Behavioral effects of cocaine alone and in combination with ethanol of marijuana in humans

FRANÇAIS :
L'étude des interactions entre différentes drogues : cocaïne et alcool , cocaïne et cannabis est complexe. Il est difficile d'élucider précisément les modifications d'effects subjectifs obtenus après combinaison des drogues par différentes voies (cocaïne inhalée + alcool ingeré, cocaïne i.v. + cannabis fumé...). De plus les doses expérimentales restent vraisemblablement inférieures aux doses utilisées par les toxicomanes.
ENGLISH :
Intranasal cocaine (COC) and oral ethanol (ETHOH) were administered to one group of seven research volunteers during daily experimental sessions. In a separate experiment, seven research volunteers received intravenous cocaine and smoked marijuana (MJ), alone and in combination during daily experimental sessions. ETOH increased simple-reaction time and decreased DSST trials. COC decreased DSST trials, increased incorrect responses on a list-learning task and attenuated the effect of ETOH on DSST performance. Only combinations of the high COC dose and the high MJ dose increased errors on a repeated acquisition task. Intranasal COC increased ratings of 'Stimulated', and 'High' and LSD scores on the ARCI which were unaffected by ETOH. Increased ratings of 'Sedated' following ETOH alone were attenuated by intranasal (i.n.) COC. Intravenous COC and smoked MJ alone both increased ratings of 'Stimulated' and 'High'. The results suggest that the interactive effects of COC in combination with ETOH or MJ, after acute administration, are subtle and in need of further analyses to better understand polydrug abuse.