Acute Effects of Cannabis on Everyday Life Memory

Completed · Phase 2 · Has a placebo group

Conditions studied: Cannabis Use

In brief

This study will examine the acute effects of cannabis on various aspects of memory. Eligible participants will complete a drug screen. Participants who pass the drug screen will be asked to wear an Empatica E4 wristband for the duration of the study. Participants will provide a saliva sample from which cortisol will be extracted. They will then complete baseline measures of cannabis consumption patterns, level of intoxication, mood, anxiety, stress, and verbal intelligence. Next, participants will be randomly assigned to inhale vapor from cannabis containing 20mg THC, 40mg THC, or placebo; both cannabis and placebo will be obtained from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Participants will then will complete a battery of memory tests including tests of prospective, verbal, visuospatial, source, verbal working, visuospatial working, false, and temporal order memory. Memory tests will be completed across two blocks in a counterbalanced order. Saliva samples will be obtained two additional times after drug/placebo administration. Ratings of intoxication, mood, anxiety, and stress will be obtained three additional times after drug/placebo administration. The investigators hypothesize that participants who are randomly assigned to inhale cannabis vapor will perform worse on all memory tests than participants who inhale the placebo.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT05488509

Run by

Washington State University

People needed

121

Starts

2023-08-21

Expected to finish

2025-05-17

Last updated by the study team

2025-11-24

Who can join

Age: 21 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Have used cannabis at least once a week for at least one year
• Willing to abstain from using any cannabis on the day of their scheduled testing session (minimum of 8 hours of abstinence)

You may not qualify if…

• Diagnosis of a serious psychiatric condition (psychosis, bipolar I, panic disorder)
• Family history of psychosis
• Diagnosis of a neurological disorder
• Diagnosis of a chronic medical condition (e.g., heart disease, diabetes)
• Diagnosis of a learning disability
• History of multiple concussions
• History of head injury that may impact cognition
• Being pregnant
• Lactating
• History of adverse experiences with cannabis (anxiety, panic attacks)
• Use of illicit drugs in the past 6 months
• Heavy alcohol use (>4 drinks, >4 times/week)
• Smoking/nicotine use
• BMI greater than 34

Where it is running

• Washington State University — Pullman, Washington, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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