Stress and Marijuana Cue-elicited Craving and Reactivity

Medical University of South Carolina87 enrolled

Overview

The purpose of this study is to explore the interaction between stress and marijuana cues, in hopes that it may lead to the development of new treatments for marijuana dependence.

Although use of marijuana is widespread, little research has focused on the treatment of marijuana use disorders or on predictors of relapse. Although several factors contributing to relapse have been explored in other dependencies (i.e., alcohol, cocaine), little research has focused on drug cue-related or stress-induced relapse in marijuana-dependent individuals. Cue reactivity is a construct measured in a laboratory procedure where an individual's subjective, behavioral, and physiological responses are assessed following exposure to drug-related environmental cues or stressors. Investigating the effects of drug-related environmental cues and stress in marijuana-dependent individuals will be useful in guiding treatment development.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

Conditions

Cannabis Use Disorders

Interventions

Stress + cue exposureOTHER

Trier Social Stress Task(TSST): subject is asked to give a talk and perform a math task in front of an audience, follwed by neutral and marijuana cue exposure.

No stress + cue exposureOTHER

Neutral and marijuana-associated cue exposure (scripted imagery, in vivo cues).

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 65 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Meets Diagnostic and Statistical Methods (DSM)-IV Criteria for Marijuana Dependence * Between the ages of 18 and 65 * Must abstain from marijuana use the day of testing and other drug use three days prior to testing Exclusion Criteria: * Must not be taking any psychoactive medication, or medication that alters the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) Axis functioning * Must not be taking any medications that alter heart rate or skin conductance monitoring * Cannot meet criteria for current major Axis I disorder (may alter response to stress) * Cannot be morbidly obese (Body Mass Index \>39) * Cannot meet current abuse or dependence criteria of other substances in past 90 days * Must not have a medical condition that impacts HPA functioning (Hypertension, chronic pain, Addison's disease)

Locations (1)

Medical University of South Carolina

Charleston, South Carolina, United States

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Subjective Craving of Marijuana

Defined as the score on the Marijuana Craving Questionnaire (MCQ), range 7-84, higher scores indicate more craving

Time frame: approx 2.5 hours (before, during and after exposure to stressor condition as well as exposure to neutral and marijuana-associated cues).

Secondary Outcomes

Physiological Assessments: Serum Cortisol, ACTH, BP, HR, and GSR

Time frame: ~ 2.5 hours (before, during and after exposure to stressor condition as well as exposure to neutral and marijuana-associated cues).

Feelings of Stress/Anxiety as Measured by the State-Trait Inventory (STAI)

Time frame: ~2 hours

Current Mood as Assessed by the Mood Form

Time frame: ~2 hours

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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