Abstract
Background
Cannabis dependence is a significant public health problem. Because there are
no approved medications for this condition, treatment must rely on
behavioral approaches empirically complemented by such lifestyle change as
exercise.
Aims
To examine the effects of moderate aerobic exercise on cannabis craving and
use in cannabis dependent adults under normal living conditions.
Design
Participants attended 10 supervised 30-min treadmill exercise sessions
standardized using heart rate (HR) monitoring (60–70% HR
reserve) over 2 weeks. Exercise sessions were conducted by exercise
physiologists under medical oversight.
Participants
Sedentary or minimally active non-treatment seeking cannabis-dependent adults
(n = 12, age 25±3 years, 8 females) met criteria
for primary cannabis dependence using the Substance Abuse module of the
Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID).
Measurements
Self-reported drug use was assessed for 1-week before, during, and 2-weeks
after the study. Participants viewed visual cannabis cues before and after
exercise in conjunction with assessment of subjective cannabis craving using
the Marijuana Craving Questionnaire (MCQ-SF).
Findings
Daily cannabis use within the run-in period was 5.9 joints per day
(SD = 3.1, range 1.8–10.9). Average cannabis use
levels within the exercise (2.8 joints, SD = 1.6, range
0.9–5.4) and follow-up (4.1 joints, SD = 2.5,
range 1.1–9.5) periods were lower than during the run-in period (both
P
Description
This study examines the effects of aerobic exercise on cannabis craving and use.