Dual Diagnosis (Psychosis and Cannabismisuse): Comparison of Specialized Treatment Versus Unspecified...
Psychotic DisordersMarijuana Abuse1 moreIntention of the study is to examine, if the symptomatology of dual diagnosis patients is less severe after a special indication training for reduction of cannabis consumption in comparison to unspecified trainings. Point of interest is psychopathology and consumerism.
Efficacy of Inhaled Cannabis for Acute Migraine Treatment
MigraineCannabis2 moreThis crossover study will evaluate 3 different treatments of vaporized cannabis (THC, THC/CBD mix, and CBD) and vaporized placebo cannabis for the acute treatment of migraine.
Impact of Progesterone on Stress Reactivity and Cannabis Use
Cannabis UseThis is a research study to find out if a hormone called progesterone affects marijuana users' stress response and marijuana use. Progesterone is a naturally occurring sex hormone involved in the menstrual cycle and reproduction, and has been shown to reduce withdrawal symptoms when people stop using substances like cocaine and nicotine. It is not FDA approved for treating cannabis users and is considered an investigational drug in this study.
Effect of Motivational Therapy on Schizophrenia With Cannabis Misuse
SchizophreniaCannabis Dependence1 moreSchizophrenia is a severe mental illness with a lifetime morbidity risk close to 1 %, involving both genetic and environmental risk factors. Prospective studies have shown that heavy use of cannabis in adolescence moderately increases the risk of developing schizophrenia. Many data have also suggested that the co-occurrence of cannabis abuse in patients with schizophrenia has a deleterious impact on the clinical outcome of schizophrenia. Cannabis abuse by schizophrenic patients is a significant public health problem for which there is no empirically validated treatment. We are presently studying the efficiency of motivational therapy on cannabis consumption in patients with schizophrenia.
Emerging Adults Who Use Alcohol and Marijuana
Alcohol UseMarijuana Use1 moreThe purpose of this study is to if a brief motivational intervention, compared to health education sessions, reduces alcohol and marijuana use and is related to fewer sexually transmitted infections (STI)in emerging adults who are engaging in alcohol and marijuana use.
Nabilone in Cannabis Users With PTSD
CannabisPost Traumatic Stress DisorderDespite the prevalence of cannabis use among the PTSD population and self-reports that it is used to help cope with PTSD symptoms, the direct effects of cannabis on PTSD symptomology are unknown. The purpose of this placebo-controlled, within-subject study is to assess the effects of smoked cannabis and orally administered nabilone, a synthetic analog of THC, the primary psychoactive component of cannabis on multiple dimensions of PTSD symptomatology in cannabis smokers with PTSD.
Evaluation of an Eye Tracking Sensor to Detect Cannabis Impairment
Cannabis IntoxicationThe purpose of this study is to determine if an eye tracking impairment sensor can detect cannabis-induced impairment after using cannabis.The overall objective is to correlate measures collected from the eye tracking sensor with measures related to cannabis impairment (e.g., plasma THC levels, self-reported cannabis subjective effects, cognitive effects).
