Study: Sex-Dependent Differences in Subjective Cannabis Effects (Do Women Enjoy Pot More Than Men?)

A new article by researchers at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University explores the differences in the way men and women report their subjective experiences of the effects of cannabis. The authors reviewed data from four separate outpatient studies evaluating a range of cannabis-induced effects. In the final analysis, the subjects (35 men and 35 women) were all daily or near-daily cannabis users and their responses to standardized measures of mood, physical symptoms, and cannabis-related drug effects were recorded over time, beginning immediately after consumption.

It turns out, women were significantly more likely to report more feelings associated with enjoyment (and abuse liability) than men were:

According to the authors: "The results from this study demonstrate that when cannabis smokers are matched for use, ratings of cannabis’ subjective effects that are associated with abuse liability are higher in women compared to men. Although men and women significantly differed in body weight, sex differences were not observed for all subjective effects, including ratings of cannabis intoxication. "

In addition, cannabis use is more prevalent among men than women in the US (51.4% vs 37.4%, resp.). "Yet among cannabis smokers, women have a faster trajectory to cannabis-use disorders, which the current findings might in part explain." The authors call for more research to further explain the clinical significance of sex differences in the effects of cannabis and cannabis-use disorders.

The article by Cooper & Haney can be viewed here:

http://www.drugandalcoholdependence.com/article/S0376-8716%2813%2900529-2/abstract