Marijuana discontinuation, anxiety symptoms, and relapse to marijuana

The present investigation examined the role of anxiety symptoms immediately following substance abuse treatment in the relation between frequency of pre-treatment marijuana use and relapse to marijuana use at 12-months post-treatment among 1288 male patients who used marijuana within the 3 months prior to admission to treatment. Consistent with expectation, more frequent marijuana use at intake predicted more anxiety symptoms at discharge. Anxiety symptoms at discharge predicted relapse to marijuana use at 12-month follow-up, but did not mediate the relation between intake marijuana use and relapse. Results are discussed in relation to better understanding the role of increased anxiety during discontinuation of regular marijuana use in the prediction of relapse to marijuana.