title: Marijuana carry-over effects on aircraft pilot performance.
abstract: This study finds evidence for 24-h carry-over effects of a moderate social dose of marijuana on a piloting task. In separate sessions, nine currently active pilots smoked one cigarette containing 20 mg of delta 9 THC and one Placebo cigarette. Using an aircraft simulator, pilots flew just before smoking, and 0.25, 4, 8, 24, and 48 h after smoking. Marijuana impaired performance at 0.25, 4, 8, and 24 h after smoking. While seven of the nine pilots showed some degree of impairment at 24 h after smoking, only one reported any awareness of the drug's effects. The results support our preliminary study and suggest that very complex human/machine performance can be impaired as long as 24 h after smoking a moderate social dose of marijuana, and that the user may be unaware of the drug's influence.
authors.affiliation: Decision Systems, Stanford, CA 94305.
authors.forename: V O
authors.initials: VO
authors.lastname: Leirer
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Yesavage
authors.forename: D G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Morrow
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000337:Aerospace Medicine; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects; D013759:Dronabinol / Q000097:blood / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D008385:Marijuana Smoking / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis
chemical_list: D013759:Dronabinol