Entries by Site Administrator

Synthetic and natural cannabinoids: the cardiovascular risk.

Authors: Ethan B. Russo
The British Journal of Cardiology, March 2015

Cannabis has been employed medicinally and recreationally for thousands of years, but it was not until the 1960s that the structure and pharmacology of its primary phytocannabinoid components, cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) were identified, and another genera…

Overcoming the Bell-Shaped Dose-Response of Cannabidiol by Using Cannabis Extract Enriched in Cannabidiol.

Authors: Ruth Gallily, Zhannah Yekhtin, Lumír Ondřej Hanuš
Pharmacology & Pharmacy, 2015

Cannabidiol (CBD), a major constituent of Cannabis, has been shown to be a powerful anti-in- flammatory and anti-anxiety drug, without exerting a psychotropic effect. However, when given either intraperitoneally or orally as a purified product, a bell-shaped dose-response was…

Medical marijuana laws and suicides by gender and age.

Authors: D. Mark Anderson, Daniel I. Rees, Joseph J. Sabia
American Journal of Public Health, December 2014

OBJECTIVES: We estimated the association between legalizing medical marijuana and suicides. METHODS:
We obtained state-level suicide data from the National Vital Statistics System’s Mortality Detail Files for 1990-2007. We used regression analysis to examine the association be…

Cannabinoid CB2 receptors modulate midbrain dopamine neuronal activity and dopamine-related behavior in mice.

Authors: Hai-Ying Zhang, Ming Gao, Qing-Rong Liu, Guo-Hua Bi, Xia Li, Hong-Ju Yang, et al
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 18 November 2014

Cannabinoid CB2 receptors (CB2Rs) have been recently reported to modulate brain dopamine (DA)-related behaviors; however, the cellular mechanisms underlying these actions are unclear. Here we report that CB2Rs are expressed in ventral tegmental area (VTA) DA neurons and functi…

Young adult sequelae of adolescent cannabis use: an integrative analysis.

Authors: Edmund Silins, L. John Horwood, George C. Patton, David M. Fergusson, Craig A. Olsson, et al
The Lancet Psychiatry, September 2014

BACKGROUND: Debate continues about the consequences of adolescent cannabis use. Existing data are limited in statistical power to examine rarer outcomes and less common, heavier patterns of cannabis use than those already investigated; furthermore, evidence has a piecemeal app…

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Medical cannabis laws and opioid analgesic overdose mortality in the United States, 1999-2010.

Authors: Marcus A. Bachhuber, Brendan Saloner, Chinazo O. Cunningham, et al
JAMA Internal Medicine, October 2014

IMPORTANCE: Opioid analgesic overdose mortality continues to rise in the United States, driven by increases in prescribing for chronic pain. Because chronic pain is a major indication for medical cannabis, laws that establish access to medical cannabis may change overdose mort…

Central anandamide deficiency predicts stress-induced anxiety: behavioral reversal through endocannabinoid augmentation.

Authors: R J Bluett, J C Gamble-George, D J Hermanson, N D Hartley, L J Marnett, S Patel
Translational Psychiatry, 8 July 2014

Stress is a major risk factor for the development of mood and anxiety disorders; elucidation of novel approaches to mitigate the deleterious effects of stress could have broad clinical applications. Pharmacological augmentation of central endogenous cannabinoid (eCB) signaling…

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Marijuana use in hepatitis C infection does not affect liver biopsy histology or treatment outcomes.

Authors: Theresa Liu, Glen T Howell, Lucy Turner, Kimberley Corace, Gary Garber, Curtis Cooper
Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, July-August 2014

BACKGROUND: Marijuana smoking is prevalent among hepatitis C virus-infected patients. The literature assessing the influence of marijuana on liver disease progression and hepatitis C virus antiviral treatment outcomes is conflicting. METHODS: The authors evaluated hepatitis C…

Anandamide inhibits breast tumor-induced angiogenesis.

Authors: P. Picardi, E. Ciaglia, M. C. Proto, S. Pisanti
Translational Medicine, 8 April 2014

Breast cancer is one of the most frequently diagnosed malignancies and a leading cause of cancer death in women. Great advances in the treatment of primary tumors have led to a significant increment in the overall survival rates, however recurrence and metastatic disease, the…

PTSD symptom reports of patients evaluated for the New Mexico Medical Cannabis Program.

Authors: George R. Greer, Charles S. Grob, Adam L. Halberstadt
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, January-March 2014

BACKGROUND: New Mexico was the first state to list post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a condition for the use of medical cannabis. There are no published studies, other than case reports, of the effects of cannabis on PTSD symptoms. The purpose of the study was to report…

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Intermittent marijuana use is associated with improved retention in naltrexone treatment for opiate-dependence.

Authors: Wilfrid Noel Raby, Kenneth M. Carpenter, Jami Rothenberg, Adam C. Brooks, Huiping Jiang, et al
American Journal on Addictions, July/August 2009

Naltrexone is a theoretically promising alternative to agonist substitution treatment for opioid dependence, but its effectiveness has been severely limited by poor adherence. This study examined, in an independent sample, a previously observed association between moderate can…