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Drug and Alcohol Review - 2025 - Stefanidis - Elucidating the acute effects of medically prescribed oral and vaporised1.15 MB
Published VersionCC BY-NC-ND V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Elucidating the acute effects of medically prescribed oral and vaporised delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol on cognitive functions important for driving
Drug and Alcohol Review, Vol.44(4), pp.1010-1023
2025
PMCID: PMC12117310
PMID: 40299776
Appears in UniSC Supported Open Access Outputs
Abstract
Introduction
This program of research investigated the acute effects of orally ingested (Study 1) and vaporised (Study 2) cannabis containing delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on cognitive functions relevant for driving in two samples of medicinal cannabis patients (Study 1 N = 41 oral users; Study 2 N = 37 flower users).
Method
Participants completed counterbalanced baseline (no cannabis) and cannabis consumption (post-cannabis) appointments scheduled approximately 1 week apart. During each session, participants were administered a cognitive battery assessing information processing speed, sustained and divided attention, inhibitory control and mental flexibility. In the post-cannabis condition, the battery was completed 90 min after consuming one dose of cannabis oil (Study 1) or 15 min after vaporising one dose of cannabis flower (Study 2).
Results
In both samples, acute cannabis oil and flower administration did not induce a change in information processing speed, divided and sustained attention, or inhibitory control performance (after excluding participants with a positive drug indication at the start of either session), highlighting the moderating role of tolerance. However, significant reductions in TMT B performance were observed. Further, TMT ratio was significantly reduced post consumption of cannabis oil.
Discussion and Conclusions
TMT B may be sensitive to acute cannabis consumption in medicinal cannabis patients. However, further research is needed to determine the nature and duration of these effects, and whether such effects vary depending on the population studied (e.g., regular vs. new users).
Details
- Title
- Elucidating the acute effects of medically prescribed oral and vaporised delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol on cognitive functions important for driving
- Authors
- Kayla B Stefanidis (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Road Safety Research CollaborationCarla Schiemer - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Road Safety Research CollaborationTaren Mieran - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Road Safety Research CollaborationAndrew Hill - The University of QueenslandMark S Horswill - The University of QueenslandMathew J Summers - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health - Psychology
- Publication details
- Drug and Alcohol Review, Vol.44(4), pp.1010-1023
- Publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
- Date published
- 2025
- DOI
- 10.1111/dar.14060
- ISSN
- 1465-3362; 0959-5236
- PMID
- 40299776; PMC12117310
- Copyright note
- © 2025 The Author(s). Drug and Alcohol Review published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.
- Data Availability
- The authors do not have permission to share data.
- Grant note
- This research was funded by the Motor Accident Insurance Commission.
- Organisation Unit
- Road Safety Research Collaboration; Healthy Ageing Research Cluster; School of Health; School of Health - Psychology; School of Law and Society
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991127106202621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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- Substance Abuse
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