy alcohol use and cannabis use two or more times weekly were randomized to smoke cannabis cigarettes containing 7.2% THC, 3.1% THC, or 0.03% THC (placebo), followed by exposures to neutral and personalized alcohol cues and an alcohol choice task for alcohol self-administration. A total of 138 participants completed two or more experimental sessions (mean age, 25.6 years [SD=5.1]; 35% women; 45% racial/ethnic minorities). Primary outcomes included craving, Alcohol Craving Questionnaire-Short Form, Revised (ACQ-SF-R), and an alcohol urge question; the secondary outcome was percent of total available milliliters of alcohol consumed.
resultsThere were no significant effects of cannabis on ACQ-SF-R ratings after smoking and during alcohol cue exposure, but 7.2% THC reduced alcohol urge immediately after smoking. Participants consumed significantly less alcohol after smoking cannabis with 3.1% THC and 7.2% THC, reducing consumption by 19% and 27%, respectively.
conclusionsFollowing overnight cannabis abstinence, smoking cannabis acutely decreased alcohol consumption compared to placebo. Further controlled research on a variety of cannabinoids is needed to inform clinical alcohol treatment guidelines.
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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.