Smartphone Apps for Cannabis Cessation: Quality Assessment and Content Analysis

Background The rising rates of cannabis use, cannabis-related problems, and hospitalization rates related to cannabis usage warrant further research into better treatment methods and interventions. Purpose This study aims to identify the quality of free cannabis cessation applications available on both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store and analyse their features, content, and adherence to evidence-based practices. Methods A systematic search was conducted in April 2023 using a variety of keywords. The applications were deemed eligible if they were free, in English, available on both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store and were related to cannabis cessation. Each application was used for at least one month and were rated on the Mobile App Rating Scale by two users. There was excellent agreement determined between the two reviewers (≤2 points on all categories). Results A total of 4 applications were included in the overall quality and content analysis. The mean total quality scores of applications were determined to be 3.36 out of 5 indicating a poor to acceptable quality of applications. It was determined that there was a very limited number of available applications for users and those that were available were not of high quality with few applications incorporating evidence-based practices. Conclusions There are a very limited number of cannabis cessation applications available, and the currently available products have poor to acceptable quality. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement This study did not receive any funding ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Yes All data produced in the present study are available upon reasonable request to the authors