Abstract
As of 2018, Canada has legalized cannabis nationally, while 63 percent and 21 percent of the U.S. population lives in a state with legal access to medical and recreational cannabis, respectively. In this legal context, sales of highly concentrated cannabis (with tetrahydrocannabinol potencies up to 90 percent), have increased dramatically, sparking concerns on the public health and safety impacts. Acute effects from high potency concentrates (often inhaled by “dabbing” or vaping) on motor function have not been described. To assess acute impairment under the influence of concentrates, we developed a motor battery measuring general and driving-related neuromotor function (e.g., standing balance, arm reaction time, finger tapping rate) with a novel smartphone application. Experienced concentrate users were assessed on the motor battery in a mobile laboratory: Before, immediately after, and 1-hour after self-administering concentrated cannabis. Preliminary results and implications for public health and safety will be discussed.

Biography
Dr. Leah Hitchcock is a postdoctoral researcher in the Institute of Cognitive Science, working under the mentorship of Dr. Cinnamon Bidwell, as well as Drs. Kent Hutchison and Angela Bryan in the CU Change Lab. Her PhD work was completed in Behavioral Neuroscience at Oregon Health & Science University where she focused on mechanisms of learning, memory, and epigenetic regulation of substance use. She completed a Bachelor of Science in Health & Exercise Science with a minor in Neuroscience at Colorado State University (CSU), investigating the effects of exercise on motor control in young and older adults. Dr. Hitchcock is now helping lead the Change Lab’s mobile research studies at CU, to determine a wide-range of cannabis use and tolerance and potential effects in subjects who experience anxiety or chronic pain, and in general recreational and medical users. She hopes to determine what cannabis products (in type, potency, and dose) are commonly chosen in a legal market and how physiological factors (e.g., epigenetic, microbial, inflammatory processes) may alter the risks and benefits of cannabis.

Background
In connection with the new University of Colorado Center for Research and Education Addressing Cannabinoids and Health (CU REACH), the Colloquium on Cannabis Research is a monthly research seminar focused on the science, technology, business, and history of cannabis. Each session will feature a speaker giving a 45-minute presentation followed by 15 minutes of discussion. This is a non-consumption event dedicated to discussing academic research about cannabis.