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Study: Marijuana Treatment Relapse High
United Press International | 07/24/2006

Marijuana dependence and abuse can be moderately improved by various psychotherapy treatments, a review by French researchers finds.

One-on-one cognitive behavioral therapy was most effective, but other counseling approaches also help users to cut down or improve social problems associated with their marijuana use, according to Dr. Marc Auriacombe of the Addiction Research Group at the Université Victor Segalen in Bordeaux.

The researchers analyzed results from studies of 1,267 people who received no or delayed intervention, motivational enhancement therapy, family therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy or combinations of these for marijuana abuse or dependence.

"The six studies included in this review show that cannabis dependence is not easily treated by psychotherapies in outpatient settings," the authors wrote in The Cochrane Library.

"Cognitive-behavioral therapy both in individual or group sessions and motivational enhancement in individual sessions has been demonstrated to be effective to reduce cannabis use."

The high relapse rate and number of cannabis-dependent individuals suggests the importance of developing pharmacotherapies for patients who may be less responsive to other treatments, according to Auriacombe.