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. 2007 Jun;32(6):1220-36.
doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2006.08.009. Epub 2006 Sep 22.

Abstinence rates following behavioral treatments for marijuana dependence

Ronald M Kadden  1 , Mark D Litt, Elise Kabela-Cormier, Nancy M Petry
Affiliations

Abstinence rates following behavioral treatments for marijuana dependence

Ronald M Kadden et al. Addict Behav. 2007 Jun.

Abstract

Previous studies have noted particular difficulty in achieving abstinence among those who are marijuana dependent. The present study employed a dismantling design to determine whether adding contingency management (ContM) to motivational enhancement therapy plus cognitive behavioral therapy (MET+CBT), an intervention used in prior studies of treatment for marijuana dependence, would enhance abstinence outcomes. 240 marijuana dependent participants were recruited via advertisements and assigned to either MET+CBT, ContM-only, MET+CBT+ContM, or to a case-management control condition. All interventions involved 9 weekly 1-h sessions, except for the ContM-only condition whose sessions lasted about 15 min. ContM provided reinforcement for marijuana-free urine specimens, in the form of vouchers redeemable for goods or services. Follow-up data were collected at posttreatment and at 3-month intervals for 1 year. The two ContM conditions had superior abstinence outcomes: ContM-only had the highest abstinence rates at posttreatment, and the MET+CBT+ContM combination had the highest rates at later follow-ups. The roles of contingency management and coping skills training in the treatment of marijuana dependence are discussed.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Participant flowchart showing numbers and reasons for exclusions and pre-randomization dropouts, numbers of participants assigned to each intervention, numbers of dropouts in each group, and numbers interviewed at the post-treatment and one-year follow-up assessment points.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Proportion of Days Abstinent, by intervention, across all assessment points. BL=Baseline. All other assessments points are designated in months since the baseline assessment.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Longest period, in days, of continuous abstinence during the follow-up year, for each of the four interventions.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Proportion of clients who were abstinent throughout the measurement interval prior to each assessment point, for each intervention.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Survival curves for each intervention group, showing time to the first use of marijuana following the first 30 days of treatment.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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