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Cannabis and the Peripheral Nervous System

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

M. Dibenedetto ,
H. B. McNamee ,
J. C. Kuehnle  and
J. H. Mendelson
M. Dibenedetto
Affiliation:
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
H. B. McNamee
Affiliation:
Ravenscraig Hospital, Inverkip Road, Greenock, PA16 9HY
J. C. Kuehnle
Affiliation:
Harvard Medical School and the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Research Center, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts 02178, USA
J. H. Mendelson
Affiliation:
Harvard Medical School and the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Research Center, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts 02718, USA
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Abstract

The possible ill-effects of cannabis on the peripheral nervous system were examined in 27 male subjects with respect to their motor and sensory nerve conduction. They were classified by their previous cannabis use into casual and heavy users. The nerve conduction studies were done after a baseline period of five days and then repeated after a three-week period during which the subjects could acquire and smoke standardized cannabis cigarettes. The casual users smoked a mean of 54·3 and the heavy users a mean of 109·5, cigarettes during the smoking period. No deterioration of peripheral nerve function could be demonstrated.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 131 , Issue 4 , October 1977 , pp. 361 - 365
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1977 

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