Abstract
Aims:
To test how attentional bias and explicit liking are influenced by delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and whether these effects are moderated by cannabidiol (CBD).
Design:
Double-blind, randomised, within-subjects crossover study.
Setting:
NIHR Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility at King’s College Hospital, London, United Kingdom.
Participants/Cases:
46 infrequent cannabis users (cannabis use <1 per week).
Intervention(s):
Across four sessions, participants inhaled vaporised cannabis containing 10mg of THC and either 0mg (0:1 CBD:THC), 10mg (1:1), 20mg (2:1), or 30mg (3:1) of CBD, administered in a randomized order and counter-balanced across participants (a total of 24 order groups).
Measurements:
Participants completed two tasks: 1) Attentional Bias (AB), comparing reaction times towards visual probes presented behind 28 target stimuli (cannabis/food) compared with probes behind corresponding non-target (neutral) stimuli. Participants responding more quickly to probes behind target than non-target stimuli would indicate greater attentional bias to cannabis/food; 2) Picture Rating (PR), where all AB stimuli were rated on a 7-point pleasantness scale, measuring explicit liking.
Findings:
During the AB task, participants were more biased towards cannabis stimuli in the 0:1 condition compared with baseline (mean difference=12.2, 95% confidence intervals [CIs]=1.20-23.3, d=0.41, p=0.03). No other significant AB or PR differences were found between cannabis and food stimuli between baseline and 0:1 condition (p>0.05). No significant CBD effect was found on AB or PR task performance at any dose (p>0.05). There was additionally no cumulative effect of THC exposure on AB or PR outcomes (p>0.05).
Conclusions:
A double-blind, randomised, crossover study among infrequent cannabis users found that inhaled delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol increased attentional bias towards cannabis in the absence of explicit liking, a marker of liability towards cannabis use disorder. At the concentrations normally found in legal and illegal cannabis, cannabidiol had no influence on this effect.
To test how attentional bias and explicit liking are influenced by delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and whether these effects are moderated by cannabidiol (CBD).
Design:
Double-blind, randomised, within-subjects crossover study.
Setting:
NIHR Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Facility at King’s College Hospital, London, United Kingdom.
Participants/Cases:
46 infrequent cannabis users (cannabis use <1 per week).
Intervention(s):
Across four sessions, participants inhaled vaporised cannabis containing 10mg of THC and either 0mg (0:1 CBD:THC), 10mg (1:1), 20mg (2:1), or 30mg (3:1) of CBD, administered in a randomized order and counter-balanced across participants (a total of 24 order groups).
Measurements:
Participants completed two tasks: 1) Attentional Bias (AB), comparing reaction times towards visual probes presented behind 28 target stimuli (cannabis/food) compared with probes behind corresponding non-target (neutral) stimuli. Participants responding more quickly to probes behind target than non-target stimuli would indicate greater attentional bias to cannabis/food; 2) Picture Rating (PR), where all AB stimuli were rated on a 7-point pleasantness scale, measuring explicit liking.
Findings:
During the AB task, participants were more biased towards cannabis stimuli in the 0:1 condition compared with baseline (mean difference=12.2, 95% confidence intervals [CIs]=1.20-23.3, d=0.41, p=0.03). No other significant AB or PR differences were found between cannabis and food stimuli between baseline and 0:1 condition (p>0.05). No significant CBD effect was found on AB or PR task performance at any dose (p>0.05). There was additionally no cumulative effect of THC exposure on AB or PR outcomes (p>0.05).
Conclusions:
A double-blind, randomised, crossover study among infrequent cannabis users found that inhaled delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol increased attentional bias towards cannabis in the absence of explicit liking, a marker of liability towards cannabis use disorder. At the concentrations normally found in legal and illegal cannabis, cannabidiol had no influence on this effect.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Addiction |
| Publication status | Accepted/In press - 7 Sept 2023 |