Journal of psychopharmacology
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J. Psychopharmacol. (Oxford) · Jun 2008
Comparative Study Controlled Clinical TrialA study investigating the acute dose-response effects of 13 mg and 17 mg Delta 9- tetrahydrocannabinol on cognitive-motor skills, subjective and autonomic measures in regular users of marijuana.
Heavy use of marijuana is claimed to damage critical skills related to short-term memory, visual scanning and attention. Motor skills and driving safety may be compromised by the acute effects of marijuana. The aim of this study was to investigate the acute effects of 13 mg and 17 mg Delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on skills important for coordinated movement and driving and on subjective and autonomic measures in regular users of marijuana. ⋯ Decision making in the gambling task was affected after smoking cigarettes with 17 mg THC, but not with 13 m THC. Smoking cigarettes with 13 and 17 mg THC increased subjective ratings of pleasure and satisfaction, drug "effect" and drug "high". These findings imply that smoking of 17 mg THC results in impairment of cognitive-motor skills that could be important for coordinated movement and driving, whereas the lower dose of 13 mg THC appears to cause less impairment of such skills in regular users of marijuana.