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Research: Women more sensitive to, affected by marijuana

Rebecca Craft
Rebecca Craft

After decades of researching gender differences in the effects of drugs, Rebecca Craft, professor and chair of psychology, has found that females using marijuana are likelier than men to become dependent on the drug and suffer more severe withdrawals.

At the same time, females seem to be more sensitive to the drug’s pain-relieving qualities.

Craft studies the effects of psychoactive drugs on rats and reported these findings most recently in journals such as Life Sciences and Drug and Alcohol Dependence. Her work, funded in part by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, focuses on the medical side of cannabinoids, the class of drugs found in marijuana.

Read more about this research in Washington State Magazine online

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In a secluded lab at WSU Pullman, furry vermin are providing startling revelations about marijuana and its effects on the sexes.

Rebecca Craft, professor and chair of psychology, has been studying male and female rats to see if they react differently to the drug. And it looks like she’s on to something, especially when it comes to THC, the chemical in marijuana that creates a sense of euphoria for recreational users.

There are many other things Craft also wants to investigate about the plant, especially about how women react to it differently than men. “It’s something we need to be talking about, and not in a knee-jerk way,” Craft said. “It does have some reasonable uses.”

Learn more about potential marijuana research

Researcher: Pot’s effects differ in sexes; studies historically focus on males