“It has been proposed that medicinal strains of cannabis and therapeutic preparations would be safer with a more balanced concentration ratio of Δ(9) -tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) to cannabidiol (CBD), as CBD reduces the adverse psychotropic effects of THC. The aim of this study was to investigate whether CBD modulated the functional effects and c-Fos expression induced by THC, using a 1:1 dose ratio that approximates therapeutic strains of cannabis and nabiximols.
These data confirm that CBD modulated the pharmacological actions of THC and provide new information regarding brain regions involved in the interaction between CBD and THC.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26377899 “A number of studies now support the view that cannabidiol (CBD) may reduce the negative psychotropic effects of THC while enhancing its positive therapeutic actions. Our results are consistent with the notion that cannabis plant strains that contain THC and CBD at 1:1 ratios may be preferable to street cannabis for medicinal applications because they maximize therapeutic efficacy while minimizing the adverse effects of THC.” https://bpspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/bph.13333]]>Category Archives: Addiction
Reinforcing effects of opioid/cannabinoid mixtures in rhesus monkeys responding under a food/drug choice procedure.
“Cannabinoid receptor agonists such as delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) enhance the antinociceptive potency of mu opioid receptor agonists such as morphine, indicating that opioid/cannabinoid mixtures might be effective for treating pain. However, such enhancement will be beneficial only if cannabinoids do not also enhance adverse effects of opioids, including those related to abuse.
In rhesus monkeys, cannabinoids fail to enhance and often decrease self-administration of the mu opioid receptor agonist heroin, suggesting that opioid/cannabinoid mixtures do not have greater reinforcing effects (abuse potential) compared with opioids alone. Previous studies on the self-administration of opioid/cannabinoid mixtures used single-response procedures, which do not easily differentiate changes in reinforcing effects from other effects (e.g., rate decreasing).
CONCLUSION:
Overall, these results extend previous studies to include choice behavior and show that cannabinoids do not substantially enhance the reinforcing effects of mu opioid receptor agonists.”Effects of cannabidiol plus naltrexone on motivation and ethanol consumption.
“The aim of this study was to explore if the administration of naltrexone (NTX) together with cannabidiol (CBD) may improve the efficacy in reducing alcohol consumption and motivation rather than any of the drugs given separately.
The administration of CBD + NTX significantly reduced motivation and ethanol intake in the oral self-administration procedure in a greater proportion than the drugs given alone. Only the combination of both drugs significantly reduced Oprm1, TH and 5-HT1A gene expressions in the NAc, VTA and DR, respectively. Interestingly, the administration of WAY100635 significantly blocked the actions of CBD + NTX but had no effects by itself.CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS:
The combination of low doses of CBD plus NTX resulted more effective to reduce ethanol consumption and motivation to drink. These effects, appears to be mediated, at least in part, by 5-HT1A receptors.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29859012 https://bpspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/bph.14380 “Naltrexone belongs to a class of drugs known as opiate antagonists. It works in the brain to prevent opiate effects (e.g., feelings of well-being, pain relief). It also decreases the desire to take opiates. This medication is also used to treat alcohol abuse. It can help people drink less alcohol or stop drinking altogether. It also decreases the desire to drink alcohol when used with a treatment program that includes counseling, support, and lifestyle changes.” https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-7399/naltrexone-oral/details “Cannabidiol reduces ethanol consumption, motivation and relapse in mice. Taken together, these results reveal that the administration of CBD reduced the reinforcing properties, motivation and relapse for ethanol. These findings strongly suggest that CBD may result useful for the treatment of alcohol use disorders.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28194850]]>Ventilatory-depressant effects of opioids alone and in combination with cannabinoids in rhesus monkeys.
“Pain is a serious health problem that is commonly treated with opioids, although the doses of opioids needed to treat pain are often similar to those that decrease respiration. Combining opioids with drugs that relieve pain through non-opioid mechanisms can decrease the doses of opioids needed for analgesia, resulting in an improved therapeutic window, but only if the doses of opioids that decrease respiration are not similarly decreased. Using small doses of opioids to treat pain has the potential to reduce the number of overdoses and deaths.
This study investigated whether the cannabinoid receptor agonists Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) and CP 55,940 modify the ventilatory-depressant effects of morphine and fentanyl in three monkeys.
In summary, cannabinoid receptor agonists, which increase the potency of opioids to produce antinociception, did not increase their potency to depress ventilation. Thus, the therapeutic window is greater for opioids when they are combined with cannabinoid receptor agonists, indicating a possible advantage for these drug mixtures in treating pain.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29807027
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0014299918303108
“Cannabis is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States, and craving for cannabis is related to cannabis use.
Exercise has been demonstrated to reduce craving for substances.
The findings suggest that moderate exercise may be useful for reducing craving, particularly among those who use larger quantities of cannabis.”