NCT03276221

Cognitive Recovery With Cannabis Abstinence Among High School-Aged Adolescents

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 201 (actual)
• Sponsor: Massachusetts General Hospital · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 10 Years – 19 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

This study will use a randomized controlled design to test whether 30 days of cannabis abstinence, compared to 30 days of monitoring, is associated with improvements in cognitive functioning. Non-using controls will also be enrolled to determine the clinical significance of any cognitive improvements with abstinence.

Detailed description

This is a 5-year randomized, longitudinal trial of cannabis abstinence designed to determine (1) if performance improves with abstinence beyond that observed with continued cannabis use, and if so, (2) when during abstinence cognitive improvement occurs, and (3) whether performance in abstinent individuals "returns" to performance levels observed in non-using peers. We hypothesized that abstinent adolescent cannabis users would have more neurocognitive improvement over four weeks compared to non-abstinent cannabis users, and performance would continuously improve throughout four weeks of abstinence. We will recruit 210 adolescents with and without regular cannabis use. Eligible cannabis users will be randomized to either a contingency management intervention which will incentivize 4 weeks of cannabis abstinence (n = 70), or non-contingent monitoring with no abstinence requirement (n = 70). All participants (including non-users; n = 70) will complete cognitive assessments, toxicology testing, self-report questionnaires and semi-structured mood and substance use interviews during the 4-week study as well as one 30-day follow-up visit. Abstinence will be indexed by decreasing levels of cannabis metabolites in urine.

Conditions

• Cannabis Use
• Cognitive Change
• Adolescent Behavior

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Abstinence	Cannabis users randomized to this condition will be enrolled in a contingency management intervention for 30 days of cannabis abstinence.

Timeline

• Start date: 2017-08-07
• Primary completion: 2022-11-09
• Completion: 2022-11-09
• First posted: 2017-09-08
• Last updated: 2024-02-01
• Results posted: 2024-02-01

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States