Marijuana Flashcards
What are the street names for cannabinoids?
- marijuana, hashish, “pot”, weed, grass
What is hemp?
- does not refer to drug
- refers to plant fibers used for material items
Where does marijuana come from? Where does hashish come from?
- leafy greens
- plant resin
What are phytocannabinoids?
- delta9-tetrahydrocannabinoid (delta9-THC)
- generic name: dronabinol (medical marijuana)
What is active in delta9-THC?
- drug
- metabolites: cannabinol and cannabidiol
What is the problem with the activity of multiple substances?
- analogues exert unique effects (11-hydroxy-delta9-THC formed in liver)
- metabolites exert unique effects (potentiate or interact with THC compounds)
What complicates potency and distribution of phytocannabinoids?
- highly lipid-soluble, however protein bound
Why were synthetic alternatives to cannabinoids made?
- emerged from scientific research meant to study the effects on receptors
What are the synthetic alternatives of cannabinoids?
- Non-classical (synthesized analgesics), hybrids (blend of extracts and synthesized)
- aminoalkyllindoles (anti-inflammatory and antihyperalgesia)
- eicosanoid (synthesized endo; immune response, pain perception)
What properties do synthetic cannabinoids exhibit?
- stimulant and hallucinogenic
- full agonist
What is the problem with synthetic cannabinoids?
- contamination with other chemicals
What is the potency of cannabinoids? What is the problem with determining potency?
- hashish “more potent” than marijuana
- effects are dose-dependent
- modern strains are more variable and have higher concentrations
- skews interpretation and comparability of research
What are the dose dependent effects of cannabinoids?
- buzz: light headed, tingling
- high: euphoric, exhilarated
- stoned: calm and relaxed
How are cannabinoids administered?
- inhalation (1 min - 2/4 hr)
- ingestion (1 hr-4/6 hr)
What effects the intake of inhalation?
- only 50% released in smoke
- time in lungs
- usually 20% absorbed
What is a contact high?
- second-hand inhalation can result in psychoactive levels
- little evidence!
What effects the intake of ingestion?
- first-pass metabolism deactivates 50%
- metabolites psychoactive but to lesser extent
Which method of intake requires more drug?
- ingestion requires 3x more than inhalation
What is the problem with the method of ingestion?
- lack of immediate effects makes users eat more
Why do cannabinoids stay in the body for long periods of time?
- highly lipid soluble
What are the cellular actions of cannabinoids?
- partial agonism
- endocannabinoid system
What neurotransmitters are affected by cannabinoids? What kind of receptors?
- anadamide, 2AG
- metabotropic receptors
What areas of the brain are affected by cannabinoids (CB1)?
- basal ganglia, substantia nigra, cerebellum (motor inhibition)
- nucleus accumbens, ventral tegmental area, hippocampus (mood elevation, psychosis)
- hippocampus (memory)
- cerebral cortex (cognition, pain relief)
- thalamus , spinal cord (pain relief)
- hypothalamus (appetite)
What causes the stimulating effect of cannabinoids?
- increased dopamine in nucleus accumbens
What is a retrograde neurotransmitter molecule?
- modulates release of neurotransmitter reducing firing rate
What areas of the brain are affected by cannabinoids (C2)?
- manufactured in hippocampus, immuno-facilitative
- glial cells
What are the behavioural effects on motor coordination and reaction time for delta9-THC?
- low dosage: increase in motor activity decrease coordination
- high dosage: decrease motor activity increase in reaction time
What is “amotivational syndrome”?
- persistent lack of motivation to engage in productive activities
- cannabis made effortful tasks seem less effortful
- motivated for reward
- overall, no evidence of amotivational syndrome
What are the cognitive effects of short-term memory impairment on delta9-THC?
- word recall
- low dosage: memory deficits with no attention impairment
- high dosage: memory, reasoning, and attention impairment
- diminished LTP in hippocampus
What is developmental persistance?
- permanent decline for every “5 marijuana years worth” of exposure
What are the cognitive effects of decelerated time for delta9-THC?
- perception of time is slowed down
- associated with the “stoned” phase
What area of the brain causes decelerated time effects?
- reduction in blood flow to cerebellum
What is temporal disintegration in decelerated time?
- alteration in perceptions associated with time (sequence, tempo)
What are “flight of ideas” in decelerated time?
- spontaneous, seemingly random ideas
- subjectively reported as racing thoughts
What are the cognitive effects on executive functions for delta9-THC?
- impairment while abstinent for chronic users
- persistent outcome
What is the “gateway” or “stepping-stone” theory?
- marijuana use will lead to illicit drug use
- support for process but not outcome (not all users go to next step)
What are “correlated vulnerabilities”?
- drug use is accounted for by the user’s characteristics
- users will use anything
What are the long-term effects of cannabinoids?
- verbal fluency and divided attention
Are there differences between different levels of users?
- no difference
- intellectual impairment reversed with abstinence
What correlates with cannabinoid use?
- age of onset (less than 17)
- heavy users reveal severe verbal IQ deficits
- 40% higher chance for schizophrenia, GAD, depression
- changes in dopaminergic pathway
Do cannabinoids result in tolerance?
- free access to joints for weeks 1-4
- participants complained joints were becoming weak
- demonstrated suspiciousness, paranoid, agitated, apathetic, withdrawn and depressed
- implies downregulation of receptors
Do cannabinoids result in withdrawal?
- no access to joints after week 5-7
- week 5: irritability, uncooperativeness, resistance, and hostility, appetite suppression, insomnia
- week 6: symptoms dissipate
How does the DSM-V describe cannabis dependence?
- general criteria of substance dependence
How does the DSM-V describe cannabis withdrawal syndrome?
- 3 of following
- irritability, anger, anxiety, depressed mood, difficulty sleeping…
What is cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome?
- nausea, vomiting and colicky abdominal pain as a result of weekly cannabis use following a history of cannabis use for years
What evidence supports cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome?
- compulsive hot baths (for symptom release)
- colicky abdominal pain (toxicity)
Do cannabinoids display toxicity?
- delta9-THC low toxicity
- dronabinol: lethary, decreased motor coordination, slurred speech and postural hypotension
What do drug discrimination studies find?
- able to discriminate from placebo, benzodiazepine, opioid, stimulant
What is evidence for subjective effects?
- dose-dependent effects
- learned responses
- different cannabinoids result in different effects
