Medical Cannabis and Behavior

Eligibility Criteria

• * Medical cannabis users (n=120) will be required to
• 1. Be ages 35-65;
• 2. Be qualified for a medical cannabis prescription based only on a diagnosis of chronic pain; note that individuals can, in theory, utilize medical cannabis for more than one qualifying condition. People with orthopedic pain will be prioritized.
• 3. Have normal or corrected-to-normal vision and hearing;
• 4. Be free of current and past DSM-V-defined substance use disorders; have \< 5 lifetime recreational uses of illicit drugs.
• 5. Have limited daily exposure to nicotine (e.g., no daily smokers/vapers; use of nicotine products fewer than 5 occasions weekly);
• 6. Willing to abstain from alcohol, nicotine, and other (non-treatment) drugs for 24 hours prior to study. Abstinence will be verified by breathalyzer and urine drug screening; must not test positive on breathalyzer and urine drug screenings for any nonprescribed psychoactive substance or for cannabis (at baseline);
• 7. Must be right handed as assessed by the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory;
• 8. Lifetime use of cannabis \< 15 times; no cannabis product use (recreational or therapeutic) within the past six months;
• 9. Able to schedule and complete a multi-hour single session protocol;
• 10. Have sufficient manual mobility to be able to complete computerized neurocognitive assessments;
• 11. Able to communicate with the researchers by phone during the four month pre-post assessment interval
• 1. Be ages 35-65;
• 2. Suffer from a chronic pain condition that could qualify them for medical cannabis; People with orthopedic pain will be prioritized.
• 3. Have normal or corrected-to-normal vision and hearing;
• 4. Be free of current and past DSM-V-defined substance use disorders; have \< 5 lifetime recreational uses of illicit drugs.
• 5. Have limited daily exposure to nicotine (e.g., no daily smokers/vapers; use of nicotine products fewer than 5 occasions weekly);
• 6. Willing to abstain from alcohol, nicotine, and other (non-treatment) drugs for 24 hours prior to study. Abstinence will be verified by breathalyzer and urine drug screening; must not test positive on breathalyzer and urine drug screenings for any non- prescribed psychoactive substance or for cannabis (at baseline);
• 7. Must be right handed as assessed by the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory;
• 8. Lifetime use of cannabis \< 15 times; no cannabis product use (recreational or therapeutic) within the past six months;
• 9. Able to schedule and complete a multi-hour single session protocol;
• 10. Have sufficient manual mobility to be able to complete computerized neurocognitive assessments;
• 11. Able to communicate with the researchers by phone during the four month pre-post assessment interval Within both groups, concomitant opioid use will be allowed as will other prescribed treatments. Controls will be matched to the cannabis group on age, sex, socioeconomic status (SES), type of pain condition (orthopedic pain will be targeted) and comorbid opioid use.
• 1. Cannot have a degenerative neurological condition or a neurological condition that impacts brain function (e.g., epilepsy);
• 2. No contraindications to MRI scanning;
• 3. No lifetime history of severe DSM-V psychopathology (psychotic disorders, bipolar disorder); if currently treated mood for anxiety disorders, must be stable;
• 4. No current pregnancy or pregnancy within the prior 3 months; cannot be lactating;
• 5. No cannabis product use (recreational or therapeutic) within the past six months;