Quantifying the Clinical Significance of Cannabis Withdrawal

PLoS One. 2012; 7(9): e44864.
Published online 2012 September 26. doi:  10.1371/journal.pone.0044864
PMCID: PMC3458862
David J. Allsop,1,* Jan Copeland,1 Melissa M. Norberg,1 Shanlin Fu,2 Anna Molnar,2 John Lewis,2 and Alan J. Budney3

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) requires that a mental health diagnosis “..causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning” ([1], p.358) in order to reduce false positive diagnoses (i.e. incorrectly labelling somebody with a mental health disorder). For DSM-IV drug dependence, at least three of the following seven diagnostic markers must cause clinically significant functional impairment ([1], p.181–183): 1. tolerance to the substance, 2. consumption in larger amounts or for longer periods than intended, 3. a persistent desire or unsuccessful attempts to cut down, 4. a great deal of time spent obtaining, using or recovering from the substance, 5. important activities are given up or reduced because of the substance, 6. substance use is continued despite the knowledge that it causes problems, 7. the presence of characteristic withdrawal symptoms or use of substance to alleviate withdrawal. Cannabis however, unlike other drugs, does not currently include the seventh criterion of withdrawal for diagnosing a cannabis use disorder in the DSM-IV. This is due to debate about the clinical significance of the cannabis withdrawal syndrome.

na íntegra em: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3458862/