Lead: Cannabis cessation and neurocognitive recovery: Patterns, predictors, and clinical implications—a systematic reviewLead: Cannabis cessation and neurocognitive recovery: Patterns, predictors, and clinical implications—a systematic review
This Week in Addiction Medicine from ASAM
A concise research round-up covering cannabis-related brain changes, methadone access, family and social media influences on substance use, treatment models for depression, and medical complications from alcohol and kratom. Zach Caruso highlights key findings that may inform clinical practice and recovery-focused care.
7:21•31 Mar 2026
Cannabis, Methadone, Kratom and More: Fresh Research Shaping Addiction Care
Episode Overview
- Cannabis use is linked with memory, processing speed and attention deficits, which can improve after abstinence but may take months or years, especially for adolescent-onset users.
- Pharmacy-based methadone models showed a positive three-year return on investment, suggesting community pharmacies could effectively expand opioid treatment access if regulations change.
- Starting medication for opioid use disorder during incarceration is strongly associated with continued methadone treatment after release.
- Parental, particularly paternal, smoking influences adolescents’ attitudes toward cigarettes and e-cigarettes, which then shapes their smoking and vaping behaviour.
- Integrating addiction services into hepatology care increases the likelihood that patients with alcohol-associated hepatitis receive counselling and referrals for alcohol use disorder treatment.
“Receptor normalisation can occur within weeks of abstinence, while cognitive recovery can take months and years.”
How do different strategies aid in addiction recovery? This weekly briefing from the American Society of Addiction Medicine lines up new research so you’ll get a fast snapshot of what’s happening in clinics, hospitals, and communities. Host Zach Caruso starts with cannabis and the brain, summarising a systematic review on how thinking skills change with use and abstinence.
The key message is cautiously hopeful: “Receptor normalisation can occur within weeks of abstinence, while cognitive recovery can take months and years.” Heavy and adolescent-onset use is linked with more serious and persistent problems, so treatment needs to address both cannabis use disorder and its cognitive fallout. From there, the focus shifts to access to care.
You’ll hear about two pharmacy-based models for dispensing methadone that showed a strong financial return, suggesting community pharmacies could play a bigger role in opioid use disorder treatment if regulations allow. A study on people with opioid use disorder leaving New York City jails shows that starting medication for opioid use disorder behind bars is strongly tied to staying on methadone afterwards, underlining how crucial in-custody treatment can be.
Zach also runs through research on parental smoking and how fathers’ smoking habits shape teens’ attitudes and use of cigarettes and vapes, plus a review of highly viewed nitrous oxide videos on social media that often show use as fun and harmless, with no health warnings in sight. Depression care gets a look too, with a comparison of psychedelic-assisted therapy and open-label antidepressants showing similar outcomes under equal unblinding conditions.
For anyone focused on alcohol-related harm, there’s an important study showing that liver specialists who bring addiction care into their practice help more patients with alcohol-associated hepatitis get counselling and rehab referrals. The episode closes on kratom-related liver injury, a reminder that “natural” doesn’t automatically mean safe.
If you’re interested in how solid data can shape better addiction care, this round-up packs a lot into a short listen and might spark questions for your next clinic, supervision session, or support group.
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