Cannabinoid Therapeutic Analysis

By this point in time, the opioid crisis is well-known and concerning. One potential solution suggested by researchers, medical professionals, and individual patients alike is the use of medical cannabis for treatment of conditions such as chronic pain. In fact, many patients now prefer medical cannabis to opioid treatments. It’s not difficult to see why.

The body naturally produces these compounds, which are similar to the chemicals in cannabis. Reduction of endocannabinoid production is one reason why chronic stress is a major risk factor in the development of depression. The research team at the university administered marijuana cannabinoids to the rats, finding it to be an effective way to restore endocannabinoid levels in their brains, alleviating some symptoms of depression. In addition, the university that found synthetic cannabinoids activated the part of the brain associated with traumatic memories in rats, preventing the behavioral and physiological symptoms of PTSD. The article notes that depression is such a complex mental disorder as well as alleviating it with cannabis. Because of the lack of testing on the relationship between cannabis and depression, there is no 100% statement claiming that marijuana can help depression in human trials, although there are promising lab tests on rats.

Marijuana has been successfully used in pain management due to its analgesic and anti-nausea properties. Due to this reason, medical practitioners have in the past prescribed it to terminally ill cancer or AIDS patients and muscle spasms victims. Currently, 15 states have legalized marijuana for medical use making it easily available too not only terminally ill but others who report ‘chronic pain’ or ‘severe nausea’. This trend is likely to give rise to substance abuse with socioeconomic impact on the society.

Cannabinoids are the group of chemicals that bind to and activate the G-protein linked receptors CB1 and CB2. CB1 receptors are found in the central nervous system with the highest levels located in the hippocampus, basal ganglia, cortex, and cerebellum. CB1 receptors are also found in the peripheral nerve terminals and other tissues including: testes, uterus, spleen, eye, ilium, adipocytes, and vascular endothelium. Binding to the CB1 receptor results in the psychoactive effects of cannabinoids resulting in a feeling of euphoria. Activation of the CB1 receptors results in inward potassium channel conductance and decreases both N type and P/Q type calcium channels. Activation of these receptors also results in decreased endogenous cannabinoids.

The discovery of endocannabinoids led to the identification of an entire system in the human body, comprised of lipids, receptors, and enzymes. The endocannabinoid system is responsible for a host of physiological processes that rely on the interactivity of cannabinoids and their receptors. Since their discovery and cloning in the early ‘90s, the CB1 and CB2 receptors are still the only receptors that have been identified in the endocannabinoid system. The location of a

Medical marijuana is a much healthier alternative to narcotics in most cases for the use of pain in treatments such as epilepsy, nausea relief, multiple sclerosis, post-traumatic stress disorder, and cancer.  Two of the main cannabinoids in medical marijuana are: delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidoil (CBD).  CBD is the compound that has significant medical benefits and the fact that CBD-rich cannabis is non-psychoactive or less psychoactive than THC-dominant strains, makes it an awesome option for people in search of relief from: inflammation, pain, anxiety, seizures, spasms, and many other conditions as well.  On the other hand, the two most

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a prevalent, chronic, and disabling anxiety disorder that may develop following exposure to a traumatic event. People with PTSD have a persistence of a heightened salience of traumatic memories and a failure of the extinction process to diminish the impact of traumatic memories. The endogenous cannabinoid (eCB) system. composed of receptors, neurotransmitters such as 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) and anandamide (AEA), and the enzymes responsible for the breakdown and reuptake of endocannabinoids. eCB signaling is involved in addiction, brain plasticity, learning and memory, neuronal development and pruning, nociception, sleep-wake-cycle, and has been documented as a modulator of adaptation to stress (Kelmendi et al., 2016; Campos & Guimarães, 2008;). Interactions between eCBs and glucocorticoids have been shown to be necessary

The relationship between Cannabis sativa (marijuana) and depression has been a primary concern to research scientists. However, the actual relationship remains double-edged as different scholars have made conflicting conclusions regarding the relationship. A focus has been on the cannabinoids, a group of chemicals that confer the impacts of the plant on the users. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the main active pharmacological constituent of marijuana and the point of interest for the researchers to discern the relationship between marijuana and depression in the users. In particular, studies try to find the impact of THC on the cannabinoid receptor (CB) 1. The receptor is located in the peripheral as well as the central nervous system. THC is an agonist of the CB1, which forms the point of influence of the marijuana on the nervous system.

