Ecological Momentary Assessment

Capture cannabis use the moment it happens — not reconstructed days later

SmokingTracker uses EMA to log sessions, mood, and triggers in real time. Three taps. No cognitive load. No recall bias distorting your clinical data.

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The recall problem

Cannabis affects short-term memory. Your clients aren't lying — they just can't recall.

Regular cannabis use impairs episodic memory encoding. By the time a client sits across from you, a full week of sessions, moods, and triggers has dissolved into a vague "about the same." EMA fixes this — by capturing it the moment it happens, not reconstructed in a clinical setting days later.

Three-tap logging

Minimum friction. Maximum compliance.

Cannabis use disorder clients often have impaired working memory during active use. A complicated logging interface guarantees low compliance. SmokingTracker's three-tap interface logs a full session in under five seconds — removing the barrier to real-time capture.

Three required taps — method, amount, confirm
Optional: mood rating, craving score, trigger, location, notes
Works in any mobile browser — no app store download
Fast-use warning notifies the client in the moment

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Client logging a cannabis session — three-tap interface

Mood & trigger capture

The data that vanishes without EMA

Research shows that craving, state anxiety, and social context predict use episodes — but only when measured in the moment. By the time a client sits across from you, these proximal triggers are gone. EMA captures them before they dissolve.

Mood rating tied to each session
Craving score logged independently of use
Trigger categories: social, stress, boredom, habit, pain
Location context captured automatically (optional)

See how this appears on the dashboard →

Cannabis tracking app — home calendar view showing logged sessions

Longitudinal statistics

Patterns that only emerge over time

Individual sessions are noise. Patterns are signal. SmokingTracker aggregates EMA data into weekly trends, time-of-day heatmaps, trigger frequency rankings, and mood-use correlations — giving both client and clinician a picture that no single session can provide.

Week-over-week consumption trends
Time-of-day usage heatmap
Top trigger categories by frequency
Smoke-free days calendar and streak counter

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Cannabis use statistics — weekly trends and patterns

Evidence base

EMA is the gold standard for substance use research

SmokingTracker's logging methodology is built directly on peer-reviewed EMA research.

Ecological validity

EMA dramatically outperforms retrospective recall

Capturing behavior as it happens removes the systematic distortions of memory-based self-report. 1

Proximal triggers

Craving and social context predict use — in real time only

Associations between triggers and use episodes are only detectable in momentary data — they vanish in retrospective reports. 23

CUD-specific validation

EMA validated for cannabis use disorder specifically

Mood–craving–use dynamics in CUD are reliably captured by EMA — and missed entirely by structured clinical interviews. 6

Clinical outcomes

Timely real-time data improves treatment outcomes

Systematic, timely client feedback improves clinical outcomes in substance use disorder settings — the foundation of Measurement-Based Care. 45

References: [1] Shiffman et al., Annu Rev Clin Psychol 2008 · PMID 18509902 | [2] Buckner et al., J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry 2012 · PMID 21643485 | [3] Buckner et al., Addict Behav 2012 · PMID 22766487 | [4] Fortney et al., Psychiatr Serv 2017 · PMID 27582237 | [5] Scott & Lewis, Cogn Behav Pract 2015 · PMID 27330267 | [6] Serre et al., Drug Alcohol Depend 2015 · PMID 25637078

How EMA logging works

From invitation to real-time data in minutes

No technical setup for the client. No app store required.

Clinician sends an invitation

Create an invitation from the Practitioner Dashboard. The client receives a link — email, SMS, or manual handoff. No app download required.

Client logs in the moment

Three taps to log a session. Optional mood, trigger, and notes fields. The data is captured when it's accurate — not recalled later.

Clinician sees structured patterns

EMA data aggregates into trends, trigger patterns, and traffic light status. Session-ready before the client walks in.

See real data in your dashboard today.

Start a free account, send your first client an invitation link, and watch the first log appear on your dashboard in real time. No demo call required.

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Currently free until October 2026 · No setup fee · No automatic charges

Get started today

Start with one client.
See how it works.

Full access at no cost through October 2026. No setup fee, no automatic charges, no commitment required.

Start Free View Pricing

Free until October 2026 · No credit card · No automatic charges