Characterizing Proximal Risk for Depressive Symptoms and Suicidal Ideation With Acute Cannabis Use and Withdrawal Among Adolescents Using Ecological Momentary Assessment

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are studying adolescents aged 12 to 18 who use cannabis daily or nearly daily and have current depression symptoms. The study aims to understand how acute cannabis use and withdrawal affect depression and suicidal thoughts, focusing on mood, substance use patterns, and suicidal ideation. The goal is to develop accessible and personalized interventions to reduce depression and suicide risk in this population. The study involves 200 participants who will take part in a 10-week program divided into three phases. The first phase is a 2-week baseline period where participants use cannabis as usual while reporting mood and use patterns through smartphone monitoring. After this, participants are randomly assigned to one of two groups for eight weeks: one group will abstain from cannabis with incentives for staying abstinent, and the other will continue their usual cannabis use without restrictions. Both groups complete smartphone assessments during weeks 1 and 8 of this phase. Participants will attend 12 visits over approximately 10 weeks for urine tests to verify cannabis use or abstinence, and complete questionnaires and interviews about substance use, cravings, withdrawal symptoms, mood, and suicidal thoughts. The study measures cannabis use, motivation to use cannabis for mood improvement, mood depletion, cognitive effects, activation levels, passive suicidal thoughts, suicidal urges, and urges for self-injury at various time points to monitor changes throughout the study.

Cannabis, Linked Emotions, and Adolescent Risk Study