Addiction, Author Interviews, Cannabis, Memory / 12.03.2026
WSU Study: Avoid Cannabis When Relying on Memory is Important
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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
[caption id="attachment_72752" align="alignleft" width="200"] Dr. Cutttler, Ph.D.[/caption]
Carrie Cuttler, Ph.D.
The Health & Cognition (THC) Lab
Associate Professor
Director, Experimental Psychology Doctoral Program
Co-Director, Cannabis Research Center (CRC)
Department of Psychology
Washington State University
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: One of the most well-documented effects of acute cannabis intoxication is impairment in memory. However, memory is not a single process. It is a complex system made up of multiple distinct subsystems that rely on different neural mechanisms and support different types of remembering.
Most prior research examining the acute effects of cannabis in humans has focused on a relatively narrow set of memory tests—primarily verbal memory tasks, which involve recalling lists of words, and working memory tasks, which require temporarily holding and manipulating information in consciousness.
Far fewer studies have examined how cannabis affects other types of memory that are more relevant to everyday life. These include temporal order memory (remembering the order in which events occurred), prospective memory (remembering to perform tasks in the future), source memory (remembering where information came from), false memory (recalling information that was never presented), and episodic content memory (recalling personally experienced events).
To address this gap, we conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study examining the acute effects of cannabis across multiple memory domains. In total, 120 participants were randomly assigned to vaporize either a placebo, a moderate dose of cannabis (20 mg THC), or a high dose of cannabis (40 mg THC).
Dr. Cutttler, Ph.D.[/caption]
Carrie Cuttler, Ph.D.
The Health & Cognition (THC) Lab
Associate Professor
Director, Experimental Psychology Doctoral Program
Co-Director, Cannabis Research Center (CRC)
Department of Psychology
Washington State University
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: One of the most well-documented effects of acute cannabis intoxication is impairment in memory. However, memory is not a single process. It is a complex system made up of multiple distinct subsystems that rely on different neural mechanisms and support different types of remembering.
Most prior research examining the acute effects of cannabis in humans has focused on a relatively narrow set of memory tests—primarily verbal memory tasks, which involve recalling lists of words, and working memory tasks, which require temporarily holding and manipulating information in consciousness.
Far fewer studies have examined how cannabis affects other types of memory that are more relevant to everyday life. These include temporal order memory (remembering the order in which events occurred), prospective memory (remembering to perform tasks in the future), source memory (remembering where information came from), false memory (recalling information that was never presented), and episodic content memory (recalling personally experienced events).
To address this gap, we conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study examining the acute effects of cannabis across multiple memory domains. In total, 120 participants were randomly assigned to vaporize either a placebo, a moderate dose of cannabis (20 mg THC), or a high dose of cannabis (40 mg THC).