Missed Opportunities? Beneficial Uses of Illicit Drugs
Ross Coomber in The Control of Drugs and Drug Users, 2020
Asthma is a breathing disorder that arises when bronchial muscles go into spasm and the pathway to the lungs is blocked by mucus and swelling. A number of antiasthmatic drugs are available, but they all have drawbacks — limited effectiveness or side effects. Because marihuana dilates the bronchi and reverses bronchial spasm, cannabis derivatives have been tested as antiasthmatic drugs. Smoking marihuana would probably not be a good way to treat asthma because of chronic irritation of the bronchial tract by tars and other substances in marihuana smoke, so recent researchers have sought a better means of administration. THC in the form of an aerosol spray has been investigated extensively (Tashkin et al., 1975; Tashkin et al., 1977). Other cannabinoids such as cannabinol and cannabidiol may be preferable to THC for this purpose. An interesting finding for future research is that cannabinoids may affect the bronchi by a different mechanism from that of the familiar antiasthmatic drugs.
Cannabis
Ilana B. Crome, Richard Williams, Roger Bloor, Xenofon Sgouros in Substance Misuse and Young People, 2019
Since the publication of that report, many countries in Europe, in Asia, and various US states, have decriminalised possession or legalised medicinal uses of cannabis, in contrast with the UK. In 2009, in the UK, cannabis was re-classified as belonging to group B of controlled substances in the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 on the basis of increasing concerns about a link between high strength cannabis and schizophrenia. Cannabinol and Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol are classified under Schedule 1 of the Misuse of Drugs Act as having no therapeutic benefit. However, cannabis-derived medicinal products were classified under Schedule 2 in November 2018 after a review by the Home Secretary concluded that there was therapeutic benefit for some conditions. Two other non-psychoactive cannabinoids, cannabidiol and cannabichromene, are not controlled drugs despite their structural similarity to cannabinol. A further two cannabinoids can be prescribed by doctors, and Nabilone, a synthetic analogue of THC, is licensed for prescription for patients with nausea or vomiting resulting from cancer chemotherapy that has proved unresponsive to other drugs. Dronabinol is currently unlicensed in the UK and has to be specially imported for prescription on a named patient basis for the same indication.
Cannabis
S.J. Mulé, Henry Brill in Chemical and Biological Aspects of Drug Dependence, 2019
Cannabis contains a great array of organic chemicals. Current interest has centered on its unique constituents called cannabinoids. Canna-binoids are not known to occur in any other plant material. Although numerous cannabinoids have been considered as active principles of cannabis, it now appears that certain isomers of tetrahydrocannabinol are the most potent psychoactive constituents.2,3,10 The major tetrahydrocannabinol believed to account for the sought after psychoactive properties of cannabis is referred to as delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol or delta-1-THC in the monoterpinoid numbering system.10 In this chapter, unless otherwise qualified, the abbreviation THC will refer to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol. Delta-8-THC is also biologically active but occurs in only small amounts in cannabis. Cannabidiol and cannabinol are present in substantial amounts but, on the basis of animal studies, are not thought to be psychoactive.3,10 However, before it is correct to say that the active ingredient has been established, much more basic psychopharmacologic work needs to be done, particularly with human subjects judging psychoactivity. As with other drugs, there are marked species differences in response to cannabis.11 Animal assays are not always accurate predictors of psychoactivity in man.
Cannabinoids and drug metabolizing enzymes: potential for drug-drug interactions and implications for drug safety and efficacy
Published in Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology, 2022
Keti Bardhi, Shelby Coates, Christy J.W. Watson, Philip Lazarus
Cannabis indica and Cannabis sativa are the two most common and well-known species of the cannabis plant, and extracts from both species contain cannabinoids of therapeutic interest, such as (-)-trans-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD), and cannabinol (CBN) [10–14]. However, the classification of cannabis as monotypic (one species) or polytypic (multiple species) is still a debate [15,16]. In the 1960s and 1990s, early research into the therapeutic potential of cannabis yielded the identification of over 500 cannabis constituents [17,18], of which 150 were classified as cannabinoids [19]. C. sativa, tall and narrow-leafed, tends to have a higher THC content as compared to C. indica, which is shorter and wide-leafed and has a higher proportion of CBD [20,21]. Most commercial cannabis-containing products currently on the market are a mix of cannabis from both varieties of C. sativa and C. indica [22,23], as the ratio of THC and CBD varies considerably between strains [24].
Emerging drugs for the treatment of bladder storage dysfunction
Published in Expert Opinion on Emerging Drugs, 2022
Karl-Erik Andersson
The cannabinoid (CB) receptors, their endogenous ligands and related enzymes for biosynthesis and degradation constitutes the endocannabinoid system [22,83,84]. From the cannabis plant cannabinoids (phytocannabinoids) can be extracted. The main compounds in such extracts are THC, cannabidiol, and cannabinol. Two G-protein-coupled CB receptors have been defined: type 1 (CB1) and type 2 (CB2). The G-protein-coupled receptor 55 (GPR55), has been described as a third CB receptor, but its pharmacology is incompletely known. Endocannabinoids and ‘exocannabinoids,’ such as phyto-cannabinoids and synthetic cannabinoids, interact with these receptors and some associated endogenous fatty acid amides (FAA). Within the endocannabinoid system at least two major arachidonate-derived ligands, anandamide, and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), mediate their effects by binding to CB1 and CB2 receptors. Both anandamide and 2-AG act extensively in the central and peripheral nervous system. They affect not only LUT function but may influence pain, mood, feeding behavior, motivation, and inflammation [85–87].
Medicinal cannabis pharmacokinetics and potential methods of delivery
Published in Pharmaceutical Development and Technology, 2022
Lidya Kebede, Seyedehsara Masoomi Dezfooli, Ali Seyfoddin
Cannabis has the therapeutic potential to treat a string of conditions ranging from asthma, epilepsy, migraine, nausea, pain, and glaucoma (Bonn-Miller et al. 2018). Cannabis has approximately 560 compounds with over 120 that are thought to be unique phytocannabinoids. These cannabinoids can directly influence the endogenous cannabinoid system in our body (Bonn-Miller et al. 2018). Among those chemically active components, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) are the most abundant and most researched compounds in the plant (Zgair et al. 2016). THCA and CBDA are the acidic forms that are originally found in the cannabis plant. These acidic compounds are decarboxylated in the presence of heat to create neutral THC and CBD. Acidic cannabinoids are speculated to have some pharmacological properties, although, their psychotropic activity is limited due to their inability to cross the blood–brain barrier. Conversely, further degradation of THC will result in the formation of cannabinol (CBN), a cannabinoid with less potent psychoactive, analgesic, and anticonvulsant activity (Citti et al. 2016).
Related Knowledge Centers
- Cannabidiol
- Endocannabinoid System
- In Vivo
- Partial Agonist
- Psychoactive Drug
- Cannabinoid
- Chemical Affinity
- Cannabinoid Receptor 1
- Cannabinoid Receptor 2
- Cannabis Concentrate