Each month our editorial team sifts through hundreds of papers and curates notable findings—for practitioners and informed readers who want to stay current with the evidence. Subscribe to the monthly Research Digest for expert analysis and concise summaries of key papers.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is one of the most-studied treatments for alcohol and drug problems. Reviews of many trials find a small but real average benefit: a meta-analysis of 53 controlled trials reported an effect size of g = 0.15 and estimated that 58% of people given CBT did better…
Researchers gave 10 adults placebo cigarettes and three active marijuana cigarettes (including a 3.58% Delta9-THC dose) in a repeated-measures lab test. Using a task that forced a choice between a risky and a nonrisky option, the highest THC dose made people choose the risky option more often. The same high…
A single ibogaine treatment reduced opioid withdrawal symptoms and achieved opioid cessation or sustained reduced use in dependent individuals as measured over 12 months. Ibogaine's legal availability in New Zealand may offer improved outcomes where legislation supports treatment providers to work closely with other health professionals.
Ibogaine is a psychoactive chemical from a West African shrub that some clinics use to help people stop using opioids or stimulants. Small studies, animal research, and many personal reports say a single high dose can cut opioid withdrawal and reduce cravings. For example, one study found 50% of participants…
This review found that research on cannabis use in India is limited and often low quality. The authors identified 29 Indian studies (1986–2020) but said most had small, region‑specific samples, included only men, used weak methods, and relied on simple descriptive analyses. National surveys show cannabis use has risen, and…
Project Twenty21 collected real-world data from people in the UK who sought prescribed medicinal cannabis. Data at treatment start were available for 2,833 patients and 1,410 had 3-month follow-up for anxiety, chronic pain or PTSD. On average, patients reported improvements in condition-specific symptoms and in general health and quality of…
