Cannabis use disorder affects about 2-5% of adults in the United States, and rates are expected to rise as cannabis restrictions loosen and THC content increases. No FDA-approved medications exist for this condition. Psychedelics have shown promise for other substance use disorders, and surveys suggest potential benefits for cannabis use disorder. A systematic review of the literature found only one study using the non-classical psychedelic ketamine for cannabis use disorder and three additional relevant articles. The review notes that psychedelics generally have a high therapeutic index with rare serious adverse effects, but risks such as psychosis and cardiovascular events should be considered in this population. More research is needed given rising incidence and interest in psychedelic treatments.
Exposure to multimodal cannabis cues (visual and olfactory) alters resting-state functional connectivity between the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and the striatum in regular cannabis users. In a preliminary fMRI study of 28 regular cannabis users and 26 controls, no group differences in VTA-striatal connectivity were observed at baseline. After cue exposure, cannabis users showed significantly greater VTA-caudate connectivity than controls. Among cannabis users, baseline craving positively correlated with VTA-striatal connectivity both before and after cue exposure. These findings suggest a neural mechanism by which drug cues may increase relapse vulnerability even after cues are removed.