NC West Virginia News

West Virginia University researchers are conducting a study to understand how cannabidiol (CBD) affects driving performance and whether its impact varies between men and women. This research, involving 300 participants, builds on a 2021 pilot trial by WVU public health investigators.

"In that study, we had some preliminary data that there was a little bit of difference in males’ and females’ driving performance after consuming CBD, but we didn’t have a big enough sample size to really look at it closely," said Toni Rudisill, assistant professor in the WVU School of Public Health Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. "We want to dive into that more to see if that relationship truly exists. This is going to be one of the largest CBD studies in terms of the number of people."

The five-year project is funded by a $2.2 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. CBD, derived from hemp, was removed from the list of federally controlled substances under the 2018 Agriculture Improvement Act. Although widely available in forms like gummies and oils, these products are not regulated by the FDA.

"You can buy CBD pretty much anywhere and we don’t know a lot about it and how it impacts individuals," Rudisill noted. "It has purported side effects of causing sedation and drowsiness, so that’s why we’re interested in looking at how it impacts driving performance."

Researchers will assess cognitive and psychomotor functions such as reaction times among participants who consume CBD compared to those given a placebo. Participants will undergo baseline assessments before taking practice runs with a driving simulator described by Rudisill as "a very fancy video game." They will receive either 300 milligrams or 150 milligrams of CBD or a placebo.

"Then they will hang out with us for two hours, eat breakfast and go for a longer drive on the simulator," Rudisill explained. "After that, they will retake all the cognitive and psychomotor tests and finish an end-of-study questionnaire."

Rudisill collaborates with Dr. Gordon Smith, Sijin Wen, James Mahoney, and Dr. Treah Haggerty on this multidisciplinary project.

"I think it’ll definitely add to the scientific literature and also help people make a more informed decision if it’s safe to drive when consuming these products," Rudisill stated.