Oral Δ9-THC and Gabapentin Co-Administration

Subjects consumed a low-fat snack approximately 20 minutes prior to drug administration. Doses of Δ⁹-THC were prepared by encapsulating commercially available capsules of Marinol® (Δ⁹-THC in sesame oil, Solvay Pharmaceuticals Inc., Marietta, GA) and a generic formulation of gabapentin (Ascend Laboratories, Montvale, NJ) in opaque green size 00 capsules. For reference, the acute recommended Δ⁹-THC dosing range in adults for appetite stimulation and the prevention of nausea and vomiting is 2.5 to 20 mg (Marinol® product information, 2006 ). The recommended starting therapeutic oral dose of gabapentin is 300–400 mg, administered three times a day, and titrated up to a clinically effective maintenance dose of 1800–3600 mg/day (Gabapentin product information, 2011 ). However, single-dose clinical research studies have administered 1200 mg, the maximum gabapentin dose administered in this study, on an acute basis without dose titration (e.g., Gordi et al., 2008 (link)). Gabapentin and Δ⁹-THC were administered concurrently, consistent with the onset of their peak concentrations following oral dosing (Gidal et al., 1998 (link); Lile et al., 2013 (link)). The use of oral Δ⁹-THC and gabapentin in this study was for investigational purposes.