Are blood and oral fluid Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and metabolite concentrations related to impairment? A meta-regression analysis
File version
Version of Record (VoR)
Author(s)
Arkell, TR
Irwin, C
Kevin, RC
McGregor, IS
Griffith University Author(s)
Primary Supervisor
Other Supervisors
Editor(s)
Date
Size
File type(s)
Location
Abstract
Blood and oral fluid Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentrations are often used to identify cannabis-impaired drivers. We used meta-analytic techniques to characterise the relationships between biomarkers of cannabis use, subjective intoxication, and impairment of driving and driving-related cognitive skills. Twenty-eight publications and 822 driving-related outcomes were reviewed. Each outcome was measured in concert with one or more biomarkers of cannabis/THC use and/or subjective intoxication. Higher blood THC and 11−OH-THC concentrations, oral fluid THC concentrations and subjective ratings of intoxication were associated with greater impairment in ‘other’ (mostly occasional) cannabis users (p's<0.05). Blood 11−COOH-THC concentrations were associated with impairment after inhaling, but not orally ingesting, cannabis/THC. However t these ‘biomarker–performance’ relationships (R) were only very weak (blood THCpost-ingestion: -0.08; blood THCpost-inhalation: -0.10; blood 11−OH-THCpost-ingestion: -0.13), weak (blood 11−OH-THCpost-inhalation: -0.24; oral fluid THCpost-inhalation: -0.36; subjective intoxication: -0.29) or moderate (blood 11−COOH-THCpost-inhalation: -0.43) in strength. No significant biomarker-performance relationships were observed in ‘regular’ (weekly or more often) cannabis users (p's>0.10), although the analyses were less robust. Blood and oral fluid THC concentrations are relatively poor indicators of cannabis/THC-induced impairment.
Journal Title
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
Conference Title
Book Title
Edition
Volume
134134
Issue
Thesis Type
Degree Program
School
Publisher link
Patent number
Funder(s)
Grant identifier(s)
Rights Statement
Rights Statement
© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) License, which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, providing that the work is properly cited.
Item Access Status
Note
Access the data
Related item(s)
Subject
Neurosciences
Persistent link to this record
Citation
McCartney, D; Arkell, TR; Irwin, C; Kevin, RC; McGregor, IS, Are blood and oral fluid Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and metabolite concentrations related to impairment? A meta-regression analysis, Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 134, pp. 104433, 2022