ABSTRACT: Background The therapeutic use of cannabis and cannabis-based medicines raises safety concerns for patients, clinicians, policy-makers, insurers, researchers and regulators. Although the efficacy of cannabinoids is being increasingly demonstrated in randomized controlled trials, most safety information comes from studies of recreational use. Methods We ... Continue Reading
Cannabis dependence
STUDY: Effects of Alcohol and Combined Marijuana and Alcohol Use During Adolescence on Hippocampal Volume and Asymmetry
ABSTRACT: Background Converging lines of evidence suggest that the hippocampus may be particularly vulnerable to deleterious effects of alcohol and marijuana use, especially during adolescence. The goal of this study was to examine hippocampal volume and asymmetry in adolescent users of alcohol and marijuana. Methods Participants were adolescent (aged 15–18) alcohol ... Continue Reading
STUDY: Self-Administration of Cannabinoids by Experimental Animals and Human Marijuana Smokers
ABSTRACT: Drug self-administration behavior has been one of the most direct and productive approaches for studying the reinforcing effects of psychoactive drugs, which are critical in determining their abuse potential. Cannabinoids, which are usually abused by humans in the form of marijuana, have become the most frequently abused illicit class of drugs in the United States. ... Continue Reading
STUDY: Human Cannabinoid Pharmacokinetics
A multitude of roles for the endogenous cannabinoid system has been proposed by recent research efforts. A large number of endogenous cannabinoid neurotransmitters or endocannabinoids have been identified, and the CB-1 and CB-2 cannabinoid receptors have been characterized. The presence of other receptors, transporters, and enzymes responsible for the synthesis or metabolism of ... Continue Reading
STUDY: Cannabis and endocannabinoid modulators: Therapeutic promises and challenges
ABSTRACT: The discovery that botanical cannabinoids such as delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol exert some of their effect through binding specific cannabinoid receptor sites has led to the discovery of an endocannabinoid signaling system, which in turn has spurred research into the mechanisms of action and addiction potential of cannabis on the one hand, while opening the ... Continue Reading