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Smoked cocaine self-administration in females

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Abstract

Although approximately 32% of all smoked cocaine (“crack”) users are women, most studies investigating cocaine use have recruited only male subjects. Therefore, this study examined the smoked cocaine self-administration patterns of female crack abusers. A work requirement, where up to five tokens were earned by subjects, was followed by the administration of a sample delivery of one of three dose sizes [5.0 mg (placebo), 0.2 mg/kg, 0.4 mg/kg] of cocaine. The three dose sizes of cocaine were administered in counterbalanced order across subjects, with each subject receiving one dose size within a session and all dose sizes across the three experimental sessions. A self-administration phase followed the sample delivery, during which a token could be exchanged every 30 min for monetary reimbursement or a delivery of cocaine in the same dose size as the sample delivery. The results show that females' patterns of behavioral and subjective responding to smoked cocaine exhibit clear dose-related effects, thus affirming this self-administration model as safe and appropriate for use with women.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Division of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Box 392 Mayo Memorial Building, 55455, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

    S. A. Dudish & D. K. Hatsukami

  2. Departments of Medicine and Pharmacology, Hennepin County Medical Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

    P. R. Pentel

Authors
  1. S. A. Dudish
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  2. D. K. Hatsukami
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  3. P. R. Pentel
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Dudish, S.A., Hatsukami, D.K. & Pentel, P.R. Smoked cocaine self-administration in females. Psychopharmacology 123, 79–87 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02246284

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02246284

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