Anxiety
Carolyn Torkelson, Catherine Marienau in Beyond Menopause, 2023
CBD has been gaining in popularity for many conditions, and early research is promising regarding its ability to help relieve anxiety. CBD can be derived from both hemp and marijuana plants. Hemp has been cultivated for many years and used to make clothing and various fiber products. However, because hemp and marijuana both come from cannabis plants, there is much confusion about the difference between the two compounds. So, what are the facts? The cannabis plant has several varieties, which contain different compounds called cannabinoids. CBD is a cannabinoid, as is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).THC is a psychoactive compound—it is the stuff that gets you high.CBD products derived from hemp are a particular variety of the cannabis plant. They contain less than 0.3% THC and do not have any psychoactive effects. They are legal federally, but still illegal under some state laws.Marijuana is derived from varieties of the cannabis plant that contain much higher and varying amounts of THC. Marijuana is illegal federally, but legal under some state laws.
Major contemporary challenges in global health
Kevin McCracken, David R. Phillips in Global Health, 2017
Globally, cannabis (marijuana) is by far the most widely abused drug, followed by amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) such as MDMA ('ecstasy'), amphetamine and methamphetamine, and then opioids (e.g. codeine, oxycodone, morphine, fentanyl, heroin). Regionally, patterns of drug abuse vary considerably. For example, cocaine is the primary drug of concern in Latin America and the Caribbean, whereas methamphetamine dominates in East and Southeast Asia. ‘Ecstasy’ use is reportedly also growing in this part of Asia. In the USA marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug, with cocaine second. Legality of possession and use of cannabis varies widely from country to country, with some countries and US states having decriminalized its medical use (e.g. for pain relief, treatment of anxiety and depression) or possession of small quantities, while others maintain very strict laws against it.
The Culture on Campus
Jonathan C. Beazley, Stephanie Field in Cannabis on Campus, 2018
Eating cannabis is distinct from other modes of use. The effects last longer due to the path cannabinoids take to the brain. What happens for some who are not edible-savvy is that they will take a small piece of a THC-infused cookie as prescribed by a friend, but nothing seems to happen even after waiting half an hour. Impatient, they might then eat more or all of it believing they have not ingested enough. What they do not grasp is that THC, when eaten, passes through the liver and is metabolized into 11-hydroxy-delta-9-THC. Due to THC and its metabolites’ high lipid-solubility, it is immediately absorbed into the fat surrounding the liver where it is released slowly back into the bloodstream starting around a half hour after ingestion, so the peak effect is not experienced until anywhere from one to four hours.16 For impatient students who proceed to eat the entire edible, they now have consumed up to 100mg of THC. The recommended serving amount of an edible in Colorado is 10mg,17 so they have exceeded the recommended amount ten-fold. The result can be a harrowing high characterized by extreme panic, paranoia, and even hallucinations that can last up to 12 hours. Individuals who may have gone through such an experience sometimes suffer lingering symptoms including severe panic and even dissociation.
The synthetic cannabinoids phenomenon: from structure to toxicological properties. A review
Published in Critical Reviews in Toxicology, 2020
Vera L. Alves, João L. Gonçalves, Joselin Aguiar, Helena M. Teixeira, José S. Câmara
Being the most thoroughly studied plant of all time, cannabis have been used for recreational, medicinal, or scientific purposes due to its bioactive components (Thomas and ElSohly 2015). Most of the biological activity attributed to cannabis have so far been linked to cannabinoids. The term “cannabinoids” represented the group of typical terpenophenolic C21 compounds present in cannabis plant, their carboxylic acids, analogs, and transformation products. However, an extended classification comprising new classes, groups, and subgroups of cannabinoids was proposed for better representation of their structural variety (Shevyrin and Morzherin 2015). Cannabinoids, now constitute the whole set of herbals, endogenous, natural and synthetic ligands of the cannabinoid receptors, belonging to a wide variety of chemical families (Lambert 2009; Mander and Liu 2010; Halawa et al. 2018). Based on their source of production, cannabinoids can be classified into three groups: endocannabinoids, phytocannabinoids and synthetic cannabinoids (Figure 1) (Chakravarti et al. 2014).
Medical cannabis and cannabinoids in rheumatology: where are we now?
Published in Expert Review of Clinical Immunology, 2019
Piercarlo Sarzi-Puttini, Alberto Batticciotto, Fabiola Atzeni, Laura Bazzichi, Manuela Di Franco, Fausto Salaffi, Daniela Marotto, Angela Ceribelli, Jacob N Ablin, Winfred Hauser
The cannabis plant contains over 400 naturally occurring chemicals and approximately 100 phytocannabinoids (Figure 3) [27–29]. Cannabis is the root word and the scientific plant genus from which all other names derive. There are 3 subspecies of cannabis, including Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. Cannabis sativa [28] is the most widely cultivated plant for both commercial and pharmaceutical use. The best known among phytocannabinoids are Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), which are already being used in medicine: Δ9-THC is considered to be the main psychoactive component of C. sativa because of its high affinity with and partially agonistic effect on CBr1, whereas CBD is the main non-psychoactive component and is characterized by a relatively low affinity for cannabinoid receptors [29]. CBD acts as a partial antagonist of CBr1 and a weak inverse agonist of CBr2, although it can indirectly activate both by increasing AEA and 2-AG levels. It is thought that THC and CBD have synergistic effects in which other phytocannabinoids may participate, and this has given rise to the theory of an ‘entourage effect’ that increases the benefits of cannabis over synthetic cannabinoids [30].
Marijuana matters: reviewing the impact of marijuana on cognition, brain structure and function, & exploring policy implications and barriers to research
Published in International Review of Psychiatry, 2018
Kelly A. Sagar, Staci A. Gruber
The term ‘marijuana’ typically describes all constituents derived from the plant Cannabis Sativa L, which is posited to have two main species, sativa and indica, and countless strains represent hybrids of the two. Historically, sativa and indica have been differentiated by their THC content (Hillig & Mahlberg, 2004); in general, indica is thought to contain higher levels of THC, but some sativa strains have also been found to have very high THC content (Hazekamp & Fischedick, 2012). Anecdotal evidence suggests distinct effects for each sub-species, in which sativa is generally seen as energy-inducing, whereas indica is viewed as having relaxing effects (Hazekamp & Fischedick, 2012), and some users report a preference for sativa vs indica, based on indications for MMJ use (Pearce, Mitsouras, & Irizarry, 2014). However, it is important to note that few studies have directly examined whether the actual chemical compositions or pharmacodynamics truly differ between these two sub-species or their hybrids.
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