Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 7, 2026
Brain Morphology of Cannabis Users With or Without Psychosis: A Pilot MRI Study
Published on: August 18, 2020
Randomized controlled trial of a cannabis-focused intervention for young people with first-episode psychosis
J Edwards1, K Elkins, M Hinton
1Early Psychosis Prevention and Intervention Centre/ORYGEN Youth Health, Parkville, Vic., Australia. j.edwards@unimelb.edu.au
Objective:
To evaluate a cannabis-focused intervention (cannabis and psychosis therapy: CAP) for patients continuing to use cannabis following initial treatment for first-episode psychosis (FEP).
Method:
Consecutive admissions to an early psychosis program were screened and consenting individuals using cannabis in the 4 weeks prior to assessment participated. A single-blind randomized controlled trial compared CAP (n = 23) with a clinical control condition (psychoeducation, PE; n = 24). There were no significant differences between the CAP and PE groups on cannabis use at end of treatment and 6 months post-intervention.
Results:
There were no significant group differences on psychopathology and functional ratings at follow-up. A significant reduction in cannabis use was observed for both groups over time.
Conclusion:
PE and specific cannabis-focused intervention are associated with similar reductions in cannabis use in an FEP cohort. Simple interventions may therefore be worth considering prior to intensive psychotherapeutic efforts with this population.
