Telehealth Plus Smartphone App Helped Young Adults Cut Cannabis Use by 27%

All 14 participants completed both motivational therapy sessions and achieved 100% median engagement with daily smartphone surveys. By two months, 11 of 14 had started changing their cannabis use: median use days declined by 27% and average times of use per day declined by 28%. All participants rated the intervention quality as good to excellent.

Single-arm open pilot study of emerging adults (18-25) using cannabis 3+ days per week, recruited from an urban medical practice. Intervention included two telehealth Motivational Enhancement Therapy sessions followed by two weeks of smartphone-based ecological momentary intervention (4 prompted surveys per day with trigger-responsive messages).

Young adults with cannabis use problems rarely seek treatment. This fully remote intervention removes access barriers while using real-time smartphone monitoring to deliver interventions at the moment of vulnerability, a approach that fits how this generation already interacts with technology.

The combination of telehealth and ecological momentary intervention represents a scalable model for substance use treatment. Perfect engagement rates in this population, which typically has poor treatment adherence, suggest the technology-forward approach resonates with emerging adults.

Very small sample (n=14) with no control group. Open-label design means expectancy effects cannot be ruled out. Two-month follow-up is short. Self-selected participants may be more motivated than typical cannabis users. Self-reported use outcomes.