“Cannabinoids and opioids produce antinociceptive synergy. Cannabinoids such as Δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) release endogenous opioids and endocannabinoids such as anandamide (AEA) also alter endogenous opioid tone. Opioids and cannabinoids bind distinct receptors that co-localize in areas of the brain involved with the processing of pain signals. Therefore, it is logical to look at interactions of these two systems in the modulation of both acute and chronic pain. This review summarizes the data indicating that with cannabinoid/opioid therapy one may be able to produce long-term antinociceptive effects at doses devoid of substantial side effects, while preventing the neuronal biochemical changes that accompany tolerance. The clinical utility of modulators of the endocannabinoid system as a potential mimic for THC-like drugs in analgesia and tolerance-sparing effects of opioids is a critical future direction also addressed in the review.” https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09540260902782794]]>
Tag Archives: cannabis
Cannabis in End-of-Life Care: Examining Attitudes and Practices of Palliative Care Providers.
“Medical cannabis research has become quite extensive, with indications ranging from glaucoma to chemotherapy-induced nausea.
Despite increased interest in cannabis‘ potential medical uses, research barriers, cannabis legislation, stigma, and lack of dissemination of data contribute to low adoption for some medical populations.
Of interest, cannabis use appears low in palliative care settings, with few guidelines available to palliative care providers. The present study sought to examine the attitudes, beliefs, and practices of palliative care providers regarding the use of cannabis for terminally ill patients.
Results demonstrated that palliative care providers endorse cannabis for a wide range of palliative care symptoms, end-of-life care generally, and as an adjuvant medication.
Nevertheless, the gap between these beliefs and actual recommendation or prescription appears vast. Many who support the use of cannabis in palliative care do not recommend it as a treatment. These data suggest recommendations for healthcare providers and palliative care organizations.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29714640
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02791072.2018.1462543?journalCode=ujpd20
Cannabidiol reverses attentional bias to cigarette cues in a human experimental model of tobacco withdrawal.
“Cannabidiol (CBD), a non-intoxicating cannabinoid, may be a promising novel smoking cessation treatment due to its anxiolytic properties, minimal side-effects and research showing it may modify drug cue salience. We used an experimental medicine approach with dependent cigarette smokers to investigate if (1) overnight nicotine abstinence, compared with satiety, will produce greater attentional bias (AB), higher pleasantness ratings of cigarette-related stimuli and increased craving and withdrawal; (2) CBD in comparison to placebo, would attenuate AB, pleasantness of cigarette-related stimuli, craving and withdrawal and not produce any side-effects.
FINDINGS:
When participants received placebo, tobacco abstinence increased AB (p=.001, d =.789) compared with satiety. However, CBD reversed this effect, such that automatic AB was directed away from cigarette cues (p=.007, d= .704) and no longer differed from satiety (p=.82). Compared with placebo, CBD also reduced explicit pleasantness of cigarette images (p=.011; d=.514). Craving (Bayes Factor: 7.07) and withdrawal (Bayes Factor: 6.48) were unaffected by CBD, but greater in abstinence compared with satiety. Systolic blood pressure decreased under CBD during abstinence.CONCLUSIONS:
A single 800mg oral dose of cannabidiol (CBD) reduced the salience and pleasantness of cigarette cues, compared with placebo, after overnight cigarette abstinence in dependent smokers. CBD did not influence tobacco craving or withdrawal or any subjectively rated side-effects.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29714034 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/add.14243“Cannabidiol reduces attentional bias to cigarette cues in nicotine addicts, study finds” http://www.psypost.org/2018/06/cannabidiol-reduces-attentional-bias-cigarette-cues-nicotine-addicts-study-finds-51351
]]>β-Caryophyllene (BCP) ameliorates MPP+ induced cytotoxicity.
“Parkinson’s disease (PD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases resulting from the continuous death of dopaminergic neurons in substantia nigra. MPP+ (1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium) has been reported to be a major neurotoxin causing neurotoxic insults on dopaminergic neurons in humans.
β-Caryophyllene (BCP), an important cannabinoid derived from the essential oils of different species, has displayed pharmacological properties in different kinds of tissues and cells. However, neuroprotective effects of BCP in PD haven’t been reported before.
Our results indicate that treatment with MPP+ in SH-SY5Y cells led to a significant decrease in cell viability, which was restored by BCP. Additionally, BCP suppressed MPP+-induced release of lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) and the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). In contrast, BCP treatment restored the reduction in mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) induced by MPP+. BCP treatment increased intracellular GSH and GPx activity.
Also, we found that the antioxidant effects of BCP against MPP+- induced neurotoxicity are dependent on cannabinoid receptor type 2 (CB2R). Moreover, our results indicated that BCP prevented MPP+-induced apoptosis of SH-SY5Y through inhibiting the up-regulation of cleaved Caspase-3, Bax, and restoring the expression of Bcl-2. Besides, BCP markedly suppressed HO-1 activation and c-Jun N-terminal Kinase (JNK) phosphorylation.
We conclude that BCP might act as a promising therapeutic agent against MPP+ toxicity in neuronal cells.”
“β-caryophyllene (BCP) is a common constitute of the essential oils of numerous spice, food plants and major component in Cannabis.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23138934
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“The endogenous 
“The therapeutic application of Cannabis is attracting substantial public and clinical interest. The Cannabis plant has been described as a veritable ‘treasure trove’, producing more than a hundred different 
“Left ventricular dysfunction triggers the activation of the sympathetic nervous system, providing inotropic support to the failing heart and concomitantly increasing the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF). The cardiovascular effects of cannabis have been characterized as biphasic on the autonomic nervous system with an increased sympathetic effect at low doses and an inhibitory sympathetic activity at higher doses. It is unknown if the autonomic effect of cannabis impacts the occurrence of AF in patients with heart failure (HF).
We used data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project-National Inpatient Sample for patients admitted with a diagnosis of HF in 2014. The outcome variable was the diagnosis of AF, with the main exposure being cannabis use. We identified a cannabis user group and a 1:1 propensity-matched non-cannabis user group, each having 3,548 patients. We then estimated the odds of AF diagnosis in cannabis users. An estimated 3,950,392 patients were admitted with a diagnosis of HF in the United States in 2014. Among these, there were 17,755 (0.45%) cannabis users. In the matched cohort, cannabis users were less likely to have AF (19.08% vs 21.39%; AOR 0.87 [0.77 to 0.98]).
In conclusion, cannabis users have lower odds of AF when compared with nonusers, which was not explained by co-morbid conditions, age, insurance type, and socioeconomic status.”
“Complaints about Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC):