Abstract
No medications are approved for cannabis use disorder (CUD). Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) reuptake is modulated by cannabinoid (CB) receptor agonists, and there are shared effects between CB agonists and the GABA reuptake inhibitor tiagabine. This overlapping neuropharmacology suggested that tiagabine might be useful for CUD. The study determined the ability of tiagabine maintenance to reduce cannabis selfadministration using a placebo-controlled, double-blind, counterbalanced, within-subjects design. Nontreatment-seeking daily cannabis users (N = 12; 3 female, 9 male) completed two 12-day outpatient maintenance phases (0 or 12 mg of tiagabine/day). Each phase consisted of a safety session, 7 maintenance days, and 4 experimental sessions. During experimental sessions, maintenance continued and participants completed two 2-day blocks of sampling and self-administration sessions to determine the reinforcing effects of smoked cannabis (0% and 5.9% Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol). Naturalistic cannabis use, the subjective, performance and physiological response to cannabis, as well as side effects, sleep quality, craving, other self-reported substance use, and observer ratings were also measured. Cannabis functioned as a reinforcer and produced prototypical effects (e.g., increased heart rate and ratings of "high"), but tiagabine generally did not impact the effects of cannabis, or alter naturalistic use. Furthermore, tiagabine produced small, but significant, increases on 2 subscales of a Marijuana Craving Questionnaire, and reductions in both the amount of time slept in the past 24 hr and ratings of positive mood upon awakening. These human laboratory results from a sample of nontreatment-seeking cannabis users do not support the potential efficacy of 12 mg of tiagabine as a stand-alone pharmacotherapy for CUD.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 310-319 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology |
| Volume | 26 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 2018 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This research and the preparation of this article were supported by grants awarded to Joshua A. Lile (National Institute on Drug Abuse Grants R01 DA025605 and DA036550) as well as by the University of Kentucky Center for Clinical and Translational Science (National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences Grant UL1TR001998). These funding sources had no other role than financial support. All authors contributed significantly to the manuscript and have read and approved the final version. We acknowledge the pharmacy services of the University of Kentucky Investigational Drug Service. We also thank Jennifer Dolly, Beth Eaves, Cleeve Emurian, Alisha Eversole, and Glenn Robbins for expert technical assistance
Funding Information:
This research and the preparation of this article were supported by grants awarded to Joshua A. Lile (National Institute on Drug Abuse Grants R01 DA025605 and DA036550) as well as by the University of Kentucky Center for Clinical and Translational Science (National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences Grant UL1TR001998). These funding sources had no other role than financial support.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 American Psychological Association.
Keywords
- Craving
- Marijuana
- Repeated acquisition task
- Self-administration
- Sleep
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pharmacology
- Psychiatry and Mental health
- Pharmacology (medical)
