ALAN JEFFREY BUDNEY

..It also discusses limitations of current knowledge and potential areas for advancing research and clinical intervention...

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..The primary aims were to establish the pharmacological specificity of the withdrawal syndrome and to obtain information relevant to determining the potential use of THC to assist in the treatment of cannabis dependence...

..Discussion focuses on the strengths of each intervention, the clinical significance of the findings, and the need to continue efforts toward development of effective interventions...

..Skepticism is typically focused on whether cannabis use can result in 'physiological' dependence or withdrawal, and whether withdrawal is of clinical importance...

..The magnitude and severity of these symptoms appear substantial, and these findings suggest that the syndrome has clinical importance. Diagnostic criteria for cannabis withdrawal syndrome are proposed...

..Although the research base for CM with adolescents is in its infancy, there are multiple reasons for high expectations...

..Its addictive potential has been established and the need for interventions for cannabis-related problems has become apparent. This article provides a review of the research evaluating potential treatments for cannabis use disorders...

..Replication and continued development of more potent interventions remain needed to further advance the development of effective substance abuse treatments for adolescents...

..These findings are consistent with other evidence supporting the clinical importance of the cannabis withdrawal syndrome. There remains a need for prospective experimental studies to replicate these findings...

..Addiction 94, 1311-1322]. Further research is needed to elucidate associations between cannabis withdrawal effects, the initiation of cessation attempts, and relapse...

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..This report briefly reviews selected research literature relevant to our current understanding of cannabis dependence, its associated consequences, and treatment efficacy...

..These effects likely contribute to the development of dependence and difficulty stopping use. Criteria for cannabis withdrawal are proposed...

..The present data suggest that these similarities extend to difficulty maintaining abstinence...

..Results suggest that current marijuana dependence may be associated with a trend toward increased delay discounting, but this effect size appears to be smaller for marijuana than for previously examined drugs...

..Clinical trials might consider including pretreatment abstinence status as a stratification variable during participant assignment or as a covariate in outcome analyses...

..Findings highlight the need for family-based assessment in adolescent treatment populations to address important clinical and research questions...

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..This information will also help decide whether pharmacological treatments for marijuana dependence focused on relieving withdrawal should be pursued. ..

..e., problems that co- occur in the majority of adolescent substance abusers. If successful, future studies will examine the relative contribution of specific components of the CM intervention. ..

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..Given the "novelty" of such programs, it is vital to our dissemination mission that we clearly establish the reliability and validity of their short and long-term efficacy. ..

..This information will be vital to deciding whether marijuana withdrawal should be included in the DSM, should be a focus on treatment, and should be further studied to examine its role in marijuana relapse. ..

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