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Psychopharmacology > Marijuana > Flashcards

Marijuana Flashcards

1
Q

Cannabis Plant

A
  • hemp family
  • cannabis sativa: grown in asia
  • cannabis indica: smaller plant
  • pot, skunk, weed, maryjane, hash, ganja, grass, dope, doobie, bud
  • hemp plant: strong in fibre (very low psychoactive)
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2
Q

Various psychoactive preparations

A
  • marijuana
  • hashish
  • oil
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3
Q

Psychoactive Preparations: Marijuana

A
  • herb

- dried flowers and leaves

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4
Q

Psychoactive Preparations: Hashish

A
  • resin
  • resin produced by glands (trichomes) to protect the plant
  • separate trichomes from the plant and compressed together
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5
Q

Psychoactive Preparations: Oil

A
  • concentrated liquid marijuana extract
  • thick
  • treat with alcohol to extract out the actives and later evaporate the alcohol
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6
Q

Potency of Cannabis Preparations

A
  • Herb (5%) < Resin (20%) < Oil (70%)
  • no probably much higher due to the controlled growth and special breeds
  • developing new strains: Marketing
  • effects unknown of those very high doses, data only available of the past generation with lower potency
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7
Q

History of Cannabis

A
  • stone age onwards: hemp fibres
  • medical use (china): sedative, pain relief
  • hinduism (india): sacred plant: joy
  • middle east: 10th century arabs: hashish
  • Trade / exploration: europe to south america
  • new world: hemp fibre used to make sails
  • 1800’s: panacea, medical use (tildens extract)
  • 1920: prohibition of alcohol caused increased marijuana smoking
  • 1960’s: flower power along with LSD
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8
Q

Epidemiology

A
  • medical use
  • most widely used illicit drug
  • medical use in many states
  • recreational use in some states legal too
  • third most used recreational drug: after alcohol and cigarettes
  • 18-24 have highest prevalence
  • men more likely than women
  • use varies by ethnic group: native americans > blacks > whites > hispanics
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9
Q

Active ingredients

A
  • > 400 chemical compounds
  • about 40 chemicals, cannabinoids (unique to the cannabis plant)
  • delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol: delta-THC: most psychoactive of all
  • Cannabidiol (CBD): medical effects, but very little psychoactive effects
  • Cannabinol: synergetic effect, much more powerful when all chemicals work together
  • very lipidic: not so water soluble (when making space tea, mix with milk)
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10
Q

Pharmacokinetics: absorption oral

A
  • oral
  • chew leaves, liquid, food
  • slow onset but long duration (steady absorption) around 46h
  • less bioavailability
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11
Q

Pharmacokinetics: absorption smoking

A
  • most efficient
  • joint: herb or resin
  • bong/water-pipe
  • no enzymes or first-pass-effect
  • water pipes are actually the healthier and safer for the lungs since the large harmful particles fall down
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12
Q

Pharmacokinetics: distribution

A
  • very well distributed due to the high lipidity

- brain, liver

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13
Q

Pharmacokinetics: metabolism and excretion

A
  • liver (slow)
  • high lipid solubility = reservoir effect
  • metabolites can be detected for 30 days
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14
Q

Mechanism of Marijuana Action: Anandamide

A
  • endocannabinoids (remember endorphins)
  • naturally occurring lipid neurotransmitters
  • anandamide: only one known of all the family of endocannabinoids
  • two types of brain receptors or andandamide
    1. CB1 (brain): mood, movement, memory, cognition, appetite, pain
    2. CB2 (body): immune system
  • not so much found in the brain, more in the spleen (organ that produced antibodies)
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15
Q

Mechanism of Action of Anandamide

A
  • anandamide binds post-synaptically to CB1 receptors
  • via G protein: trigger opening of potassium channels –> potassium levels of the cell –> hyperpolarization: transduction pathway
  • altered neuronal activity (ACh, serotonin, dopamine): stoping neural activities
  • very similar to endorphins
  • anandamide affect serotonin, serotonin affects appetite and mood
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16
Q

Mechanism of Action of THC

A
  • THC structurally similar to andandamide
  • not quite sure in what it is involved, but most likely about forgetting pain
  • mimics the natural neurotransmitter
  • agonist: binds to the cannabinoid receptors, causing hyperpolarization and altered neural activity
17
Q

