Substance Abuse: Cannabis‐Related Disorders

Cannabis is the most commonly used illicit drug in the US and in the world. Cannabis has been cultivated in many civilizations for its industrial and psychoactive properties. In recent years, much has been learned about the endocannabinoid system, and the basic science of how cannabis affects the brain and human behavior has started to come into focus. Intoxication, tolerance, withdrawal, and dependence syndromes can arise from the use of cannabis. Cannabis dependence develops in a minority of people who try cannabis, but given the large number of people who experiment with this drug, the population of problem users is very large. A number of investigators have studied various psychosocial treatments for cannabis dependence and many have been shown to be effective. However, very few studies have examined pharmacologic treatments for cannabis dependence.