Assistant Professor | Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa

Changing trends in legal recreational cannabis markets necessitates the continuous monitoring of important market metrics such as price, potency, type, and availability of cannabis products which may ...

Neuropsychopharmacology - Dose-related reductions in prefrontal recruitment during cognitive reappraisal following oral delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol in posttraumatic stress disorder

Scientific Reports - Potency-related effects of smoked cannabis on simulated driving performance: a randomized, controlled crossover trial

Dear colleagues, Below you will find a draft letter regarding the proposed transition to a single annual CIHR Project Grant competition, and to invite you to sign on if you are in agreement with its c...

To examine next-day cognitive performance and subjective drug effects after smoking cannabis and to assess associations between performance and cannab…

Congratulations to TC3-Toronto Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research Consortium fellows and alumni Justin Matheson, PhD, Catharine Mielnik, PhD and Claire Shyu, PhD for putting together an outstanding sym...

Awaken the Medium is a feature-length script that follows the story of Maggie Samson, whose latest near-death experience thrusts her into discovering her gifts and powers. Maggie is a librarian in …

Sex and gender can impact cannabis use and related harms, yet the field has historically centered men and male bodies. In our recent systematic review of sex differences in the acute cognitive effects...

Acute cannabis exposure can transiently impair cognitive performance, increasing the risk of accidental injury and potentially disrupting activities o…

Rationale Harmful alcohol use remains a significant global public health challenge. Examining variability in the acute subjective effects of alcohol and related neurobiological mechanisms may advance the understanding of susceptibility to harmful alcohol use. Research suggests the endocannabinoid (eCB) system may play an important role in mediating the reinforcing effects of alcohol. This study examined the relationship between alcohol-induced changes in eCB concentrations and the subjective psychoactive effects of acute alcohol consumption. Method Healthy social drinkers (n = 28, aged 20–35 years) participated in a within-subjects, single-blind, placebo-controlled laboratory alcohol challenge study. Alcohol (0.6 g/kg; with 20% adjustment for women) and placebo sessions were counterbalanced. Subjective alcohol effects were assessed from self-report questionnaires administered pre- and post-dosing, including the Biphasic Alcohol Effects Scale (BAES), Drug Effects Questionnaire (DEQ), and Profile of Mood States (POMS). The eCBs, N-arachidonoylethanolamine (anandamide; AEA) and 2-arachidonylglycerol (2-AG), were assessed from blood plasma taken throughout the dosing session. Results Acute alcohol was associated with an overall decrease in 2-AG concentrations compared to placebo. Further, we found that a drop in 2-AG concentrations was associated with less drug ‘liking’ and feelings of ‘friendliness’, whereas under placebo conditions, a rise in 2-AG was associated with a smaller decrease in feelings of ‘stimulation’ (e.g., feeling energized, talkative). Alcohol did not significantly affect AEA concentrations. Conclusion Our study provides the first evidence that eCBs may contribute to individual differences in sensitivity to alcohol's reward-related mechanisms by influencing subjective experience, offering insight into the potential role of eCBs in the processes underlying harmful alcohol use.

Introduction Cannabis use and cannabis use disorder (CUD) are more prevalent among men and boys than among women and girls. However, this sex/gender gap has been narrowing in recent decades, likely du...

Background: Cannabis use is common among individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs), yet its relationship with mental health characteristics in treatment-seeking populations remains unclear. O...

The aim of the CCS is to obtain detailed information about the habits of people who use cannabis and behaviours relative to cannabis use

Purpose of Review Sexual and gender minorities (SGM) appear to be at elevated risk for cannabis use (CU) and cannabis use disorder (CUD) compared to cisgender heterosexuals. However, risk factors rema...

Introduction: In epidemiological studies, people who use cannabis have a lower prevalence of obesity. Furthermore, the endocannabinoid system is recognized as a potential target for obesity treatment ...