Citation

Franks HM, Starmer GA, Chesher GB, Jackson DM. Proc. Int. Counc. Alcohol Drugs Traffic Safety Conf. 1974; 1974: 461-466.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1974, The author(s) and the Council, Publisher International Council on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The present investigation, which is the first of a series, set out to study the effects of a single moderate dose of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) upon the impairment induced by a similarly moderate dose of ethanol. It was hoped that any THC modifications of the drug would be revealed. A battery of tests was selected to obtain a broad coverage of those sensory, motor and intellectual functions which have been reported to be sensitive to the effects of ethanol. The 12 subjects were of both sexes and aged between 18 and 29 years. All were non-naive as regards cannabis. Both THC and ethanol were administered orally. Placebo capsules contained only sesame oil. The group which received both ethanol and THC had higher blood ethanol levels than that which received ehtanol alone. At the dose level employed, ethanol did not induce significant decrements in performance in any of the tests. Similarly, THC alone was without significant effect in most of the tests. A combination of ethanol and THC did produce changes in several of the tests which were significantly different. Of importance was the increase in errors, but not in performance, in the numerical reasoning and perceptual tests. The results indicate that an interaction between ethanol and THC was apparent in the tests employed and that this interaction was at least additive.