Psychological Effects: Marijuana

A
  • calm euphoria: relaxed, drowsy, well-being
  • “stoned”: experienced users are more receptive for the relaxing effects
  • opioid receptors : dopamine, serotonin receptors
  • decreased movement ability (dopamine, cerebellum)
  • psychomotor impairment: slow reflexes
  • Memory: ACh, hippocampus): short-term to long-term memory is affected
  • sensory perception: mild hallucinogen due to a more intense perception and altered sense of time
18
Q

Adverse psychological effects

A
  • hallucinations, disorientation, anxiety, paranoia
  • more intense if not in safe environment
  • worse when already anxious before (new users)
19
Q

Psychological effects: marijuana

A
  • drug, user, environment
  • more experienced users : more sensitive to the positive effects
  • stimulant and hallucinogenic effects but still considered a depressant due to the hyperpolarization
  • cannabis induced psychosis?
  • probably with very strong strains, modulating NT
  • worsening of some schizophrenic disorders: genetic vulnerabilities + environment
  • Amotivational syndrome?
20
Q

Physiological Effects

A
  • increased heart rate and blood pressure (usually on first 20 mins only), blood-shot eyes (damage to blood vessels in the eyes)
  • lung damage: when adding nicotine, but no link between weed and lung cancer
  • decreased movement
  • reproductive effects
  • reduction in sperm number and mortality
  • involuting menstrual cycle
  • risky pregnancies: low birth weight, developmental delay
21
Q

Medical Uses

A
  • anti-emetic: treat nausea and vomiting due to cancer therapy
  • “wasting away” from HIV or cancer: stimulates appetite
  • glaucoma (increased intra-ocular pressure): not licensed for this yet
  • analgesia: reduced perception of pain: no license yet
  • MS, depression, protection from stroke, alzheimers, anti-tumor activity
  • medical marijuana
  • oily in a capsule
  • Cesamet (nabilone) and Marinol (Dronabinol): both cannabis derivatives with anti-emetic effect
22
Q

Problems with medical use

A
  • limited use and other meds are first choice
  • unwanted psychological effects: first time users freaking out
  • possible risk for psychosis, addiction, bad reaction: psychoactive effects that limit the medical use
  • smoking is the most effective route: not health approved
  • pharmaceutical issues: schedule I: only with derivatives research can be done, also cannot be patented (plant)
  • political issues: war on drugs, breaks in research, no financial aid for research
  • THC has the most unknown effects
23
Q

Marijuana as a Gateway Drug

A
  • frequent users = 140x more likely to use other illicit drugs
  • uniform sequence of drug use: alcohol > marijuana > harder drugs
  • 90% of crack users previously used marijuana
  • BUT: most marijuana users do not go on to become heroin addicts
24
Q

tolerance

A
  • clearly present in animal studies
  • less obvious in human beings
  • tolerance is more likely if high doses are taken over a long time
  • most studies have been done in the 70’s when the strains were much weaker
25
Q

dependence

A
  • argument if there is a withdrawal syndrome or not
  • withdrawal: sleep disturbance, nausea, irritability, restlessness, anxiety
  • most likely to occur following sustained heavy use
26
Q

Legislation

A
  • 1937 marijuana tax act
  • 1944 LaGuardia (mayor of NY) Commission and others
  • studies: not particularly harmful for society: no violence or aggression
  • federal level: controlled substances act 1970
  • schedule 1: many states = still prohibited
  • some states: approved for medical use, decriminalized for medical/recreational use, completely legalized for retail sale
27
Q

Changing legislation

A
  • bills pending to reschedule
  • UK: class B - class C - class B
  • netherlands: recently much stricter
  • spain: legal for own personal consumption: up to 4 plants
  • US: changes all the time
28
Q

Spice

A
  • synthetic marijuana
  • K2, fake weed, moon rocks
  • marketed as natural, safe, legal high
  • plant material + synthetic cannabinoid compounds
  • usually not very good chemists
  • similar experience to cannabis, also hallucinations, paranoia

Psychopharmacology (7 decks)

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