Evaluation of an Internet-based intervention program for cannabis users

The World Wide Web is increasingly being used for the prevention and treatment of addiction disorders. In 2004, the German Federal Centre for Health Education (BZgA) has developed "quit the shit" (QTS), a 50-day intervention program for young adults who want to reduce or cease using cannabis. QTS provides support by trained psychotherapists and consists of several modules like an online-diary and various types of tutorials. Recently, a randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted in order to scrutinize the program's efficacy. According to intention to treat analyses (ITT) and per protocol analyses (PP), users of QTS reduced their cannabis consumption significantly more than a control group (CG) which did not receive any intervention. Furthermore, their consumption related self-efficacy at follow-up was significantly higher compared to the CG. In the PP analyses, QTS-users exhibited superior results in the development of anxiety, depression and life satisfaction, too. Keywords: Cannabis, Internet-based, Online, Intervention, Counseling, Evaluation