Combined and Separate Effects of Cannabis and Tobacco: Psychomotor, Subjective and Physiological Outcomes (CASE-CT)

This is an interventional basic science trial for Driving Under the Influence Read More

Inclusion Criteria:

• • Adults aged 19 years to 45 years (to control for the effects of age on cognition)

  • Smoke or vape cannabis at least once a month but no more than 4 times a week (to avoid enrolling people with cannabis use disorder who may experience withdrawal when asked to abstain from cannabis)
  • Experience with smoked cannabis in the past year
  • Report use of at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime to ensure familiarity with the tobacco used in the present study
  • Use of any nicotine (smoked, vaped, etc) in the past year
  • G2 or full G driver's licence for at least a year
  • Willing to abstain from alcohol and other drugs (other than drugs required for treatment of a medical condition) for 48 hours prior to study session
  • Normal heart rate and blood pressure as determined by the QI (because cannabis and tobacco increase heart rate)
  • Normal ECG (because cannabis and tobacco increase heart rate)
  • Willing to abstain from cannabis for 72 hours prior to the test session and from smoking tobacco for 12 hours
  • Willing to use an accepted form of contraception during the study (both males and females)
  • Past lifetime experience with co-use of cannabis or tobacco (either simultaneous or concurrent)
  • Provides written and informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

• • Use of psychoactive medications or drugs

  • Current alcohol or other substance use disorder, including cannabis (as assessed with the SCID)
  • Current or past nicotine dependence (to avoid precipitating a relapse)
  • Withdrawal symptoms as assessed with the Marijuana Withdrawal Checklist [57, 58]
  • A score of less than 10 on the Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol (CIWA-Ar) [59]
  • Family history of schizophrenia or psychosis (to avoid giving cannabis to anyone with a predisposition to psychosis)
  • Respiratory illnesses (due to the smoked route of administration in this study)
  • Any serious medical condition precluding participation as judged by the responsible study physician
  • Pregnancy or breastfeeding
  • Negative urine screen for cannabis at eligibility assessment (to ensure experience with cannabis)
  • Neurological disorders that may affect cognitive function
  • Treatment-seeking for tobacco or cannabis use
  • Use of more than 5 cigarettes a day (to avoid confound of the effects of chronic smoking on measures)
  • Concomitant therapy with sedative-hypnotics or other psychoactive drugs (counter-indicated with cannabis)