Recruiting

TMS

Sponsor:

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Code:

NCT05859347

Conditions

Cannabis Use Disorder

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 65

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Study Details

Brief summary:

There has been a considerable rise in cannabis consumption in recent years, with estimates of 200 million individual users globally. Importantly, 3% of these individuals have cannabis use disorder (CUD), with this prevalence increasing to 33% amongst regular users, making it one of the most common substances use disorders (SUDs) worldwide. CUD is associated with substantial health, societal, and economic costs, and worsening of other psychiatric disorders. Despite this clinical burden, effective treatment options are limited. No pharmacological treatments have emerged as clearly efficacious, and psychotherapeutic interventions have shown tempered results.

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a non-invasive brain-based approach in which alternating magnetic fields are applied to the scalp to induce electrical currents in cortical tissue. As it can modulate neural circuits implicated in neuropsychiatric disorders, it is a promising brain-based approach in the treatment of addictions. Evidence has indicated its efficacy in reducing drug craving and consumption across numerous SUDs, although research into cannabis has been largely unexplored. Recently, a novel circular rTMS coil, the MagVenture MMC-140, has been developed with the capacity to modulate both the bilateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) and insula, both of which are implicated in the neurocircuitry of craving and executive function. As such, it shows potential for CUD treatment.

This proof-of-concept clinical trial will evaluate the feasibility and tolerability of a 4-week course of rTMS to the PFC/insula using MMC-140 as a treatment for CUD. Feasibility of both high frequency (HF; excitatory) and low frequency (LF; inhibitory) stimulation parameters will be evaluated. In addition, pre/post rTMS changes in cannabis use outcomes (e.g., consumption, craving, and withdrawal), executive function, and PFC/insula functional connectivity will be explored. By comprehensively investigating clinical, cognitive, and neuroimaging effects of rTMS, this study could pave the way for the first brain-based intervention in CUD that could be widely adopted into clinical settings using a novel, cost-effective and accessible rTMS device.

Conditions

Cannabis Use Disorder

Study ID

NCT05859347

Start date

May 15, 2023

Status verified date

Mar, 2026

Completion date

Jun 15, 2027

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Oct 1, 2026

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 65

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Must be deemed to have capacity to provide informed consent
2. Age between 18 to 65
3. Diagnosis of cannabis use disorder according to the DSM-5 and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 (SCID for DSM-541)
4. Report cannabis as the primary drug of concern, a frequent pattern of use (≥5 days per week), and a goal of reduction or abstinence of cannabis use
5. CUDIT-R score ≥12
6. Marijuana Contemplation Ladder ≥7
7. Cannabis positive urine drug screen, with Narcochek baseline THC-COOH level of >150 ng/ml.
8. On a stable regimen of their psychotropic medications for 14 days before enrolment.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Pregnant or intending to be pregnant during the study
2. Diagnosis of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia spectrum disorder, or other active concurrent psychiatric disorder that is too unstable and may preclude safe participation in the trial as deemed by the PI.
3. Substance use disorder other than cannabis or nicotine, that is of moderate severity or greater, or is the primary substance of concern based on the SCID for DSM-5
4. Known active seizure disorder, significant head injury with an imaging verified lesion
5. Unstable medical illness
6. Presence of cardiac pacemaker, intracranial implant, or metal in the cranium
7. Participants taking > 2 mg lorazepam (or a benzodiazepine at an equivalent dose) or taking any anticonvulsant medication during treatment.

Study Design

Enrollment

46 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

active comparator: High-Frequency (HF)

10 Hz rTMS

active comparator: Low-Frequency (LF)

1 Hz rTMS

Interventions

Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

rTMS is a non-invasive neuromodulatory technique that applies alternating magnetic fields to the scalp to induce electric currents in localized cortical tissue. The intervention (LF or HF rTMS) will be administered daily 5 days/week for 4 weeks, using the MagVenture MMC-140 circular coil, with the brain regions targeted as the bilateral prefrontal cortex and the insula.

Primary outcome measure

  • Feasibility of study completion as assessed by completion rates [ Time Frame: The timeframe is through study completion, beginning from baseline to end of rTMS treatment week 4, an average of 8 weeks, the event determined by withdrawal from the study. ]
  • Tolerability of Intervention as assessed by adverse event reporting [ Time Frame: The timeframe is through study completion, beginning from baseline to end of rTMS treatment week 4, an average of 8 weeks. The events being counts of adverse events or serious adverse events. ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Victor Tang, MD

(416) 535-8501victor.tang@camh.ca

Locations

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Recruiting

Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M6J 1H4

Contacts

Victor Tang, MD

416-535-8501victor.tang@camh.ca

More Information

Sponsor

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Last update posted

Mar 27, 2026

Last verified

Mar, 2026

Keywords

  • Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
  • Cannabis
  • Substance Use Disorder
  • Prefrontal Cortex
  • Insula
  • Neuroimaging

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Centre for Addiction and Mental Health on 2026-03-27.