Mobile contingency management as an adjunctive treatment for co-morbid cannabis use disorder and cigarette smoking

Introduction: Cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug in the U.S. with 19.8 million current users. Population based data indicate that almost all cannabis users (90%) have a lifetime history of tobacco smoking and the majority (74%) currently smoke tobacco. Among cannabis users, smoking tobacco is associated with increased frequency of cannabis use, increased morbidity, and poorer cannabis cessation outcomes. There is a lack of research, however, focused on addressing cessation of both substances simultaneously. The purpose of the current pilot study was to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a multi-component tobacco/cannabis abstinence treatment. Methods: Five participants completed Abstinence Reinforcement Therapy, an intervention that included five sessions of cognitive-behavioral telephone counseling for tobacco/cannabis, pharmacotherapy for smoking cessation, and five weeks of mobile contingency management to remain abstinent from tobacco and cannabis. Results: Feasibility of recruitment, retention and treatment completion was high. Satisfaction with the treatment was also high. Conclusion: Results support the feasibility and acceptability of this approach with dual cannabis and tobacco users and suggest that further research examining the efficacy of this approach is warranted.