Abstract
Some evidence suggests that males and females may differ in their responses to
acute cannabis effects, including subjective drug effects and behavioural effects, and
cannabinoid pharmacokinetics. This is significant given current changes to cannabisrelated policies and, in consequence, increased cannabis accessibility. The present
study combines data from two randomized controlled trials to investigate possible
differences among males (n = 21) and females (n = 19) in the acute effects of vaporized cannabis containing 13.75 mg Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), with and without
cannabidiol (CBD; 13.75 mg). To control for differences in the timing of assessments,
peak (or peak change from baseline) scores were calculated for a range of measures
including subjective drug effects, cognitive performance, cardiovascular effects, and
plasma concentrations of THC, CBD, and their respective primary metabolites. While
THC elicited robust and significant changes in all but one outcome measure relative
to placebo, relatively few sex differences were observed after controlling for BMI
and plasma THC concentrations. Relative to females, males performed better overall
on a divided attention task (DAT) and had higher peak plasma concentrations of
11-nor-9-carboxy-THC (11-COOH-THC). Males and females did not differ with
respect to plasma concentrations of any other analyte, subjective drug effects, or cardiovascular measures. These data indicate an absence of systematic sex differences
in acute cannabis effects given a moderate dose of vaporized cannabis. They do not
preclude the possibility that sex differences may emerge with higher THC doses or
with other commonly used routes of administration (e.g., orally administered oils or
edibles)
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