DSM-5 diagnoses of cannabis use disorders differed from DSM-IV by adding criteria for craving and cannabis withdrawal. Among participants with 12-month DSM-5 cannabis use disorder, 60.50% (SE=2.05) had craving for cannabis, 32.48% (SE=2.09) had cannabis withdrawal, and 23.06% (SE=1.84) had both. In NESARC-III, the prevalence of moderate to severe DSM-5 cannabis use disorder was higher than DSM-IV cannabis dependence, a difference attributed to the cannabis withdrawal criterion (73). Earlier studies showed how the craving and cannabis withdrawal criteria operate in the general population (36, 74, 75), e.g., model fit of cannabis disorder criteria improved after addition of withdrawal (76). While studies of DSM-5 cannabis use disorder in NESARC-III show good reliability and validity (44, 46), further nosological studies focused on craving and withdrawal should be conducted in NESARC-III data.
