A Brief Mindfulness Program Did Not Help People With Cannabis Use Disorder Reduce Their Use

There were no significant intervention-by-time effects on the primary outcome of cannabis use frequency, nor on secondary outcomes including quantity, cravings, relaxation, or mindfulness scores. The null findings held across all three conditions (mindfulness, relaxation, control) over the approximately 16-day intervention period.

Pre-registered, double-blind RCT of 66 adults (ages 18-56) with cannabis use disorder who had attempted to cut down in the past 2 years. Participants were randomized 1:1:1 to mindfulness-based intervention (n=23), relaxation (n=21), or control (n=22). All conditions included daily monitoring. Mean intervention duration: 16 days.

Brief, scalable interventions for cannabis use disorder are urgently needed. This well-designed trial shows that a short mindfulness program alone is not sufficient, suggesting more intensive or differently designed interventions may be necessary.

While mindfulness shows promise for various substance use disorders, this study suggests that brief, self-directed mindfulness programs may not be intensive enough for cannabis use disorder. It may need to be combined with other approaches or delivered over a longer period.

Small sample (66). Brief intervention (~16 days) may be too short. Online delivery may reduce engagement. All conditions included daily monitoring, which itself could affect cannabis use. Recruitment during COVID-19 (2019-2022) may have influenced results.