Alcohol Use Disorder and Cannabis: Testing Novel Harm Reduction Strategies

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Research Summary The prevalence of alcohol use disorders (AUDs) in the U.S. is approximately 12.7% and has shown a marked increase in recent years (Grant et al., 2017). Individuals with AUD often use cannabis, which may impact attempts to reduce or quit drinking. In the last six years, the United States has witnessed enormous changes concerning the public acceptance and availability of cannabis. Considering that cannabis has historically been the drug most often used by individuals with an AUD and considering the skyrocketing increase in availability of cannabis products, it is imperative for health care providers to understand how best to approach cannabis use with individuals who have an AUD and who want treatment. The central premise of the proposed research is that products with low THC and high CBD may be less harmful to AUD individuals who want to quit drinking, as compared to products with high THC only. It is hypothesized that individuals who switch from a high THC product to a low THC and higher CBD product will demonstrate superior outcomes compared to those individuals who do not switch. If the hypotheses are supported, the dissemination of the research would have an immediate effect on public health impact by educating patients and treatment providers about how to address the use of cannabis among individuals who want to quit or reduce alcohol consumption. To that end, individuals who currently use a high THC product and want to reduce or quit drinking will be randomly assigned to either the control condition (continue to use your current cannabis product as you wish) or the intervention condition (instruction to switch to low THC/high CBD product). Participants in the intervention condition choose the product and use as little or as much as they want during the study. Participants will be tested in the Mobile Pharmacology Laboratory at 6 and 12 week timepoints to determine the impact of these products on cue-elicited anxiety, cue-elicited alcohol craving, drinking outcomes, and biological markers of systemic inflammation.