Chapter 14: Cannabis

What is cannabis?

A hemp plant (cannabis sativa)

What are the two phenotypes of cannabis?

Cultivated for hemp fiber: low psychoactive ingredients

Cultivated for intoxicating properties: high psychoactive ingredients

Who was the first to describe what is cannabis is?

1800s first European writer Gautier, was to describe the intoxicating effects whose accounts were written primarily to entertain rather than inform

In 1839 how was cannabis medically and recretionally used?

It was scientific and medical attention: treatment of tetanus, appetite, convulsions, neuralia, dysmenorrhea, asthma, gonorrhea, migraine, additction, and mental illness

What did the Mexicans call cannabis?

In 1900s Mexican laborers introduced smoking it and the word MARIJUANA

What year was the Marijuana Tax Act get eliminated?

1937 Marijuana Tax Act eliminated legitimate medical use and drove recreational users underground

What is the most psychoative cannabinoids?

Delta-9-THC

What are the cannabis preparations?

marijuana is usually smoked in a cigarette, cigar, or pipe but is sometimes baked into cookies or brownies

What is the absorption : oral administration?

THC is a weak acid pKa

not ionized at the pH of body fuids

extremely lipid soluble

absorbed from digestive system slowly (considerable first pass metabolism)

What is the efficient route of administration?

Smoking is an efficient route of administration

How long does it take to feel the absorption (inhalation) effects?

effects felt within minutes and peak after 30 to 60 minutes

What is more important depth of inhalation or duration?

depth of inhalation is more important than duration

What does CBN do in metabolism?

CBN may speed the metabolism of THC

What is the distribution of cannabis?

high lipid solubility, distributed to all areas of the body: concentrated in lungs, kidneys, and liver bile

What is the metabolism for cannabis?

Some in lungs or intestines, most in the liver

What is the metabolism after Delta-9-THC converts to 11-hydroxy-delta-9-THC?

Believed more active and passes blood-brain barrier more easily

What are the metabolism interactions?

CBD and CBN may alter distribution of THC by displacing it from binding sites in the blood

What does CBD do in metabolism?

CBD thought to have only a slight effect

blocks the enzyme that metabolizes THC

How does cannabis excrete from the body?

Primarily through feces (55%) and urine (20%)

What gene make cannabinoid receptors?

Analgesic : pain reducing

What are the two types of metabotropic receptors?

CB1 and CB2

What does CB1 concentrate?

In the Cortez, Hippocampus, Cerebellum, and Substantia Nigra

memory problems, alered thinking, poor coordination

Where is the CB2 concentrated?

Mainly found in the spleen and immune system

What does Retrograde Signal mean in cannabinoids?

the postsynaptic cell sends signals back to the presynaptic cell

Where are the CB1 located?

CB1 receptors are located on the presynaptic neuron (the sender)

What does the enzymes do to the postsynaptic?

the postsynaptic neuron has enzymes that break down cannabinoids after they’re used

What happens when the cannabinoids activate CB1?

They reduce or stop neurotransmitters release from the presynaptic neuron

What is Depolarization Induced Suppression of Inhibition (DSI)?

it is blocking an inhibitory neuron = less hibition » overall activity increases

What is Depolarization-Induced Suppression of Excitation (DSE)?

it is blocking an excitatory neuron = less excitation » overall activity decreases

What are the effects on the body?

bloodshot eyes

dry mouth

intense hunger

increase heart rate

nausea and vomiting

What are the effects on sleep?

causes drowsiness and increases sleeping time

higher doses can cause restlessness and insomnia

What are the medically useful effects?

helps glaucoma (THC reduces pressure in eyes)

antiemetic

movement disoders

modulation of pain responses

appetite stimulation

How can CBD be medically useful?

It may be useful in treating schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, anxiety, arthritis, dystonia, insomnia, microbial infections, seizures, and tumors

What happens to your memory?

Disrupt the ability to recall words or narrative material, lose the ability to retain and coordinate information

What are the effects on performance?

impairs hand-eye coordination and delays in visual motor response

What is the titration effect?

many often cannot accurately regulate their cannabis dose and may prefer/drift towards higher potency cannabis (increases exposure and makes control even harder

What is the mental disturbance?

When taken a longer dose than usual, the user may be overcome wit overwhelming anxiety and paranoid feelings (freak outs)

What is amotivational syndrome?

Apathy, loss of effectiveness, and a diminished capacity or willingness to carry out complex long-term plans, endure frustration, concentrate for long periods, follow routines, or successfully master new material

What is the reproduction effects?

may affect hormones and fertility, males can not let out sperm but females get aroused and let out