What treatments are available
for marijuana abusers?

Treatment programs directed solely at marijuana abuse are rare, partly because many who use marijuana do so in combination with other drugs, such as cocaine and alcohol. However, with more people seeking help to control marijuana abuse, research has focused on ways to overcome problems with abuse of this drug.⁶³

One study of adult marijuana users found comparable benefits from a 14-session cognitive-behavioral group treatment and a 2-session individual treatment that included motivational interviewing and advice on ways to reduce marijuana use.⁶⁴ Participants were mostly men in their early thirties who had smoked marijuana daily for over 10 years. By increasing patients' awareness of what triggers their marijuana use, both treatments sought to help them devise avoidance strategies. Use, dependence symptoms, and psychosocial problems decreased for at least 1 year after both treatments. About 30 percent of users were abstinent during the last 3-month followup period. Another study suggests that giving patients vouchers for abstaining from marijuana can improve outcomes.⁶⁵ Vouchers can be redeemed for such goods as movie passes, sports equipment, or vocational training.

No medications are now available to treat marijuana abuse. However, recent discoveries about the workings of THC receptors have raised the possibility that scientists may eventually develop a medication that will block THC's intoxicating effects. Such a medication might be used to prevent relapse to marijuana abuse by reducing or eliminating its appeal.

Where can I get
further scientific
information about marijuana?

To learn more about marijuana and other drugs of abuse, contact the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI) at 1-800-729-6686. Information specialists are available to help you locate information and resources.

Fact sheets, including InfoFacts, on the health effects of marijuana, other drugs of abuse, and other drug abuse topics are available on the NIDA Web site (www.drugabuse.gov), and can be ordered free of charge in English and Spanish from NCADI at ncadi.samhsa.gov.