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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2009 Nov 1;105(1-2):132-8.
doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2009.06.022. Epub 2009 Aug 21.

A placebo-controlled trial of buspirone for the treatment of marijuana dependence

Aimee L McRae-Clark  1 , Rickey E Carter, Therese K Killeen, Matthew J Carpenter, Amy E Wahlquist, Stacey A Simpson, Kathleen T Brady
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

A placebo-controlled trial of buspirone for the treatment of marijuana dependence

Aimee L McRae-Clark et al. Drug Alcohol Depend. .

Abstract

The present study investigated the potential efficacy of buspirone for treating marijuana dependence. Participants received either buspirone (maximum 60mg/day) (n=23) or matching placebo (n=27) for 12 weeks, each in conjunction with motivational interviewing. In the modified intention-to-treat analysis, the percentage of negative UDS results in the buspirone-treatment group was 18 percentage points higher than the placebo-treatment group (95% CI: -2% to 37%, p=0.071). On self-report, participants receiving buspirone reported not using marijuana 45.2% of days and participants receiving placebo reported not using 51.4% of days (p=0.55). An analysis of participants that completed the 12-week trial showed a significant difference in the percentage negative UDS (95% CI: 7-63%, p=0.014) and a trend for participants randomized to the buspirone-treatment group who completed treatment to achieve the first negative UDS result sooner than those participants treated with placebo (p=0.054). Further study with buspirone in this population may be warranted; however, strategies to enhance study retention and improve outcome measurement should be considered in future trials.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest

Authors McRae and Brady have received grant support from Bristol-Myers Squibb. Author Brady has received honoraria from Bristol-Myers Squibb. All other authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Progress of patients in the study.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Survival analysis, modified ITT sample
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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