ABSTRACT: Cannabis use is increasingly pervasive among adolescents today, even more common than cigarette smoking. The evolving policy surrounding the legalization of cannabis reaffirms the need to understand the relationship between cannabis exposure early in life and psychiatric illnesses. cannabis contains psychoactive components, notably Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), ... Continue Reading
Drug addiction
STUDY: Cannabinoid receptors and endocannabinoids: Evidence for new players
ABSTRACT: It is now well established that the psychoactive effects ofCannabis sativa are primarily mediated through neuronal CB1 receptors, while its therapeutic immune properties are primarily mediated through CB2 receptors. Two endocannabinoids, arachidonoylethanolamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol, have been identified, their action on CB1 and CB2 thoroughly characterized, ... Continue Reading
STUDY: ENDOCANNABINOID SIGNALING IN NEUROTOXICITY AND NEUROPROTECTION
ABSTRACT: The cannabis plant and products produced from it, such as marijuana and hashish, have been used for centuries for their psychoactive properties. The mechanism for how Δ9 -tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active constituent of cannabis, elicits these neurological effects remained elusive until relatively recently, when specific G-protein coupled receptors were ... Continue Reading
STUDY: Cancer – Targeting the endocannabinoid system with cannabinoid receptor agonists: pharmacological strategies and therapeutic possibilities
ABSTRACT: Human tissues express cannabinoid CB1 and CB2 receptors that can be activated by endogenously released ‘endocannabinoids’ or exogenously administered compounds in a manner that reduces the symptoms or opposes the underlying causes of several disorders in need of effective therapy. Three medicines that activate cannabinoid CB1/CB2 receptors are now in the clinic: ... Continue Reading
STUDY: Identification of Recent Cannabis Use: Whole-Blood and Plasma Free and Glucuronidated Cannabinoid Pharmacokinetics following Controlled Smoked Cannabis Administration
ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the most frequently observed illicit drug in investigations of accidents and driving under the influence of drugs. THC-glucuronide has been suggested as a marker of recent cannabis use, but there are no blood data following controlled THC administration to test this hypothesis. Furthermore, there are no studies directly ... Continue Reading