Journal article

Is utility maximization compromised by acute intoxication with THC or MDMA?

G Bedi, DR Burghart

Economics Letters | ELSEVIER SCIENCE SA | Published : 2018

Abstract

This report presents results from a within-subject, randomized, placebo-controlled experiment in which healthy participants were orally administered delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC; 10mg/70kg), the main psychoactive component of cannabis, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; 1.5mg/70kg), the main psychoactive component of ‘ecstasy’ and ‘molly’ and placebo across three sessions. While intoxicated, participants chose between monetary payment and social time, defined as access to their phone and pre-specified social internet sites like Facebook. The design of the experiment made possible an assessment of the acute effects of THC and MDMA on adherence to the generalized axiom of revealed p..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Grants

Awarded by National Institutes of Health


Funding Acknowledgements

Both authors are grateful to the participants in this study. We also gratefully acknowledge valuable input from Richard Foltin and an anonymous referee. Exceptional assistance during data collection was provided by Jolie Gorchov, Philip Kamillar-Britt, Tom Arkell, Jared Borden, and Amy Curcio. This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health (DA029679, DA034877, and 5F32MH084431).