Journal article
Identifying driving-related cognitive measures sensitive to varying doses of vaporised cannabis flower
Transportation Research. Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, Vol.122, pp.1-12
2026
Abstract
This study aimed to identify cognitive measures sensitive to varying doses of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and to examine their relationships with oral fluid THC concentrations and driving measures among 59 medicinal cannabis patients (M age = 44 years, SD = 12). Participants attended four counterbalanced testing sessions in which they consumed either 10 mg, 20 mg or 30 mg of THC (dose sessions) or no cannabis (abstinent baseline session). Following administration, participants completed a battery of cognitive assessments, simulated driving tasks, and a hazard perception test. The results indicated that vaporised cannabis at a dose of 30 mg led to slower performance on Trail Making Tests A and B, highlighting the potential utility of these measures in detecting cannabis-induced effects on cognitive function. Further, while preliminary, the findings indicated that cannabis consumption at 30 mg increased the odds of colliding with a leading vehicle in the driving simulator, despite the use of compensatory strategies such as reducing speed and increasing headway distance. No other significant differences were observed in the remaining cognitive and driving-related measures. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.
Details
- Title
- Identifying driving-related cognitive measures sensitive to varying doses of vaporised cannabis flower
- Authors
- K.B. Stefanidis (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine CoastG.S. Larue - University of the Sunshine CoastM.J. Summers - University of the Sunshine CoastM.S. Horswill - The University of QueenslandA. Hill - The University of QueenslandK. Armstrong - University of the Sunshine Coast
- Publication details
- Transportation Research. Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, Vol.122, pp.1-12
- Publisher
- Elsevier Ltd
- Date published
- 2026
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.trf.2026.103777
- ISSN
- 1873-5517
- Copyright note
- © 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ ).
- Data Availability
- Data will be made available on request.
- Grant note
- This research was funded by the MAIC/UniSC Road Safety Research Collaboration Grant. The Motor Accident Insurance Commission provided funding to the University of the Sunshine Coast to support the MAIC/UniSC Road Safety Research Collaboration to conduct research activities that aim to reduce the incidence of motor vehicle crashes.
- Organisation Unit
- Road Safety Research Collaboration; Healthy Ageing Research Cluster; School of Health - Psychology; School of Law and Society
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991254249702621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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