Abstract
The authors performed three studies to determine if drug abusers preferring three different psychoactive substances (alcohol, cannabis, or cocaine) differed on subjective experience of their drug of preference as measured by modified versions of the Adjective Checklist (ACL; Gough and Heilbrun, 1983). In addition, the subject's stimulus sensitivity was measured by the Vando Reducer-Augmenter (RA) scale. In all three studies, responses to the modified ACL (MACL and MACL-18) differentiated drug of preference in over 80% of the cases. This suggests that subjects perceive a unique subjective experience from their drug of choice, which may constitute a basis for their drug preference. In the second and third studies, alcohol-preferring subjects scored significantly low on the RA scale than those who preferred either cannabis or cocaine, suggesting that they were more sensitive to stimuli. The results are discussed within the contexts of the optimum arousal and self-medication theories of drug addiction.