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Background:

Withdrawal, a diagnostic indicator of cannabis use disorder, is often minimized or ignored as a consequence of cannabis use, particularly among adolescents. This study aims to characterize cannabis withdrawal among adolescents in outpatient treatment for substance use disorder and evaluate the clinical significance of withdrawal as a predictor of substance-related outcomes.

Methods:

Adolescent outpatients (N= 127) reporting cannabis as their drug of choice (n= 90) were stratified by the presence of withdrawal and compared on demographic and clinical variables at treatment intake. Hierarchical linear models compared the effect of withdrawal on percentage days abstinent (PDA) and related outcomes over a 1-year follow-up period.

Results:

Adolescents reporting withdrawal (40%) were more likely to meet criteria for cannabis dependence, have higher levels of substance use severity, report more …