Cannabis and Young Users—A Brief Intervention to Reduce Their Consumption (CANABIC): A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial in Primary Care

The Article in Brief

Cannabis and Young Users-A Brief Intervention to Reduce Their Consumption (CANABIC): Findings of a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

Catherine Laporte , and colleagues

Background There have been few studies of brief primary care interventions for cannabis use by young people. This study examines whether a brief primary care intervention for young cannabis users leads to a decrease in consumption, regardless of their initial consumption level.

What This Study Found A brief motivational interview following the FRAMES (feedback, responsibility, advice, menu, empathy and self-efficacy) model shows some effectiveness for users aged under 18 years and for moderate nondaily users, but no effect in the study population overall. Specifically, after one year, there was no significant difference between the intervention and control groups in the number of joints smoked per month among all users, but there was a difference in favor of the intervention among nondaily users. After six months, the intervention was associated with more favorable change from baseline in the number of joints smoked and among users aged younger than 18 years, smoking fewer joints per month.

Implications

• The authors conclude that these findings support the use of a brief intervention in primary care for younger users and moderate users.