TY - JOUR
T1 - The effect of alcohol, THC and their combination on perceived effects, willingness to drive and performance of driving and non-driving tasks
AU - Ronen, Adi
AU - Chassidim, Hadas Schwartz
AU - Gershon, Pnina
AU - Parmet, Yisrael
AU - Rabinovich, Alex
AU - Bar-Hamburger, Rachel
AU - Cassuto, Yair
AU - Shinar, David
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported in part by a grant from the Israeli Antidrug Authority, and in part by the Paul Ivanier Center for Robotics and Production Management, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. The authors acknowledge the assistance of Raphael Mechoulam and his laboratory staff from the Hebrew University in providing the synthesized THC and Amir Sagi and his staff from Ben- Gurion University in the preparation of THC cigarettes.
PY - 2010/1/1
Y1 - 2010/1/1
N2 - Background: Driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) is one of the main causes of car accidents. Alcohol and marijuana are the most popular drugs among recreational users. Many classify these drugs as "Light" drugs and therefore allow themselves to drive after consuming them. Objective: The study had two main objectives: 1) to investigate the effect of alcohol (BAC=0.05%), THC (13 mg) and their combination on driving and non-driving tasks. 2) to investigate the extent to which people are willing to drive based on their subjective sensations and their perceived effects of the drugs. Method: 7 healthy men and 5 healthy women, ages 24-29, all recreational users of alcohol and marijuana, completed 5 experimental sessions. Sessions included: drinking and smoking placebo, drinking alcohol and smoking placebo, drinking placebo and smoking THC, drinking alcohol and smoking THC, drinking placebo and smoking placebo 24 hours after drinking alcohol and smoking THC. Three types of measures were used: subjective perceptions (with questionnaires), performance parameters of the driving and nondriving tasks (arithmetic task and a secondary target detection task) and physiological changes (heart rate). Results: Overall, the combination of alcohol and THC had the most intense effect after intake. This effect was reflected in performance impairments observed in the driving and non-driving tasks, in the subjective sensations after intake, and in the physiological measures. Despite significant differences in the size of the effects after the various treatments, there were no differences in the distances subjects were willing to drive while under the influence on each of the treatments.
AB - Background: Driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) is one of the main causes of car accidents. Alcohol and marijuana are the most popular drugs among recreational users. Many classify these drugs as "Light" drugs and therefore allow themselves to drive after consuming them. Objective: The study had two main objectives: 1) to investigate the effect of alcohol (BAC=0.05%), THC (13 mg) and their combination on driving and non-driving tasks. 2) to investigate the extent to which people are willing to drive based on their subjective sensations and their perceived effects of the drugs. Method: 7 healthy men and 5 healthy women, ages 24-29, all recreational users of alcohol and marijuana, completed 5 experimental sessions. Sessions included: drinking and smoking placebo, drinking alcohol and smoking placebo, drinking placebo and smoking THC, drinking alcohol and smoking THC, drinking placebo and smoking placebo 24 hours after drinking alcohol and smoking THC. Three types of measures were used: subjective perceptions (with questionnaires), performance parameters of the driving and nondriving tasks (arithmetic task and a secondary target detection task) and physiological changes (heart rate). Results: Overall, the combination of alcohol and THC had the most intense effect after intake. This effect was reflected in performance impairments observed in the driving and non-driving tasks, in the subjective sensations after intake, and in the physiological measures. Despite significant differences in the size of the effects after the various treatments, there were no differences in the distances subjects were willing to drive while under the influence on each of the treatments.
KW - Alcohol
KW - Driving
KW - Drugs
KW - Marijuana
KW - Perception
KW - Performance
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=78049376279&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.aap.2010.05.006
DO - 10.1016/j.aap.2010.05.006
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:78049376279
SN - 0001-4575
VL - 42
SP - 1855
EP - 1865
JO - Accident Analysis and Prevention
JF - Accident Analysis and Prevention
IS - 6
ER -
