Center for Addiction Medicine

Effect of Medical Marijuana on Neurocognition and Escalation of Use

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the the effect of medical marijuana (MM) on a range of outcomes, including clinical symptoms, cognitive performance, brain function, and possible transition to cannabis use disorders (CUD), in adults who are interested in using medical marijuana to treat pain, insomnia, depression, or anxiety. We will conduct longitudal assessments over 6 months that will: (1) characterize the impact of MM on progression to CUD, as well as other indices of addiction such as increased tolerance and withdrawal among those who stop using MM, (2) assess, via daily dosing diaries, the effect of MM use patterns on use of other medications and perception of underlying disease symptomatology, (3) characterize the impact of MM on neurocognitive performance, including executive function, memory, attention, and decision-making and (4) examine evidence for impact of MM on brain function in the prefrontal cortex and reward regions.