Sex differences in the acute effects of intravenous (IV) delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
Anahita Bassir Nia, Maria J Orejarena, Leigh Flynn, Christina Luddy, Deepak Cyril D'Souza, Patrick D. Skosnik, Brian Pittman, Mohini Ranganathan
Psychopharmacology May 2022 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-022-06135-3 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Double-blind, placebo-controlled study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 42 |
| Population | Healthy male and female individuals with limited exposure to cannabis |
| Interventions | Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) placebo |
| Dose | 0.015 mg/kg and 0.03 mg/kg |
| Measures | Visual analog scale (VAS), Psychotomimetic States Inventory (PSI), Clinician-Administered Dissociative Symptoms Scale (CADSS), Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Task (RAVLT) |
| Topics | Cannabis |
| Keywords | Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol Sex differences Subjective effects |
| Key points | Female participants reported greater THC-induced "High" scores than male participants at the lower THC dose (0.015 mg/kg), with a significant main effect of sex and a dose-by-sex interaction. No other sex differences were observed in acute subjective, psychotomimetic, cognitive, or physiological effects of THC. |
Abstract
Cannabis is the most common illicit drug used in the USA and its use has been rising over the past decade, while the historical gap in rates of use between men and women has been decreasing. Sex differences in the effects of cannabinoids have been reported in animal models, but human studies are sparse and inconsistent. We investigated the sex differences in the acute subjective, psychotomimetic, cognitive, and physiological effects of intravenous (IV) delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive constituent of cannabis. Healthy male and female individuals, with limited exposure to cannabis, participated in a double blind, placebo-controlled study of intravenous (IV) placebo or THC at two doses (0.015 mg/kg and 0.03 mg/kg). Visual analog scale (VAS) was used to measure subjective effects, Psychotomimetic States Inventory (PSI) and the Clinician-Administered Dissociative Symptoms Scale (CADSS) were used to assess the psychotomimetic effects and perceptual alterations, respectively, and Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Task (RAVLT) was used to evaluate cognitive effects. Outcome variables were represented as the peak change from baseline for each variable, except RAVLT which was used only once per the test day after the subjective effects. A total of 42 individuals participated in this study. There were no significant differences between male and female participants in background characteristics. There was a significant main effect of sex on the VAS scores for THC-induced "High" (F1,38 = 4.27, p < 0.05) and a significant dose × sex interaction (F2,77 = 3.38, p < 0.05) with female participants having greater "High" scores than male participants at the lower THC dose (0.015 mg/kg). No other sex differences were observed in acute subjective, psychotomimetic, cognitive, or physiological effects of THC. There were significant sex differences in subjective effects of feeling "High" at a lower dose of THC. However, there were no other sex-related differences in the subjective, physiological, or cognitive effects of THC.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on cannabis, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cannabidiol inhibits THC-elicited paranoid symptoms and hippocampal-dependent memory impairment Healthy participants | 2012 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 48 |
| Distinct Effects of Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol and Cannabidiol on Neural Activation During Emotional Processing Healthy, English-native, right-handed men who had used cannabis 15 times or less in... | 2009 | Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled crossover trial | n = 15 |
| Acute Effects of a Single, Oral dose of d9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and Cannabidiol (CBD) Administration in Healthy Volunteers Healthy male subjects | 2012 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 16 |
| Modulation of Mediotemporal and Ventrostriatal Function in Humans by Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol Healthy, native English-speaking, right-handed men of white race/ethnicity who had used... | 2009 | Randomized controlled trial | n = 15 |
| Cannabidiol (CBD) content in vaporized cannabis does not prevent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)-induced impairment of driving and cognition Healthy volunteers with a history of light cannabis use | 2019 | Randomized, double-blind, within-subjects crossover | n = 14 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 2
Cites 11
- Lasting effects of repeated ∆9 -tetrahydrocannabinol vapour inhalation during adolescence in male and female rats. British Journal of Pharmacology 2020
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- Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) impairs encoding but not retrieval of verbal information. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry October 3, 2017
- Sex differences in the subjective effects of oral Δ9-THC in cannabis users. Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior January 2017
- Δ9-THC Disrupts Gamma (γ)-Band Neural Oscillations in Humans. Neuropsychopharmacology August 2015
and 6 more in the library