Discriminative stimulus and subjective effects of smoked marijuana in humans.
L D Chait, S M Evans, K A Grant, J B Kamien, C E Johanson, Charles R. Schuster
Psychopharmacology 1988 DOI: 10.1007/bf00176846 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental drug discrimination study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Marijuana smokers |
| Dose | 2.7% delta 9-THC, 0.9% delta 9-THC, 1.4% delta 9-THC, 0.0% delta 9-THC |
| Measures | discrimination responding, standardized mood questionnaires, expired air carbon monoxide (CO), heart rate |
| Topics | Cannabis |
| Key findings | Smokers readily learned to discriminate marijuana containing 2.7% delta 9-THC from THC-free placebo cigarettes. The discriminative stimulus effects had a rapid onset, appearing within 90 seconds, and were dose dependent: 0.9% THC produced primarily placebo-appropriate responding, while 1.4% THC produced 100% drug-appropriate responding. Active marijuana also increased heart rate and altered eight mood scales. |
Abstract
The discriminative stimulus (DS) effects of smoked marijuana were studied by training marijuana smokers to discriminate between the effects of marijuana containing 2.7% delta 9-THC (M) and marijuana containing 0.0% delta 9-THC (P). In addition to measures of discrimination responding, subjective effects were assessed with standardized mood questionnaires. The post-smoking increase in expired air carbon monoxide (CO) level was used as an index of smoke inhalation. Relative to P cigarettes, M cigarettes increased heart rate and produced changes on eight mood scales. M cigarettes were rated as harsher and more potent than P cigarettes, and produced lower levels of CO than P cigarettes. The P--M discrimination was readily acquired by most subjects. The DS effects of marijuana showed a rapid onset, appearing within 90 s from the beginning of smoking. The DS effects were dose dependent, with 0.9% delta 9-THC marijuana producing primarily placebo-appropriate discrimination responding, and 1.4% delta 9-THC marijuana producing 100% drug-appropriate responding. This experimental paradigm could be used to determine whether the DS effects of smoked marijuana would generalize to those of other psychoactive drugs.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on cannabis, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoked Cannabis' Psychomotor and Neurocognitive Effects in Occasional and Frequent Smokers Occasional (<2x/week) and frequent (≥4x/week) cannabis smokers | 2015 | Controlled within-subjects study | n = 25 |
| Dissociable effects of cannabis with and without cannabidiol on the human brain’s resting-state functional connectivity Healthy volunteers experienced with cannabis but not regular users | 2019 | Within-subjects experimental design | n = 17 |
| Which biological and self-report measures of cannabis use predict cannabis dependency and acute psychotic-like effects? Young cannabis users | 2018 | Observational study (naturalistic, within-subject counterbalanced design) | n = 410 |
| Cannabis Essential Oil: A Preliminary Study for the Evaluation of the Brain Effects Healthy volunteers | 2018 | Experimental study | n = 5 |
| Coming off cannabis: a cognitive and magnetic resonance imaging study in patients with multiple sclerosis Patients with multiple sclerosis who began using cannabis after disease onset, used it... | 2019 | Quasi-experimental study with odd-even allocation | n = 40 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 17
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- Placebo Effects of Edible Cannabis: Reported Intoxication Effects at a 30-Minute Delay Journal of Psychoactive Drugs August 3, 2017
- Effects of Cannabinoids on Emotional States and Alcohol Use Among Underrepresented Groups: Moderation by Perceived Discrimination. Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental September 1, 2025
- Effects of cannabidiol in cannabis flower: Implications for harm reduction. Addiction Biology 2022
- Acute effects of cannabinoids on symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder: A human laboratory study. Depression and Anxiety August 1, 2020
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