Possible Interaction: Cannabinoids and Marijuana

“Furthermore, cannabinoid OF concentrations increased over ad libitum smoking days, in parallel with increased cannabis self-administration, possibly reflecting development of increased cannabis tolerance.”

“The past decade has seen a nearly tenfold increase in the THC content of marijuana as well as the increased availability of highly potent synthetic cannabinoids for recreational use.”

“The interaction between cannabinoid and NA/5‐HT systems may underlie several behavioural changes induced by cannabis such as anxiolytic and antidepressant effects or side effects (e.g. disruption of attention).”

“Collectively, the evidence provided in this chapter indicates that SCBs should not be considered safe and legal alternatives to marijuana.”

“A greater understanding of the mechanisms underlying sexually dimorphic effects of cannabinoids will facilitate development of sex-specific approaches to treat marijuana dependence and to use cannabinoid-based medications therapeutically.”

“The relatively slow elimination from the body of the cannabinoids has safety implications for cognitive tasks, especially driving and operating machinery; although driving impairment with cannabis is only moderate, there is a significant interaction with alcohol.”

“Despite the mild addiction to cannabis and the possible enhancement of addiction to other substances of abuse, when combined with cannabis , the therapeutic value of cannabinoids is too high to be put aside.”

“These negative aspects constrain the doses of cannabis extracts and psychoactive cannabinoids that can be given to patients, and raise the risk that properly conducted clinical trials with too low dosages will impact negatively on subsequent drug development in this field.”

“Since these dopaminergic circuits are known to play a pivotal role in mediating the reinforcing (rewarding) effects of the most drugs of abuse, the enhanced dopaminergic drive elicited by the cannabinoids is thought to underlie the reinforcing and abuse properties of marijuana.”

“ Marijuana and its constitutive cannabinoids --tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabinol (CBN), and cannabidiol (CBD)--markedly affect mammalian cells.”