Learn about various aspects of treating cannabis use disorders, including clinical, training, and policy considerations. As new topics emerge, more resources and information will be added to this page. The resources cover topics from the APA Work Group on Cannabis with the Council on Addiction Psychiatry, training, practice/clinical, and legal issues from leading psychiatrists.
APA Resources
APA CME
-
Motivational Interviewing
This training discusses motivational Interviewing (MI) which can be viewed as the essential clinical skill for engaging patients in treatment and motivating patients to reduce substance use and to follow through with specific recommended behavioral or pharmacological treatments. This presentation provides a didactic overview of motivational interviewing in the context of the neurobiology of addiction and other addiction treatments and serves as a precursor to learning motivational interviewing for integration into clinical practice.
The APA designates this enduring CME activity for a maximum of 0.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. -
Comorbidity of Marijuana and Mental Health
This training identifies marijuana use in adolescence, as a risk factor for poor educational achievement, cannabis and other substance use disorders, and psychotic disorders. This presentation provides a comprehensive overview of the comorbidities of marijuana use and mental disorders through the review and discussion of current research, statistics, and theories associated with marijuana use and mental illness.
The APA designates this enduring CME activity for a maximum of 0.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. -
Medical Cannabis: What Every Psychiatrist Should Know
Use of cannabis for medicinal purposes (medical cannabis) has a centuries-long history in the United States and throughout the world but has been illegal in the U.S. at the federal level since 1937. Cannabis and all cannabinoids are classified in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), meaning that they are considered to have a "high potential for abuse," "no currently accepted medical use in treatment,"" and "a lack of accepted safety for use" (21 U.S. Code § 812). This presentation will describe the difference between "prescribing" a medication under federal law vs. "recommending" or "authorizing" medical cannabis under state law, the major medical and psychiatric conditions for which medical cannabis can be recommended, the current scientific evidence supporting those indications, major side-effects associated with medical cannabis, and potential public health consequences.
The APA designates this enduring CME activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™.
Providers Clinical Support System (PCSS) Trainings
-
Management of Other Substance Use Disorders: Benzodiazepines Cocaine and Other Stimulants Cannabis
This educational activity reviews other substance use disorders that often co-occur with opioid use disorder (OUD), including benzodiazepines and other tranquilizers, cocaine and stimulants, and cannabis. The presentation will also discuss principles of diagnosis and evaluation of treatment for each of these by themselves and in the context of OUD.
In support of improving patient care, American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) to provide continuing education for the healthcare team. -
Adolescent Substance Use
This training goes over various prevention strategies, interventions to prevent substance use disorders and substance use disorder treatment modalities are effective in adolescents. This module discusses the Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) method, its implementation, and its success in clinical trials alone and in combination with prescribed medication for addiction.
American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. This program is approved for up to 1 Nursing Contact Hour.
Free Trainings and Manuals from Additional Organizations
Online Resources for Clinicians in Practice
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) - Marijuana Drug Facts
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – Marijuana and Public Health
- National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) - The Health Effects of Cannabis and Cannabinoids
- SAMHSA - Preventing the Use of Marijuana: Focus on Women and Pregnancy
Online Resources to Share with Patients and Families
Other Notable Organizations
-
American Academy of Addiction Psychiatrists: Medical use of Marijuana Policy
The American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry endorses the Institute of Medicine (IOM) report supporting the therapeutic value of cannabinoid drugs for control of nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy and appetite stimulation in wasting illnesses such as associated with AIDS. The Academy sees a need for significant research to develop a better understanding of the potential therapeutic usefulness of the many active components found in marijuana plants. The Academy is also against the unregulated use of marijuana or use for conditions other than those specified in the IOM report. -
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry: Policy Statement on Marijuana Legalization
The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) advocates for careful consideration of potential immediate and downstream effects of marijuana policy changes on children and adolescents. -
American Academy of Family Physicians: Marijuana and Cannabinoids: Health, Research and Regulatory Considerations
The AAFP opposes the recreational use and legalization of marijuana, but supports decriminalization of marijuana for personal use. The AAFP recognizes the benefits associated with intervention and treatment, in lieu of incarceration. The AAFP advocates for further research into the overall safety and health effects of recreational use, as well as the impact of legal recreational marijuana use laws on patient and societal health. -
American Academy of Pediatricians: Substance Use and Prevention – Marijuana
This page on the American Academy of Pediatrics provides all of the information gathered by the Academy on marijuana, including policies, clinical reports, education and news releases. -
National Safety Council: Position/Policy Statement - Cannabis Impairment in Safety Sensitive Positions
NSC believes it is unsafe to be under the influence of cannabis while working in a safety sensitive position due to the increased risk of injury or death to the operator and others. Currently, NSC believes there is no level of cannabis use that is safe or acceptable for employees who work in safety sensitive positions. -
American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM): Public Policy Statement on Marijuana, Cannabinoids and Legalization
ASAM supports the decriminalization of marijuana and does not support the legalization of marijuana and recommends that jurisdictions that have not acted to legalize marijuana be most cautious. ASAM supports the use of cannabinoids and cannabis for medicinal purposes only when governed by appropriate safety and monitoring regulations, such as those established by the FDA research and post marketing surveillance processes. -
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG): Committee Opinion on Marijuana Use During Pregnancy and Lactation
Women who are pregnant or contemplating pregnancy should be encouraged to discontinue marijuana use. Pregnant women or women contemplating pregnancy should be encouraged to discontinue use of marijuana for medicinal purposes in favor of an alternative therapy for which there are better pregnancy-specific safety data. There are insufficient data to evaluate the effects of marijuana use on infants during lactation and breastfeeding, and in the absence of such data, marijuana use is discouraged.