Study: THC May Lead to Stronger Nicotine Addiction

By admin on March 23, 2013

A new study conducted by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) found that THC, the primary psychoactive chemical compound in cannabis, triggers stronger nicotine addiction in lab rats. The study was published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology.

Prior to this, the THC–nicotine connection had been largely anecdotal, as many cigarette smokers who also partake of pot have said that getting stoned makes them crave a cigarette even more than usual. Some pot smokers find it more difficult to give up tobacco. One such example is the tragic death of cannabis activist, and lifelong cigarette smoker, Ben Masel who died of lung cancer in 2011 at the age of 56.

The NIDA research team studied two different groups of rats. The “THC group” of rats was given THC twice a day while the “placebo group” received an inactive substance two times per day over a period of three days.

A week after administration of the THC and placebos all the rats were given the opportunity to acquire intravenous injections of nicotine. The THC group not only obtained nicotine more often and with greater acceleration than the placebo group, the THC rats were also reported to “work harder” to obtain their toxic alkaloid. This indicates that nicotine had a greater worth to the rats receiving THC and suggests that THC made the rats more susceptible to the addictive effects of tobacco.

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