The Use of Marihuana: A Psychological and Physiological Inquiry

1 Background and Experimental Design.- 1. Setting.- 2. Research Paradigm.- 2 The Subjects.- 1. Recruitment of Subjects.- 2. Characteristics of the Subject Groups.- 3 Experimental Analysis of Marihuana Acquisition and Use.- 1. Method.- 2. Results.- 2.1. Operant Data.- 2.2. Marihuana Consumption.- 2.3. Other Reinforcements.- 3. Discussion.- 4 Group Behavior: Patterns of Smoking.- 1. Method.- 2. Results.- 2.1. The Smoking Procedure.- 2.2. Smoking in Groups.- 2.3. Affiliation Structures and Role Differentiation.- 2.4. Activities and Communication during Smoking.- 2.5. Content and Quality of Communication.- 3. Discussion.- 5 Group Behavior: Verbal Interaction.- 1. Methods and Procedure.- 2. Results.- 2.1. Overall Effect of Marihuana on Verbal Interaction.- 2.2. Specific Effects of Marihuana on Verbal Interaction and Laughter.- 2.3. Effect of Marihuana on Opinion Change after Group Discussion.- 3. Discussion.- 4. Summary.- 6 Group Behavior: Hostility and Aggression.- 1. Methods.- 1.1. Assessment of Hostile Inner States.- 1.2. Interpersonal Perception of Hostility.- 1.3. Assessment of Verbal Interpersonal Hostility.- 2. Results.- 2.1. Hostility as an Inner Affective State.- 2.2. Perception and Expression of Hostility in Others.- 2.3. Verbal Interaction Hostility.- 3. Discussion.- 7 Group Behavior: Problem Solving Efficiency.- 1. Method and Procedure.- 2. Results.- 3. Discussion.- 8 Memory and Time Estimation.- 1. Method.- 1.1. Memory.- 1.2. Time Estimation.- 2. Results.- 2.1. Short-Term Memory.- 2.2. Improvement with Practice.- 2.3. Acute Effects of Marihuana.- 2.4. No Changes during Drug Period.- 2.5. Volitional Control of Effects.- 2.6. Time Estimation.- 2.7. Pre-Drug Estimates.- 2.8. Overestimate vs. Underestimate.- 2.9. Acute Effects of Marihuana.- 2.10. Tolerance.- 2.11. No Volitional Control of Effects.- 2.12. Changes in Time Estimates during Drug Period.- 2.13. Net Effects on Accuracy of Time Estimates: Heavy vs. Casual Users.- 3. Discussion.- 9 Cognitive Effects of Marihuana.- 1. Methods.- 1.1. Introduction.- 1.2. Evaluation Instruments.- 2. Results.- 3. Summary.- 10 Mood States.- 1. Method 117.- 1.1. Mood Assessments.- 1.2. Intoxication Ratings.- 2. Results.- 2.1. Mood Assessments.- 2.2. Moods after Smoking.- 2.3. Moods before Smoking.- 2.4. Depression.- 2.5. Subjective Level of Intoxication.- 2.6. Duration of Subjective Effect.- 2.7. Tolerance.- 2.8. Effect of Setting.- 3. Discussion 126.- 11 Physiological Assessments: General Medical Survey.- 1. Methods.- 2. Results.- 2.1. Initial Medical History and Physical Examination.- 2.2. Laboratory Studies.- 2.3. Body Weight.- 2.4. Temperature.- 2.5. Respiratory Tract.- 2.6. Eyes.- 2.7. Neurological.- 3. Discussion.- 4. Summary.- 12 Physiological Assessments: Cardiopulmonary Function.- 1. Methods.- 2. Results.- 2.1. Pulmonary Function Testing.- 2.2. Blood Pressure and Pulse Data.- 2.3. Relationship of Pulse Rate Change and Subjective Marihuana Effect.- 2.4. Electrocardiograms.- 2.5. Physical Fitness and Exercise Endurance.- 3. Discussion.- 3.1. Pulmonary Function.- 3.2. Blood Pressure and Pulse.- 3.3. Pulse Rate Changes and Their Correlation with Subjective Effects.- 3.4. Electrocardiograms.- 3.5. Physical Fitness and Exercise Endurance.- 4. Summary.- 13 Sleep-Wakefulness Behavior.- 1. Method.- 2. Results.- 2.1. Baseline Sleep Patterns.- 2.2. Increase in Amount of Sleep during Drug Period.- 2.3. Other Changes in Sleep Patterns.- 2.4. Variance in the Relation between Marihuana and Changed Sleep Patterns.- 2.5. Acute Effect of Marihuana on Sleep Induction.- 3. Discussion.- 14 Conclusions and Implications.- 1. Questions Posed for Research.- 1.1. Does Chronic Use of Marihuana Systematically Affect Motivation to Engage in a Variety of Social and Goal-Directed Activities?.- 1.2. Are There Consistent Relationships between Free-Choice Marihuana Intake and Antecedent and Consequent Mood States?.- 1.3. What Are the Relationships between Free-Choice Marihuana Intake and Patterns of Verbal Interaction?.- 1.4. What Are the Relationships between Free-Choice Chronic Marihuana Intake and Performance on Psychological Tasks Which Assess Functions such as Problem Solving, Memory, Time Estimation, and Cognitive Function?.- 1.5. Are There Characteristic Differences in Marihuana Smoking Patterns between Casual and Heavy Users, and Are There Identifiable Parameters Related to the Different Patterns?.- 1.6. Are Physiological and Biochemical Changes Associated with Repeated Doses of Marihuana?.- 2. Conclusions.- References.