Table 1.
Summary points on cannabis use disorder (CUD) and its consequences
| Does cannabis addiction exist and how do you define it? |
| Cannabis (THC-laden products) has addictive potential |
| Cannabis use disorder (CUD) is diagnosed using either the ICD-10 or DSM-5 using the same criteria as for other substances |
| The manifestation of CUD is highly similar to that for other substance use disorders (SUDs) |
| How prevalent is CUD and how severe are its associated consequences? |
| The prevalence of CUD is comparable to other SUDs |
| CUD is more prevalent in high-income nations such as the U.S., Germany, and Australia |
| A substantial proportion, 11–30%, of those who use cannabis in the U.S. report having a CUD |
| CUD is associated with a myriad of psychosocial consequences and those who have CUD have increased odds of having other SUDs and psychiatric disorders |
| CUD, on average, may be less severe than other common SUDs |
| Do people seek treatment for CUD? |
| (1) Rates of treatment seeking globally and in the U.S. are comparable to the other SUDs |
| (2) Treatment admission rates appear to be lower in the U.S. compared to most European nations and Australia |
| (3) Those with CUD appear to seek treatment at lower rates than for other SUDs |
| How difficult is quitting or reducing cannabis use? |
| Short-term studies of those who use cannabis daily and are interested in quitting suggest that quit and reduction attempts are frequent and short lived, and achievement of sustained abstinence is rare |
| Behavioral interventions for CUD are efficacious (e.g., MET, CBT, CM, and integrated combinations); however, only the minority respond to treatment and relapse rates are high |
| The development and implementation of more effective strategies for prevention and treatment of CUD is much needed, particularly given this dynamically changing legislative climate |
| What impact will the changing legal environment have on the development of CUD? |
| Changing laws and regulations are highly likely to impact the development of CUD and its course, and perhaps treatment seeking |
| Definitive data on the effects of changes in the cannabis legal environment are not yet available; the constant fluctuations in the legislative and regulatory environment make this area of study difficult and the interpretation of current findings challenging |
Each question and the corresponding answers above represent the five main sections of the current overview