Citation

Dumont G, Van Hasselt J, de Kam M, van Gerven J, Touw D, Buitelaar J, Verkes RJ. J. Psychopharmacol. 2011; 25(4): 478-489.

Affiliation

Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Department of Psychiatry, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, The Netherlands.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0269881110376687

PMID

20817749

Abstract

In Western societies a considerable percentage of young people expose themselves to the combination of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or 'ecstasy') and cannabis. The aim of the present study was to assess the acute effects of co-administration of MDMA and THC (the main psychoactive compound of cannabis) on pharmacokinetics, psychomotor performance, memory and subjective experience over time. We performed a four-way, double blind, randomized, crossover, placebo-controlled study in 16 healthy volunteers (12 male, four female) between the ages of 18 and 27. MDMA (100 mg) was given orally, THC (4, 6, and 6 mg, interval of 90 min) was vaporized and inhaled. THC induced more robust cognitive impairment compared with MDMA, and co-administration did not exacerbate single drug effects on cognitive function. However, co-administration of THC with MDMA increased desired subjective drug effects and drug strength compared with the MDMA condition, which may explain the widespread use of this combination.

Language: en