CannTeenA: Do Adolescents and Adults Differ in Their Acute Response to Cannabis?
Study Details
Study Description
Brief Summary
The acute effects of cannabis may differ between adolescents and adults. Furthermore, these effects may be tempered by the presence of cannabidiol. This double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover experiment investigates the acute effects of cannabis (with and without cannabidiol) on subjective effects, behavioural responses and neural functioning in 16-17 year-olds and 26-29 year-olds who regularly use cannabis (0.5-3 days per week).
| Condition or Disease | Intervention/Treatment | Phase |
|---|---|---|
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N/A |
Study Design
Arms and Interventions
| Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
|---|---|
| Experimental: THC condition THC condition: Cannabis with delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and no cannabidiol (CBD). 0.107mg/kg of THC. A 75kg person receives 8mg of THC. Route of administration: vaporised and inhaled. Frequency: once. Duration: inhaled in < 18 minutes. |
Drug: Cannabis with delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD)
Cannabis with delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) - inhaled and vaporised cannabis flower
|
| Experimental: THC+CBD condition THC+CBD condition: Cannabis with THC and CBD (i.e. THC+CBD condition). 0.107mg/kg of THC and 0.320mg/kg of CBD. A 75kg person receives 8mg of THC and 24mg of CBD. Route of administration: vaporised and inhaled. Frequency: once. Duration: inhaled in < 18 minutes. |
Drug: Cannabis with THC without CBD
Cannabis with THC without CBD - inhaled and vaporised cannabis flower
|
| Placebo Comparator: PLA condition PLA condition: Placebo cannabis with no THC or CBD. Route of administration: vaporised and inhaled. Frequency: once. Duration: inhaled in < 18 minutes. |
Drug: Placebo cannabis
Placebo cannabis, without THC and without CBD - inhaled and vaporised
|
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcome Measures
- Psychotomimetic effect [Measured once, 2 hours after the start of drug administration, on each drug condition]
Measured by total Psychotomimetic States Inventory (PSI) score
- Verbal episodic memory [Measured once, 2 hours after the start of drug administration, on each drug condition]
Measured by delayed prose recall performance
- Strength of subjective drug effect [Measured 20 minutes after the start of drug administration, on each drug condition]
Measured by self-reported 'feel drug effect', rated from 0 (not at all) to 10 (extremely)
Secondary Outcome Measures
- Self-reported subjective effects [Measured -30 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 2 hours, and 2 hours & 40 minutes after the start of drug administration, on each drug condition]
Feel drug effect, like drug effect, dislike drug effect, alert, want to have cannabis, happy, relaxed, anxious, paranoid, mentally impaired, stoned, dry mouth, unmotivated, intensified sensory perception, want to listen to music, want food, want to see friends, rated from 0 (not at all) to 10 (extremely)
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) measured neural correlates [Measured between 40 minutes and 1 hour & 20 minutes after the start of drug administration, on each drug condition]
Reward anticipation and reward feedback, response inhibition, spatial working memory, and resting-state
- Magnetic resonance spectroscopy [Measured 1 hour & 30 minutes after the start of drug administration, on each drug condition]
Measuring glutamate levels in the dorsal striatum
- Positive and negative syndrome scale [Measured 2 hours & 40 minutes after the start of drug administration, on each drug condition]
Kay et al. (1987). Higher scores reflect stronger positive and negative symptoms.
- Effort-related decision-making (i.e. amotivation) [Measured 2 hours & 20 minutes after the start of drug administration, on each drug condition]
Measured by the physical effort task ('apple-gathering' task) as described in Husain & Roiser (2018)
- Pleasure processing [Measured 2 hours & 30 minutes after the start of drug administration, on each drug condition]
Measured by subjective liking in response to chocolate, music and cartoons, rated from 0 (not at all) to 10 (extremely), similar to Lawn et al. (2015)
- Visual attentional bias to cannabis and food stimuli [Measured 2 hours & 10 minutes after the start of drug administration, on each drug condition]
Measured by the visual dot-probe task, as described in Morgan et al. (2010)
- Heart rate [Measured -30 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 2 hours, and 2 hours & 40 minutes after the start of drug administration, on each drug condition]
Measuring heart rate
- Blood pressure [Measured -30 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 2 hours, and 2 hours & 40 minutes after the start of drug administration, on each drug condition]
Measuring systolic and diastolic blood pressure.
- Exogenous and endogenous cannabinoid levels in plasma [Measured -30 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, and 2 hours & 40 minutes after the start of drug administration, on each drug condition]
Measuring THC and CBD and metabolites; and endocannabinoids
- Dissociative states scale [Measured 2 hours & 40 minutes after the start of drug administration, on each drug condition]
Bremner et al. (1998). Higher scores reflect greater dissociation.
Eligibility Criteria
Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
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Adolescents: Aged 16-17
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Adults: Aged 26-29 years
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Self-reported cannabis use between 0.5 and 3 days/week, averaged over the last 3 months
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Adults: Body mass index (BMI) between 18.5 and 29.9
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Adolescents: BMI between 2nd percentile and 98th percentile
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Self-reported ability to consume approximately half a typical joint of cannabis by themselves within 20 minutes
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Willing to be cannulated and have four blood samples taken at every acute session
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Right-handed
Exclusion Criteria:
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Females: Pregnant or breast-feeding
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Adults: Before the age of 18, had a period of 3 or more months when cannabis was used once per week or more frequently.
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Severe cannabis use disorder (DSM-5)
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Illicit drug use of any specific drug more than twice per month, averaged over the last 3 months
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Receiving treatment (pharmacological or psychological) for a mental health problem within the last month
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Lifetime psychosis
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Lifetime psychosis of any immediate family member
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Hypertension (systolic > 160 or diastolic > 100)
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Dependent on tobacco or vaping nicotine (> 1 on the Heaviness of Smoking Index)
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Currently taking a psychotropic medication that will likely affect dependent variables or interact with cannabis
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Any physical or mental health condition, any medication, or any treatment, that the study doctor considers to be an exclusion
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MRI contraindications
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Significant asthma or respiratory problems - severity judged clinically
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Self-reported moderate/severe acute unpleasant effects from cannabis which occur often or always
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Positive alcohol breathalyser reading at any acute session (rearrange session)
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Self-reported use of alcohol within 24 hours at any acute session (rearrange session)
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Self-reported use of illicit drugs (including cannabis) within 72 hours at any acute session (rearrange session)
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Positive saliva drug screen at any acute session (rearrange session)
Contacts and Locations
Locations
| Site | City | State | Country | Postal Code | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University College London | London | United Kingdom | WC1E 7HB |
Sponsors and Collaborators
- University College, London
- Medical Research Council
- Invicro
Investigators
None specified.Study Documents (Full-Text)
None provided.More Information
Publications
None provided.- 5929/005