Alcohol and marijuana are frequently used together, yet there has been
little study of how the presence of one drug might affect consumption
of the other. The present study examined the effects of alcohol pretr
eatments on marijuana self-administration in a group of 15 males and 5
females who were users of both drugs. During evening sessions in a re
creational setting, pairs of subjects consumed drinks containing 0.0,
0.3 or 0.6 g/kg alcohol 30 min before a 60-min period of ad libitum ma
rijuana smoking. Marijuana self-administration was assessed in several
ways: by measuring the number of cigarettes smoked, the increase in e
xpired air carbon monoxide resulting from marijuana smoke inhalation,
and the increase in heart rate due to THC absorption. None of these va
riables was significantly affected by the alcohol pretreatments, altho
ugh substantial individual differences were observed. These results in
dicate that low to moderate doses of alcohol do not systematically inf
luence marijuana self-administration