Cannabis withdrawal in adolescent treatment seekers

Abstract

A valid cannabis withdrawal syndrome has been demonstrated in controlled studies with adult marijuana abusers, yet few published reports have examined cannabis withdrawal among adolescents. Adolescents presenting for outpatient substance abuse treatment, whose primary substance of abuse was cannabis, completed a questionnaire reporting the presence and severity of withdrawal symptoms during past periods of cannabis abstinence. Nearly two-thirds of the sample indicated that they had experienced four or more symptoms, and over one-third reported four or more symptoms that occurred at a moderate or greater severity. The magnitude of withdrawal severity was positively correlated with current emotional and behavioral symptoms and self-reported problems with cannabis use. These findings are consistent with previous studies, though the prevalence and magnitude of withdrawal symptoms were lower than that observed in a similar study with adult treatment seekers [Budney, A.J., Novy, P., Hughes, J.R., 1999. Marijuana withdrawal among adults seeking treatment for marijuana dependence. Addiction 94, 1311-1322]. Further research is needed to elucidate associations between cannabis withdrawal effects, the initiation of cessation attempts, and relapse.

Fig. 1

The percentage of participants reporting at least 2, 4, 6, or 8 different MWC items are shown, separated by the minimum rating of symptom severity for each symptom in the cluster.