Sex Main Effects Did Not Demonstrate Different THC Dose Responses
Women and men differed on some overall ratings and vital signs, but the study did not find sex-by-dose interactions for those outcomes. An overall sex difference should not be rewritten as a proven difference in response to increasing THC dose.
The analysis included both terms
The seventeen-person brownie trial reported sex main effects for selected subjective measures, including feeling sick, heart racing and anxiety. It also reported overall sex differences in systolic pressure and heart rate. However, sex-by-dose interactions were absent for the reported subjective and cardiovascular outcomes.
The comparison determines the meaning
A main effect summarizes a difference across conditions in the model. An interaction asks whether the relationship between dose and outcome differs by sex. They are not interchangeable statistical claims. A significant main effect does not establish that the active drug caused the between-sex difference, and a nonsignificant interaction does not prove exact equality.
Avoid an individualized dosing rule
The sample was small and selected for health and infrequent cannabis use. Its findings do not establish a sex-specific dose conversion, a personal impairment threshold or equal susceptibility across every endpoint. An accurate account names the outcome, distinguishes the model terms and preserves the null interaction alongside any significant overall difference.
Related analysis: the oral-THC trial’s dose-specific findings.
Research cited
Schlienz and colleagues (2020). Pharmacodynamic dose effects of oral cannabis ingestion in healthy adults who infrequently use cannabis. DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.107969.
