Marijuana and The Cannabinoids

Phytocannabinoids

flowering hemp plants that contain over 120 compounds

Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)

main psychoactive cannabinoid in cannabis

hashish

concentrated resin from the Cannabis plant

dabs

extracted from cannabis using butane and vaped

brief history of cannabis

used in medicinal/ritual use and use of hemp as a material for thousands of years

Marijuana Tax Act of 1937

license required for producers, manufacturers, importers, and dispensers

marijuana is a schedule ____ substance

1

Cannabidiol (CBD)

- Not psychoactive but may be medicinally relevant

- Anti-anxiety, anti-inflammatory, & anti-nausea effects

- Some CBD medications approved for childhoodseizure disorders

Cannabinol (CBN)

- Primary degradation (breakdown) product of THC

- Low in fresh cannabis but increased as stored due to exposure to oxygen and light

- Minimal psychoactive activity

smoked THC is absorbed by the

lungs

marijuana can affect you for _____ hours

5+ hours

Metabolites are excreted in

feces and urine

THC can be detected in urine for up to ____ weeks

2

physiological effects of marijuana

-Bloodshot eyes

-Dry mouth

-Hunger ("munchies")

-Increased heart rate

-Increased blood flow / flushing

- Muscle relaxation

- Drowsiness

behavioral/psychological effects of marijuana

-Euphoria / disinhibition, Increased laughter, Relaxation, stress relief, Impaired reaction time (longer to react), Stoned driving is dangerous, Alterations of perception, Most common: time slows

first time use and high sows can lead to adverse psychosis-like symptoms

• Depersonalization (feeling separated from self)

• Derealization (feeling that the world is unreal)

• Paranoia and agitation

• Hallucinations

cannabinoids bind to ____ or ___ receptors

CB1 or CB2

CB1 location

brain

- basal ganglia, cerbellum, hippocampus

CB2 location

found mainly in periphery

mediate immune effects

endocannabinoids

cannabinoid receptor agonists synthesized by the body

Anandamide and 2-AG

lipid soluble - can't be stored in vesicles; synthesized and released when needed, triggered by a rise in intracellular Ca2+ levels

2-AG

full agonist at CB1 and CB2

anandamide

partial agonist

Endocannabinoids function as

retrograde messengers

- reduce the release of many types of neurotransmitters, including glutamate, GABA, and monoamines

- THC has less reward and reinforcing properties than opioids in animal tests

• THC is a partial agonist at the CB1 receptor; WIN55,212-2, a full agonist at the CB1 receptor, is self-administered by rodents

• CB1 receptors are involved in the brain's reward system and interact with the endogenous opioid systems

• Cannabinoid reinforcement is dependent on CB1 receptor-mediated activation of VTA dopaminergic cell firing and DA release in the NAcc

• Mediated partly by presynaptic CB1 receptors on GABAergic nerve terminals that synapse on the VTA neurons - suppressing GABA-mediated inhibition of cell firing.

Cannabinoids work on

GABAergic neurons in the VTA

- decrease GABA release that inhibits the activity of dopamine neurons and increases dopamine release in the NAc

Hormones

carry messages from your organs to tel your hypothalamus when you are full

fullness or satiety hormones come from

stomach and body fat (adipose tissues)

satiety hormones decrease

cannabinoid release in the hypothalamus, thus decreasing hunger

CB1 receptor agonist

impair memory

chronic marijuana use leads to

amotivational syndrome, result in impaired verbal learning, memory and problems with attention

amotivational syndrome

Loss of ambition and drive; a characteristic of long-term abusers of marijuana.

lower gray mater volume in some areas

could reflect changes in dendritic arborization and/or synaptic connectivity

Medical Marijuana

smoked marijuana as a medication

CB1 receptor antagonists reduce _____ ___________ in animals and humans

food consumption

synthetic cannabinoids

Marinol (Dronabinol)

Cesamet (Nabilone)

marinol (dronabinol)

Schedule III drug

Synthetic Δ9-THC (same structure)

Approved in the US to treat

Anorexia associated with weight loss in AIDS patients

Nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy in cancer patients

cesamet (nabilone)

Schedule II drug

Similar (not same) structure to THC

Approved in the US to treat same conditions as Marinol

Pain perception

genetically altered mice that lack CB1 and CB2 receptors demonstrate hyperalgesia (increased pain sensitivity)

sativex

cannabis extract used to treat pain and spasticity in multiple sclerosis patients

- contains THC and cannabidiol

Cannabidiol (CBD)

similar structure to THC; not intoxicating or dependence-producing

- not a cannabinoid receptor agonist