A Digital Intervention to Reduce Youth Cannabis Use

Project Abstract This SBIR Phase I application, titled "A Digital Intervention to Reduce Youth Cannabis Use," aims to create a novel mobile cannabis intervention for youth aged 13-17 who are using regularly. This tool is designed to work in conjunction with existing support systems, including traditional treatment, individual therapy, or school-based support. Given the association between regular, high-potency cannabis use and a range of adverse outcomes in young people—such as depression, suicide, psychosis, cognitive decline, hospitalizations, and traffic accidents— innovative approaches are necessary to align with youth culture while promoting health and well- being. However, there are few empirically informed mobile health cannabis solutions commercially available to young people, and to our knowledge, none for adolescents 13-17. To address this gap, we propose to develop the "Adolescent Clear30," which will leverage the basic framework of our 18+ Clear30 mobile program as a foundation, offering a suite of tailored tools informed by the literature and our participatory design methods. The proposed intervention will include adolescent-tailored personalized feedback, daily communications (via texts and push alerts) for up to six months, guided meditations, resource pages, multimedia content, optional asynchronous human support, and an AI-driven chatbot. We will also develop a parent support guide to align with A-Clear30 goals. To develop a comprehensive A-Clear30 intervention, we will perform an extensive literature review, develop an assessment instrument informed by the CUD intervention literature, existing Clear30 frameworks, and hyper-tailoring methodologies. We will then perform a remote study involving 40 young individuals diagnosed with Cannabis Use Disorder (CUD), their guardians, and 10 clinicians with domain-specific expertise to develop intervention content tailored to user characteristics. In addition, we will update our existing AI chatbot for under-18 users, enhancing cultural sensitivity. Based on this research, we will develop a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) spanning both mobile and SMS platforms, complemented by a concise Parent Support Guide. We will test the MVP's content, functionality, design, and user experience with selected adolescent and guardian cohorts, quality assurance specialists, and subsequent refinements for a beta release, ensuring the product's alignment with user needs. This participatory design process, which engages both users and stakeholders, will guide iterative development, ensuring the MVP's effectiveness and broad appeal. If successful, this would become the first commercially available mobile support service tailored to the diverse needs and goals of adolescents who use cannabis with an adjunctive parent support guide.