TREATING ADULT MARIJUANA DEPENDENCE - A TEST OF THE RELAPSE PREVENTION MODEL

Men (n = 161) and women (n = 51) seeking treatment for marijuana use w ere randomly assigned to either a relapse prevention (RP; G.A, Marlatt and J.R. Gordon, 1985) or a social support (SSP) group discussion int ervention. Data collected for 12 months posttreatment revealed substan tial reductions in frequency of marijuana use and associated problems. There were no significant differences between the cognitive-behaviora l RP intervention and the SSP group discussion conditions on measures of days of marijuana use, related problems, or abstinence rates. Men i n the RP condition were more likely than men in the SSP condition to r eport reduced use without problems at 3-month follow-up. Posttreatment increases in problems associated with alcohol did not appear to relat e to reduced marijuana use. Results are discussed in terms of the need for further research with marijuana-dependent adults and the efficacy of RP.