CANDIS - Targeted Treatment for Cannabis Disorders
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ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00252980 |
Recruitment Status
: Unknown
Verified January 2007 by Technische Universität Dresden.
Recruitment status was: Active, not recruiting
First Posted
: November 15, 2005
Last Update Posted
: January 17, 2007
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Condition or disease | Intervention/treatment | Phase |
---|---|---|
Cannabis Use Disorder | Behavioral: Psychotherapy | Phase 2 |
Background. Cannabis is the most widely used illicit substance in the whole Western world and rates are further rising. Almost 240.000 adult Germans fulfill DSM-IV criteria for cannabis dependence and 140.000 the criteria for cannabis abuse (past 12-month), respectively. Several studies have revealed a considerable degree of unmet needs for intervention and treatment for cannabis disorders, for example in terms of associated physical, mental health, social and legal problems. The epidemiological significance of the problem is contrasted sharply with (1) strongly increasing treatment demand due to cannabis-related problems, (2) the lack of evidence-based interventions (motivational and early treatment) (3) the lack of specific services, and (4) the lack of treatment programs and components with established efficacy. With regard to treatment research there is a marked deficit with only a handful of studies up to date. Only in the US and Australia, some recent effort was undertaken to develop and evaluate cannabis-specific dependence treatment programs in controlled trials with highly selective samples. However, there are currently no ‘state of the art’ benchmark programs neither in Germany nor in other European countries that are suitable for routine use.
Aims. (1) To develop a modular treatment program (ST/TST) for cannabis use disorders based on treatment packages and components that have been shown to be effective in previous US and Australian trials, and to adapt these material to the needs of our target population. (2) To demonstrate that this modular treatment package, implying motivational enhancement, cognitive-behavioral and psychosocial problem solving components is efficacious in comparison to a delayed treatment control (DTC) group. (3) Additionally, we test whether the targeted standardized treatment (TST) component tailored to address more specifically core problem areas results in superior short term (3-months) outcomes in these core domains as compared to the ST-group.
Method. A randomized controlled intervention study is proposed. A total of 210 participants will be randomly assigned to two, respectively three study conditions: 1. ST (n=70) including motivational enhancement, cognitive-behavioral, and psychosocial problem solving treatment components, 2. TST (n=70), including the same components as the ST but partly individually matched to the specific problem profile of the patient, and (c) a delayed treatment control group (DTC, n=70). Core outcome variables are total quit rates, number of cannabis use in the past 4 weeks, decrease in ASI scores and retention rate. The core hypothesis will be tested in the combined ST/TST group (n=140). The ASI serves for the allocation algorithms in the TST group and serves as outcome measure for the 3rd hypothesis.
The proposed study is innovative and will result in a considerable advancement of our knowledge about effective treatments in cannabis disorders and will inform about the value of targeted individualized allocation.
Study Type : | Interventional (Clinical Trial) |
Enrollment : | 210 participants |
Allocation: | Randomized |
Intervention Model: | Parallel Assignment |
Masking: | None (Open Label) |
Primary Purpose: | Treatment |
Official Title: | CANDIS -Targeted Treatment for Cannabis Disorders |
Study Start Date : | January 2006 |
Study Completion Date : | March 2007 |

- - total quit rates, defined as no evidence of cannabis use during the past 4 weeks as evidenced by self report and a negative urine screen; number of times a cannabis product was used in the past 4 weeks
- ; decrease in ASI total score; retention rate
- - number of slips; relapse; abstinence from all legal drugs; number of times of drug use other than cannabis

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Ages Eligible for Study: | 16 Years and older (Child, Adult, Senior) |
Sexes Eligible for Study: | All |
Accepts Healthy Volunteers: | No |
Inclusion Criteria:
- age 16 or older
- lifetime diagnosis of cannabis abuse or cannabis dependence (according to the DSM-IV criteria
- current (4 wks) regular cannabis use (at least 2 days a week)
- persistent history of regular cannabis use of at least 3 years
- informed consent to the study procedures and assessments
Exclusion Criteria:
- current alcohol or any illicit drug dependence syndrome according to DSM-IV other than due to cannabis
- lifetime history of any psychotic disorder
- current severe episode of Major depression
- current panic-agoraphobic disorder (severe)
- severe learning disability, brain damage or pervasive developmental disorder
- currently acute suicidality
- not fluent in german language
- acute signs of intoxication at screening or baseline assessment due to opiates or any type of stimulants, causing cognitive impairments
- currently in treatment for cannabis-related disorders in other services
- current psychotropic medications with sedatives and antipsychotics

To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT00252980
Germany | |
Department for Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy; Technical University of Dresden | |
Dresden, Germany |
Principal Investigator: | Eva Hoch, PhD | Departement of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Dresden University of Technology | |
Study Director: | Hans-Ulrich Wittchen, PhD | Departement of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Dresden University of Technology | |
Study Director: | Gerhard Bühringer, PhD | Departement of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Dresden University of Technology |
Additional Information:
Publications automatically indexed to this study by ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier (NCT Number):
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: | NCT00252980 History of Changes |
Other Study ID Numbers: |
01EB0440 |
First Posted: | November 15, 2005 Key Record Dates |
Last Update Posted: | January 17, 2007 |
Last Verified: | January 2007 |
Keywords provided by Technische Universität Dresden:
Cannabis Dependence Marijuana Substance Abuse Treatment Psychotherapy, |
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
Disease Marijuana Abuse Pathologic Processes |
Substance-Related Disorders Chemically-Induced Disorders Mental Disorders |