Perceptual Influences From Smoking Cannabis: an Experimental Study (PISCES)

Exploring the Antecedents and Consequences of Cannabis Use in the Context of Coping: An Experimental Study

The purpose of the study is to better understand the effects of cannabis in relation to mental and physical states including its relationship with mood, cognition, perception including the experience of temperature and pain, and heart rate.

We expect that participants will be in this research study for approximately one week. The total amount of time that participants will spend completing study tasks will be about 2.5 hours across two separate in-person visits.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Stress; Cannabis Use
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Water Temperature Variation - CW; Other: Water Temperature Variation - WW

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 166
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Carillon Skrzynski, PhD; Phone Number: (734)788-2961; Email: carillon.skrzynski@colorado.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • Colorado
    • Boulder, Colorado, United States, 80309
      • Recruiting
      • University of Colorado at Boulder
      • Contact: Carillon Skrzynski, PhD; Phone Number: (734)788-2961; Email: carillon.skrzynski@colorado.edu

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• 21-65 years of age
• Endorsement of at least some use of cannabis for coping purposes (>1 on CMMQ)
• Regularly use flower cannabis products (i.e., ≥1x/week in the last 6 months)
• Proficient in English language
• At least occasional use of CBD+THC or CBD-dominant products (e.g., ≥1x/month)

Exclusion Criteria:

• Diagnosis or use of medications for substance use or psychotic disorders
• Report of other drug use (cocaine, opiates, methamphetamine) in the past 90 days or fail urine screen for any of these drugs
• Females cannot be pregnant or trying to become pregnant or nursing mothers
• Not able to provide informed consent

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Cold Water	Other: Water Temperature Variation - CW; Participants are assigned to cold water temperature and are video recorded.
Placebo Comparator: Warm Water	Other: Water Temperature Variation - WW; Participants are assigned to warm water temperature.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Blood Cortisol Levels	Cortisol levels are measured in blood.	Pre-Use/Pre-Water Task, 20 minutes Post-Use, 40 minutes Post-Use
Cannabis Used	Grams of product used is calculated. Product is measured before and after use to measure how much was used.	Immediate Post-Use
Blood Endocannabinoid Levels	Blood levels of AEA are measured.	Pre-Use/Pre-Water Task, 20 minutes Post-Use
Heart Rate	Participant HR is measured via pulse oximeter.	Pre-Use/Pre-Water Task, Pre-Use/Post-Water Task, 20 minutes Post-Use
Social Anxiety	Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS). 20 item survey, questions are answered on scale of 0 (not at all) to 4 (extremely), with higher scores indicating higher social anxiety. Questions are summed, with higher overall scores indicating higher social anxiety.	Pre-Use/Pre-Water Task
Inhibitory Control	Go/No-go Task. Participants are asked to complete a cognitive task where they see the text "Go" or "No go" during different trials. When they see "Go", they need to push a button within 2 seconds. When they see "No-go", they need to make sure they do not press the button (for 2 seconds). This is a measure of impulsivity.	Baseline
Stress	Stress Subscale of Depression and Anxiety Stress Scale measures stress. On scale from 0 (does not apply to me at all) to 3 (apply to me very much or most of the time). Higher scores indicate higher stress levels.	Pre-Use/Pre-Water Task
Blood cannabinoid levels	THC and CBD blood levels are measured.	Pre-Use/Pre-Water Task, 20 minutes Post-Use
Current Pain	Internal scale/measure, measured from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst pain imaginable). Participants report current pain on this self-report scale.	Pre-Use/Pre-Water Task, Pre-Use/Post-Water Task, 20 minutes Post-Use, 40 minutes Post-Use
Mood	Profile of Mood States (POMS). Focus on the stress, anxiety, tension, and relaxation questions (combined for a tension/anxiety subscale). Questions are on a scale 1 (not at all) to 5 (extremely). Scores are summed, with higher scores indicating more tension/anxiety.	Pre-Use/Pre-Water Task, Pre-Use/Post-Water Task, 20 minutes Post-Use, 40 minutes Post-Use

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Colorado, Boulder
• Collaborators: National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 17, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): July 1, 2029
• Study Completion (Estimated): July 31, 2029

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 6, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 6, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): September 19, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): June 13, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 12, 2025
• Last Verified: June 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Substance-Related Disorders; Chemically-Induced Disorders; Marijuana Abuse
• Other Study ID Numbers: 23-03-0215; 1K01DA058152-01A1 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No