RATS WORK POORLY IN MARIJUANA TEST

ATHENS, Ga. - Learn a lesson from rats: Don't smoke dope and drive.

University of Georgia researchers have unveiled a study suggesting that
someone smoking marijuana might be able to do a task briefly, but could
experience serious long-term attention-span problems that interfere with
the successful completion of the task.

This might not be a shocking revelation to some, said Jonathon Crystal, a
UGA assistant professor in psychology and the research leader. But he said
the study shows that many tasks, such as driving a car, can seem doable for
someone under the influence of marijuana, when actually they are not.

"We gave the animals these marijuana-like compounds, and it had a profound
effect on their ability to keep track of time. Before the drugs, they were
very good at the task - they were virtually perfect. While they were on the
drugs, their performance dropped substantially," Mr. Crystal said.

The research was conducted on rats, but rather than coaxing the rats to
smoke a joint, the scientists injected the 300-gram subjects with a
synthetic, potent substance that is similar to tetrahydrocannabinol, the
active ingredient in marijuana. The rats were trained to push levers that
corresponded with short and long noises in exchange for morsels of food.

When they were under the influence, they forgot to pay attention and could
no longer discriminate between long noises and short bursts.

The study will be published soon in the journal Behavioral Brain Research.