Abstract
Cannabis cigarettes calibrated to deliver 7 mg δ 9-THC were administered to experienced cannabis users and to novices in a 2×2 state-dependency learning design using psychomotor tasks. Subjects given four training sessions under marihuana performed no better on the fifth (test) session with the drug than those subjects who had trained in the non-drug condition and were tested in the drug condition. Cannabis-induced impairment in the performance of these tasks is such that prior training in the non-drug condition appears to confer no advantage to the subject. There was no evidence of state-dependency effects in psychomotor performance between drug and non-drug conditions.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barry, H., Kubena, R. K.: Repeated high doses of 1-tetrahydrocannabinol enhance acquisition of shock avoidance by rats. Proc. Amer. psychopath. Ass., 747–748 (1971)
Bueno, O. F. A., Carlini, E. A.: Dissociation of learning in marijuana tolerant rats. Psychopharmacologia (Berl.) 25, 49 (1972)
Cappell, H., Kuchar, E., Webster, C. D.: Some correlates of marihuana self-administration in man: a study of titration of intake as a function of drug potency. Psychopharmacologia (Berl.) 29, 177–184 (1973)
Casswell, S., Marks, D.: Cannabis induced impairment of performance of a divided attention task. Nature (Lond.) 241, 61 (1973a)
Casswell, S., Marks, D.: Cannabis and temporal disintegration in experienced and naive subjects. Science 179, 803–805 (1973b)
Cohen, M. J., Rickles, W. H.: Performance on a verbal learning task by subjects of heavy past marijuana usage. Psychopharmacologia (Berl.) 37, 323–330 (1974)
Darley, C. F., Tinkenberg, J. R., Roth, W. T., Atkinson, R. C.: The nature of storage deficits and state-dependent retrieval under marijuana. Psychopharmacologia (Berl.) 37, 139–149 (1974)
Fehr, K. O'B., Kalant, H.: Analysis of cannabis smoke obtained under different combustion conditions. Canad. J. Physiol. Pharmacol. 50, 761–767 (1971)
Ferry, D. Cited in: S. Casswell: Acute effects of cannabis intoxication. Doctoral dissertation, University of Otago (1974)
Glick, S. D., Milloy, S.: Tolerance, state-dependency and long-term behavioural effects of δ 9-THC. In: Current research in marijuana, M. F. Lewis, ed., pp. 1–24. New York: Academic Press 1972
Grilly, D. M., Ferraro, D. P., Marriott, R. G.: Long term interactions of marijuana and behaviour in chimpanzees. Nature (Lond.) 242, 119–120 (1973)
Henriksson, G. B., Jarbe, T.: The effect of two tetrahydrocannabinols, (δ 9-THC and δ 8-THC) on conditioned avoidance learning in rats and its transfer to normal state conditions. Psychopharmacologia (Berl.) 22, 23–30 (1971)
Hill, S. Y., Schwin, R., Powell, B., Goodwin, D. W.: Statedependent effects of marijuana on human memory. Nature (Lond.) 243, 241–242 (1973)
Kalant, H., Le Blanc, A. E., Gibbins, R. J.: Tolerance to, and dependence on, some non-opiate psychotropic drugs. Pharmacol. Rev. 23, 135–191 (1971)
Le Dain, G., Campbell, I. L., Lehmann, H., Stein, J. P., Bertrand, M. R.: Cannabis: A Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Non-Medical Use of Drugs. Ottawa: Information Canada 1972
Lemberger, L., Axelrod, J., Kopin, I. J.: Metabolism and disposition of tetrahydrocannabinols in naive subjects and chronic marijuana users. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 191, 142–153 (1971)
Marks, D. F., Beautrais, A. L.: Behavioural tolerance to cannabis effects in psychomotor function. (In preparation, 1975)
Miller, N. E.: Objective techniques for studying motivational effects of drugs on animals. In: Proceedings of the International Symposium on Psychotropic Drugs, S. Garattini and V. Ghetti, eds., pp. 83–103. Amsterdam: Elsevier 1957
Overton, D. A.: State-dependent learning produced by alcohol and its reference to alcoholism. In: The biology of alcoholism, B. Kissin and H. Begleiter, eds., Vol. 2, Physiology and behaviour. New York: Plenum Press 1972
Rickles, W. H., Cohen, M. J., Whitaker, C. A., McIntyre, R. E.: Marijuana induced state-dependent verbal learning. Psychopharmacologia (Berl.) 30, 349–354 (1973)
Sodetz, F. J.: δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol: behavioural toxicity in laboratory animals. In: Current research in marijuana, M. F. Lewis, ed., pp. 25–48. New York: Academic Press 1972
Weil, A.: The natural mind. New York: Houghton Mifflin 1972
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Beautrais, A.L., Marks, D.F. A test of state dependency effects in marihuana intoxication for the learning of psychomotor tasks. Psychopharmacologia 46, 37–40 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00421547
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00421547