Substance use disorders (SUDs) have a significant and pressing impact on public health. It impairs a person physically and mentally, thus results in significant morbidity and economical burden.[i] Among the substance use disorder, Cannabis use disorders (CUDs) are the most common entity in adolescent population of USA.[ii] These are present in 3.6% of adolescents and 5.9% of young adults, compared with only 0.7% of adults over the age of 25[iii]. CUDs are increasingly prevalent and daily cannabis use among adolescents is rapidly increasing, which can lead to increased rates of CUDs, especially among young adults[iv]. The CUDs frequently lead individuals to seek treatment. In the year 2012, approximately 305,000 individuals got treatment for

Depression is a widespread issue in today’s world. It can be caused by abuse, conflict, a sudden change in one’s life, and much more. The number one cause of depression is stress. Cannabis, or marijuana, has been used to treat depression dating back to the year 1621 with doctors in India using it to treat depression in their patients. THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, was shown to change negative images or emotions in the minds of the patients who smoked marijuana. Many patients stated that it took them to another world, a place where they felt comfortable and the feeling of depression was obsolete. The sad part is that since marijuana is still classified as a

Nevertheless, there have been shown to be considerable cognitive and substance-abuse related negative effects related to THC use that have to be taken seriously, particularly in relation to young or inexperienced patients (Malone, Hill & Rubino, 2010). Despite this, the adverse effects may be avoided if THC were to be replaced with a non-psychoactive cannabinoid such as CBD (Schubert et al., 2011). When a smaller dosage is used e.g. 4 - 5 Mg, CBD shows almost none of the adverse effects that THC exhibits, and it has the added bonus of not causing the patient to become “high”, which is especially attractive when using cannabinoids as a treatment for younger patients (Cunha et al., 1980). CBD has also been shown to reduce the psychoactive and anxiety effects of THC (Russo & Guy, 2006), and have very little, if any effect on the CNS, but still maintains its anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory properties. Because of these very key points, inactive synthetic CBD could be a good choice for development as an analgesic and anti-inflammatory drug (Fride,

Cannabis is one of recreational drugs that are widely used, taking third place among drugs of concern in addiction treatment services (Degenhardt et al., 2008). There is a conflicting evidence for an association between cannabis abuse and the type or number of depressive symptoms. In the view of the self-medication hypothesis, subclinical depressive symptoms can cause social difficulties and psychological distress that may be relieved by cannabis abuse (Schofield et al., 2006). An association between cannabis abuse and the presence of fewer or less severe depressive symptoms was reported (Denson and Earleywine, 2006; Tosato et al., 2013), suggesting that cannabis use may alleviate some of these symptoms. On the other hand, other studies have observed an increase in negative (D 'Souza et al., 2005) or depressive (Degenhardt et al., 2003; Lev-Ran et al., 2014) symptoms when Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive constituent of cannabis, is administered to patients with schizophrenia. In addition, heavy or problematic cannabis use resulted in depression. (Degenhardt et al., 2003; Moore et al., 2007; Kedzior and Martin-Iverson , 2010) and anxiety (Crippa et al., 2009).

The effects of cannabinoids mimic those of alcohol, cocaine and opioids, producing relaxation and pleasant feelings of well-being. These feelings, and other pharmacological effects, are a result of the interaction of cannabinoids with various neurotransmitters including the catecholamines norepinephrine and dopamine, and other neurotransmitters such as serotonin, GABA and acetylcholine. These neurotransmitter interactions are the basis of research and application for medicinal use of cannabinoids.

The first use of the synthetic cannabinoid substances appeared in several European countries around 2004 as a legal recreation and relaxation products alternatives to smoking marijuana [18, 19]. Two years later, these drugs were being sold predominantly on the internet and in some open markets such as the local smoke shops, and gas stations under brand name “Spice” and “K”[19], these two names have persisted as the generic term for all synthetic

Marijuana is a contrast to tobacco and alcohol when addiction characteristics do not show with the use of marijuana while addiction shows with legal tobacco and alcohol. It shows that less than one in ten marijuana smokers convert to consistent consumers of the drug, and most intentionally terminate their use after age 34, by comparison, 15 percent of alcohol users and 32 percent of tobacco smokers display indicators of drug dependency. Cannabis withdrawal indicators are uncommon and do not need replacement medication to stop the habit. When smoking marijuana comes to an end of an intake, the vast majority of smokers do not feel subjected to uncomfortable withdrawal indicators commanding restarting the use of marijuana.