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Episode 88 | Cannabis and Driving - with Dr. Tom Marcotte


Overview

We talk about acute effects of cannabis use (THC) on driving performance with Tom Marcotte, a clinical scientist with decades of experience in this area. We cover the acute cognitive effects of cannabis, the time course of the effects of cannabis on driving performance (based on a driving simulator), the relationship between subjective perceptions of driving performance and actual performance, relevant legal and legislative issues related to cannabis and driving, and differences between recreational and medicinal cannabis on cognition and driving.



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Thomas D Marcotte
Instructor Credentials

Dr. Thomas Marcotte is Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego, and Co-Director of the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research, which has conducted clinical trials of cannabis for over 20 years and has an active, ongoing portfolio exploring the effects of cannabinoids (plant-based, synthetic) in various medical/psychiatric conditions. He is currently the principal investigator on studies addressing the effects that cannabis has on driving performance, both alone and in combination with alcohol, including methods for detecting cannabis-related driving impairment (bodily fluids, standardized field sobriety tests, and tablet-based measures). He is also the principal investigator of an NIH-funded take-home study of cannabis for the treatment of pain, and previously was a co-investigator on cannabis studies addressing pain and spasticity in multiple sclerosis. Dr. Marcotte has served on the editorial boards of Neuropsychology and the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, was co-chair of the Research, Data and Technology subcommitte of the State of California Impaired Driving Task Force, and a member on the California Office on Traffic Safety Impaired Driving Blueprint Roundtable. He is co-editor of the book Neuropsychology of Everyday Functioning, 2nd Edition (Marcotte, Schmitter-Edgecombe & Grant).


We encourage you to read the full empirical article on cannabis and driving, published in JAMA Psychiatry

Educational Objectives
  • List several cognitive domains that are commonly affected by acute cannabis intoxication.
  • Discuss the time course of acute cannabis intoxication on driving performance.
  • Apply the information from this conversation in daily clinical practice with cannabis users who drive.
Target Audience
  • Introductory
Availability
  • Date Available: 2022-02-10
  • You may obtain CE for this podcast at any time.
Offered for CE
  • Yes
Cost
  • Members $20
  • Non-Members $25
Refund Policy
  • This podcast is not eligible for refunds
CE Credits
  • 1.0 Credit(s)
Disclosures
  • The author has no conflicts of interest to report
Bibliography
  • Broyd, S. J., van Hell, H. H., Beale, C., Yuecel, M., & Solowij, N. (2016). Acute and chronic effects of cannabinoids on human cognition: A systematic review. Biological Psychiatry, 79(7), 557-567.
  • Dellazizzo, L., Potvin, S., Giguère, S., & Dumais, A. (2022). Evidence on the acute and residual neurocognitive effects of cannabis use in adolescents and adults: a systematic meta-review of meta-analyses. Addiction.
  • Lenné, M. G., Dietze, P. M., Triggs, T. J., Walmsley, S., Murphy, B., & Redman, J. R. (2010). The effects of cannabis and alcohol on simulated arterial driving: Influences of driving experience and task demand. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 42(3), 859-866.
  • Marcotte, T. D., Umlauf, A., Grelotti, D. J., Sones, E. G., Sobolesky, P. M., Smith, B. E., Hoffman, M. A., Hubbard, J. A., Severson, J., Huestis, M. A., Grant, I., & Fitzgerald, R. L. (in press). Driving performance and cannabis users’ perception of safety: A randomized clinical trial of smoked cannabis of different THC content. JAMA Psychiatry.
  • Ramaekers, J. G. (2018). Driving under the influence of cannabis: an increasing public health concern. JAMA,319(14), 1433-1434.