Abstract
Despite increasing smoked cocaine-base use, there have been relatively few parametric studies in this area. The major reason for the limited number of studies is the lack of a simple procedure for the administration of precise doses of smoked cocaine-base to human volunteers. This paper describes a new method that allows for the delivery of precise doses of smoked cocaine-base. A complete description of the method and the precision of the administration procedure are presented. Furthermore, a study is described which was undertaken to determine: 1) the reproducibility of peak blood cocaine levels when the same dose of cocaine was given on two separate occasions; and 2) the dose-related effects on smoking topography, biochemical, physiological and subjective measures. Subjects (N=5) were administered three doses of cocaine-base (10, 20 and 40 mg). Four subjects were given repeated doses of cocaine-base. Subjects were blind to the dose and in most cases randomly assigned to different doses. The results showed: 1) a significant correlation of peak whole blood cocaine concentrations among similar doses within subjects (r=.99); 2) no significant effects of dose on smoking topography; and 3) significant dose effects for whole blood cocaine concentrations, heart rate and systolic blood pressure.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1-7 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior |
| Volume | 36 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - May 1990 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Supported by National Institute on Drug Abuse Research grant No. DA 05844. We would like to thank Daniel Geiske of Kandota Instruments for designing and developing the cocaine-base smoking device.
Keywords
- Crack
- Humans
- Physiological effects
- Smoked cocaine-base
- Subjective effects