Eye Tracking as a Biomarker of Cannabis Effects
Cannabis UsePain1 moreBiomarkers of recent drug use and intoxication have societal relevance, in that they are used by law enforcement and other agencies to detect drug impairment. For instance, a breathalyzer can quickly and accurately detect blood alcohol content (BAC) to indicate if a person is under the influence of alcohol; however, there is currently no similar way to quickly detect if a person is under the influence of cannabis. In light of increasing cannabis use, it is important to define a quantitative, objective method of determining recent use and intoxication. The link between changes in eye characteristics (e.g. movement, pupil dilation) and cannabis use is documented (Peragallo et al. 2013), but insufficiently characterized. Certain outcomes of eye behavior are known to be affected by recent cannabis use (e.g. the eyes' ability to converge on a target; Stapleton et al 1986), while findings are mixed regarding other outcomes (e.g. the eyes' ability to smoothly follow a target; Fant et al. 1998). Thus, the goal of this study is to identify a characteristic pattern of eye behavior, defined by performance on a battery of four eye tasks, as a function of recent cannabis use (7% vs. 0% THC). Using 30 healthy cannabis users (15 men, 15 women), this study will be one of the first to assess changes in eye behavior as a function of recent cannabis use within a quantified virtual reality (VR) environment. This study will examine the effect of smoked cannabis (7% vs. 0% THC) on individual eye movements, with the goal of defining the utility of the eyes as potential objective indicators of cannabis use and intoxication. Four eye tests (nystagmus, smooth pursuit, convergence, and pupillary light response; outlined below), which previous literature has defined as effective in detecting recent drug use (including opioids and alcohol; Murillo et al. 2004), have been compiled into a 5-minute task battery using a VR headset environment equipped with high frequency infrared eye trackers (the HTC Vive with Pupil Labs Tracking). This 5-minute VR battery of four eye tests will be administered prior to cannabis consumption as a baseline, and then at 0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, 105, 120, and 165 min after cannabis, with the goal of comparing baseline values to the ten post-cannabis timepoints to detect changes in eye behavior as a function of cannabis intoxication. The study will also utilize a battery of subjective-effects and mood visual analogue scales (0-100 mm; e.g. 'Good Drug Effect') prior to the eye test battery at each timepoint, allowing us to correlate each outcome of the eye tasks to subjectively reported cannabis impairment and mood. In addition to measuring eye behavior as a function of cannabis use, the training session of this study will be used to also collect exploratory data on the relationship between pupil dilation and experimental pain. Using Quantitative Sensory Testing (Medoc TSA-II NeuroSensory Analyzer), thermal pain threshold and tolerance will be induced using a cold stimulus (4.0°C; induced with a 30 x 30 mm Peltier thermode, which is 1.5" square metal applicator that is connected to the TSA-II NeuroSensory Analyzer device and software, and produces an ongoing cold sensation applied to the lower palm of the participant's non-dominant hand). Participants will indicate first feelings of pain (pain threshold), and when the pain becomes too much to bear (pain tolerance) by pressing a button on a controller connected to the TSA-II. Throughout exposure to the cold stimulus, changes in pupil size to the patient's subjectively reported pain latencies will be recorded.
Cannabis Effects on Electroencephalography
Healthy VolunteersBackground: Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is a partial CB1/CB2 agonist and causes its pharmacological effects by binding to cannabinoid receptors. CB1 receptors are predominantly located in the brain (highest densities at hippocampus, cerebellum and the striatum) and at low levels in the brainstem. CB2 receptors are predominantly in the spleen and in hematopoietic cells. THC is highly lipophilic and is readily absorbed and distributed to the brain and other organs. Most of the neuropsychological studies carried out so far show that the mainly affected neurocognitive functions in cannabis users are: memory, attention, psychomotor capacity, speed of information processing and alterations of executive functions (resistance to interference, planning capacity, decision-making, verbal fluency and working memory). These effects are dose-dependent. Hypothesis: Functional CB1 receptor activation by the THC contained in the cannabis flos will induce dose-dependent effects on EEG, physiological functions and behavior: EEG alterations. Increase in cannabis subjective effects. Increase in heart rate. Increase in psychopathology scale Psychotomimetic State Inventory (PSI) score. Increase in plasma cortisol concentrations. Objectives: Main pharmacodynamic objective: To assess the effects of Cannabis flos on electroencephalography (EEG) in healthy recreational cannabis users. Secondary pharmacodynamic objectives: (i) To assess the effects of Cannabis flos on: cannabis subjective effects, heart rate and psychopathology scale; (ii) To establish the pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic relationships between THC plasma concentrations and pharmacodynamic endpoints. Safety and tolerability objectives: To assess the safety and tolerability of THC in these subjects. Methods: Phase I, prospective, monocentric, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel group study to assess the THC effects on EEG neural oscillations in 16 healthy subjects with recreational cannabis use.
Intervening to Prevent Youth Access to Marijuana Phase II
CannabisThe legalization of recreational marijuana use and sales in Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington State is a dramatic change in U.S. substance abuse policy that places a priority on developing regulatory and enforcement systems that prevent distribution of retail recreational marijuana to minors. Responsible marijuana vendor training, modeled after effective responsible alcoholic beverage training, has the potential to help the states prevent distribution to minors. This research will produce a responsible marijuana vendor training provided by a third party, not the cannabis industry, and test its effectiveness with retail recreational marijuana licensees and employees in Colorado, Oregon, and Washington State.