# Effect of Cannabinoids on Tobacco Product Demand and Pharmacodynamics

> **NIH NIH R01** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $679,548

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Cannabis and tobacco are two of the most widely used drugs and are frequently used together. People who use
both cannabis and tobacco tend to have higher rates of problematic cannabis use and dependence, sustained
long-term tobacco use, and poorer outcomes during treatment for tobacco use disorders. With rates of cannabis
use on the rise, understanding the mechanisms driving cannabis and tobacco co-use is imperative for developing
effective policy and public health efforts aimed at decreasing co-use rates. Although cannabis and tobacco co-
use is common, mechanism(s) underlying co-use remain unclear. Preliminary work by our group shows that
delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) can alter the subjective experience of commonly used tobacco products
including combustible cigarettes and e-cigarettes. Preclinical evidence supports this interaction by documenting
increases in motivation to use nicotine, including less price sensitive nicotine demand in THC-exposed rodents.
Human laboratory data are needed to extend this work by comprehensively determining effects across the range
of commercially-relevant THC and nicotine doses and routes of administration. We will concurrently conduct two
full-factorial laboratory studies to determine the impact of acute THC administration on the dose-related
motivational, subjective, and physiological effects of two widely used tobacco products – combustible cigarettes
(Study 1) and electronic cigarettes (Study 2; “e-cigarettes”). Participants in both studies will receive pretreatment
with placebo or active THC. Following THC pre-treatment, participants will self-administer a combustible
cigarette containing a randomized nicotine dose (Study 1) or an e-cigarette containing a randomized nicotine
dose (Study 2) using a standardized puff procedure. We will use NIDA standardized products (SPECTRUM
cigarettes and SREC e-cigarettes) to ensure consistency across study years and applicability to other ongoing
research. A battery of craving, mood, withdrawal, and subjective drug effect measures will be collected before
and after nicotine product administration. Participants will then complete an incentivized demand task previously
validated by the study team to evaluate cigarette and e-cigarette use motivation and increase experimental rigor
through experienced consequences of task performance. Participants will be randomized to either smoked or
vaporized THC administration to evaluate the effect of congruent versus incongruent routes of THC and tobacco
administration on study outcomes. We hypothesize that THC will in a dose-orderly manner increase motivations
to use tobacco as well as decrease tobacco craving and increase positive affect with tobacco use. Understanding
the influence of cannabis on tobacco use across varied routes of administration and a broad nicotine dose range
will inform key regulatory policies within the cannabis and tobacco regulatory fields to include cannabis standard
unit dosing and nicot...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10875690
- **Project number:** 1R01DA058624-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Dustin Clark Lee
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $679,548
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-05-01 → 2029-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10875690

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10875690, Effect of Cannabinoids on Tobacco Product Demand and Pharmacodynamics (1R01DA058624-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10875690. Licensed CC0.

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