Rabbit behavioral model of marijuana psychoactivity in humans.

In a genetically unique colony of tetrahydrocannabinol-seizure susceptible (THC-SS) rabbits, nonfatal convulsions are elicited by delta 9THC, the major psychoactive ingredient of marijuana. The major characteristics of cannabinoid-produced psychoactivity (the "high") in humans, e.g., dose-effect relationships, specificity of response to only psychoactive cannabinoids, tolerance development, EEG correlates, and delta 9THC-cannabidiol interactive effects, are also characteristics of cannabinoid-induced behavioral convulsions in the rabbits. Because of these and other theoretical and practical considerations, it is hypothesized that the THC-SS rabbit represents a novel laboratory animal model of marijuana-induced psychoactivity in humans.