Christian Hopfer
University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus, CO·Medicine & Clinical Research
Cannabis use is common among young people, and legal markets now sell far stronger products than in the past. What do these products, and the drug use that starts in adolescence, do to mental health over the years, and what helps people cut back?
- Fields
Medicine & Clinical Research
Psychology
Public Health & Epidemiology
- Topics
cannabis
marijuana
cannabidiol
- Grants
- 3 known grants, through Jun 2028
What they work on
- Test whether 8 weeks of hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD), compared with placebo, reduces THC use, cannabis use disorder symptoms, anxiety and depression in emerging adults who use cannabis regularly, using a randomized trial.
- Measure whether CBD blunts the immediate effects of a cannabis session on intoxication, thinking, mood and psychotic symptoms, using a mobile lab where participants use their own cannabis products.
- Determine whether the effects of CBD differ between people who mainly use cannabis flower and those who mainly use high-potency concentrates.
- Test whether using high-potency concentrates leads to higher THC exposure, measured as THC-COOH in blood, using co-twin comparisons in a long-running twin study.
- Examine whether more concentrate use and higher cannabinoid exposure go along with more depression, anxiety, impulsivity and social problems, after accounting for genetics and earlier substance use.
- Identify risk factors, including polygenic risk scores, impulsivity and child maltreatment, that predict persistent substance use and antisocial behavior from adolescence into middle adulthood in a high-risk sample.
- Test whether adult roles such as work and parenting, and treatment instead of incarceration, predict recovery, and compare these patterns with a community twin sample.
More about the research
The projects here follow young people and twins over long periods to find out. They also test whether a non-intoxicating cannabis compound can reduce the harms of regular use.
Why it matters
High-potency cannabis concentrates are rapidly gaining popularity, yet little is known about their effects on mental health. This work could give young adults, clinicians and policymakers clearer evidence on the risks of these products. It could also show whether CBD offers a practical harm-reduction option for young people who are not ready to quit. Identifying what helps people with early-onset addiction recover could guide treatment for this group, which suffers high rates of illness and death.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
A Randomized, Placebo Controlled Study of Cannabidiol in Young Adult Cannabis Users
NIH · Sep 2023 – Jun 2028
Effects of High Potency Cannabis Products on Mental Health and Psychosocial Functioning
NIH · May 2023 – Mar 2028
Adult Progression of Adolescent Onset Substance Use Disorder in a High Risk Sample
NIH · Aug 2022 – May 2027
Closest labs
Jacob Borodovsky
Dartmouth College, NH·Public Health & Epidemiology
Test whether psychotherapeutic advertising claims, ads saying cannabis treats anxiety or depression, increase THC purchased by users with depression or anxiety, by randomizing 2,000 shoppers across four versions of a simulated online dispensary.
Renee Martin-Willett
University of Colorado Boulder, CO·Psychology·Early-career
Test whether cannabidiol (CBD), a non-intoxicating cannabis compound, improves sleep in adults who report heavy drinking, using a randomized placebo-controlled trial.
Brant Hasler
University of Pittsburgh, PA·Psychology·Early-career
Test how regular cannabis use and four weeks of abstinence change homeostatic sleep drive in 18-25-year-olds, using at-home sleep EEG headbands on nights with and without cannabis.
The school
University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus: 41 labs on PI Pages, $766M a year on research, 205 research doctorates a year.
More about University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus
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