Behavioral Pharmacology of THC and Alpha-pinene

May 20, 2025 updated by: Johns Hopkins University
This study will evaluate the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of vaporized alpha-pinene and THC administered via inhalation.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

The proposed study will be conducted at the Johns Hopkins Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit (BPRU). Participants will complete 6 acute drug administration periods in which they will administer THC alone, pinene alone, THC and pinene together, or placebo. Subjective drug effects, cognitive performance, and vital signs will be assessed following drug administration. Each participant will receive all 6 dose conditions in a randomized order using a placebo controlled within-subject crossover design. The study will help the investigators understand the individual and interactive effects of THC and pinene, two common constituents found in cannabis.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
33

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Maryland
      • Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 21224
        • Johns Hopkins University

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 55 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Have provided written informed consent
  • Be between the ages of 18 and 55
  • Be in good general health based on a physical examination, medical history, vital signs, 12-lead ECG and screening urine and blood tests
  • Test negative for drugs of abuse other than cannabis, including breath alcohol at the screening visit and at clinic admission
  • Not be pregnant or nursing (if female). All females must have a negative serum pregnancy test at the screening visit and a negative urine pregnancy test at clinic admission.
  • Have a body mass index (BMI) in the range of 18 to 36 kg/m2
  • Blood pressure at Screening Visit does not exceed a systolic blood pressure (SBP) of 150 mmHg or a diastolic blood pressure (DBP) of 90 mmHg
  • Have no allergies to any of the ingredients used to prepare vapor (THC, pinene).
  • Demonstrate competency on cognitive performance measures at screening visit (e.g., PASAT score of 75/90).

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Non-medical use of psychoactive drugs other than, nicotine, alcohol, or caffeine 3 month prior to the Screening Visit;
  • History of or current evidence of significant medical (e.g. seizure disorder) or psychiatric illness (e.g. psychosis) judged by the investigator to put the participant at greater risk of experiencing an adverse event due to exposure or completion of other study procedures.
  • Use of an over-the-counter (OTC), systemic or topical drug(s), herbal supplement(s), or vitamin(s) within 14 days of experimental sessions; which, in the opinion of the investigator or sponsor, will interfere with the study result or the safety of the subject.
  • Use of a prescription medication (with the exception of birth control prescriptions) within 14 days of experimental sessions; which, in the opinion of the investigator or sponsor, will interfere with the study result or the safety of the subject.
  • Use of dronabinol (Marinol®) within the past month.
  • Average use of cannabis more than 2 times per week in the prior 3 months.
  • History of clinically significant cardiac arrhythmias or vasospastic disease (e.g., Prinzmetal's angina).
  • Abnormal EKG result that in the investigator's opinion is clinically significant.
  • Enrolled in another clinical trial or have received any drug as part of a research study within 30 days prior to dosing.
  • Having previously sought medical attention to manage adverse effects following acute cannabis use.
  • Individuals with anemia or who have donated blood in the prior 30 days

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Basic Science
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Placebo Comparator: Placebo
Placebo (5mL distilled water)
Drug: Placebo
Placebo vapor (distilled water)
Experimental: Vaporized Pinene
15mg vaporized alpha-pinene
Drug: Alpha-Pinene
Pure alpha-pinene vapor
Other Names:
  • Pinene
Experimental: Vaporized THC
30mg vaporized delta-9-THC
Drug: THC
Pure THC vapor
Other Names:
  • Cannabis
  • Delta-9-THC
Experimental: Vaporized THC and low alpha-pinene
30mg vaporized delta-9-THC and 0.5mg of vaporized alpha-pinene
Drug: THC
Pure THC vapor
Other Names:
  • Cannabis
  • Delta-9-THC
Drug: Alpha-Pinene
Pure alpha-pinene vapor
Other Names:
  • Pinene
Experimental: Vaporized THC and alpha-pinene
30mg vaporized delta-9-THC and 5mg of vaporized alpha-pinene
Drug: THC
Pure THC vapor
Other Names:
  • Cannabis
  • Delta-9-THC
Drug: Alpha-Pinene
Pure alpha-pinene vapor
Other Names:
  • Pinene
Experimental: Vaporized THC and high alpha-pinene
30mg vaporized delta-9-THC and 15mg of vaporized alpha-pinene
Drug: THC
Pure THC vapor
Other Names:
  • Cannabis
  • Delta-9-THC
Drug: Alpha-Pinene
Pure alpha-pinene vapor
Other Names:
  • Pinene

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Mean Peak Change From Baseline Drug Effect as Assessed by the Drug Effect Questionnaire (DEQ)
Time Frame: 0-6 hours, assessed at baseline, 0-hour, and 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 hours post dosing.
Mean Peak change from baseline rating (0-100) of Drug Effect on the DEQ, a visual analog scale (VAS) self-report questionnaire, with 0 being no effect and 100 being maximum effect.
0-6 hours, assessed at baseline, 0-hour, and 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 hours post dosing.
Mean Peak Change From Baseline Psychomotor Performance as Assessed by the Digit Symbol Substitution Task (DSST)
Time Frame: 0-6 hours, assessed at baseline, 0-hour, and 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 hours post dosing.
Computerized version of Digit Symbol Substitution Task will be administered to assess psychomotor performance. Mean peak change from baseline total correct trials in 90-seconds. Minimum score of 0 but no maximum score (higher scores indicate better performance).
0-6 hours, assessed at baseline, 0-hour, and 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 hours post dosing.
Mean Peak Change From Baseline Working Memory Performance as Assessed by the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task (PASAT)
Time Frame: 0-6 hours, assessed at baseline, 0-hour, and 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 hours post dosing.
Computerized version of Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task administered to assess working memory performance. Mean peak change from baseline total correct trials out of 90 recorded is primary outcome (higher scores indicate better performance).
0-6 hours, assessed at baseline, 0-hour, and 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 hours post dosing.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Johns Hopkins University

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Ryan Vandrey, PhD, Johns Hopkins University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
November 5, 2020

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
March 8, 2024

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
March 8, 2024

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
October 16, 2019

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 16, 2019

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
October 17, 2019

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
May 22, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 20, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
May 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • IRB00182689
  • R01DA043475 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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Conditions

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