Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research
April 2026
Conor H. Murray, Joshua Cassarino, Ziva D. Cooper
The effect of cannabis use on health is likely to depend on individual differences. In particular, there is a growing need to understand the impact of cannabis and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on brain and behavioral health across the lifespan. We conducted a narrative review summarizing the effects of cannabis and THC across three stages of life: in utero, adolescence, and late...
Journal of Psychopharmacology
2026
Jack E Henningfield, Sandra D Comer, Matthew L Banks et al.
5 citations
Abuse potential assessment of drugs with central nervous system activity is a critical component of the development of new medications for regulatory filings for approval worldwide. These new drug applications typically include recommendations for scheduling status as a controlled substance, if scheduling is warranted. This commentary focuses on the approach and current issues related to...
Psychopharmacology
February 10, 2025
Will Lawn, Xuejun Hao, Anna B. Konova et al.
2 citations
RATIONALE: Despite the critical role of choice processes in substance use disorders, the neurobehavioral mechanisms guiding human decisions about drugs remain poorly understood. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to characterize the neural encoding of subjective value (SV) for cannabis versus non-drug rewards (snacks) in people who use cannabis on a near-daily/daily frequency (PWUCF) and assessed the impact...
Psychological Medicine
2024
Simon Kapler, Laura Adery, Gil D Hoftman et al.
Cannabis use is consistently associated with both increased incidence of frank psychotic disorders and acute exacerbations of psychotic symptoms in healthy individuals and people with psychosis spectrum disorders. Although there is uncertainty around causality, cannabis use may be one of a few modifiable risk factors for conversion to psychotic disorders in individuals with Clinical High Risk...
Psychedelic Medicine
September 6, 2023
Marc J. Weintraub, Jessica K Jeffrey, Charles S. Grob et al.
4 citations
The trial will provide preliminary data on the feasibility, safety, acceptability, and psychosocial effects of PA-CBT. Results will inform randomized clinical trials to test the effects of PA-CBT for patients with depression and other mental health conditions, as well as hypotheses concerning mediating mechanisms at the cognitive and affective levels. ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT05227612.
Nature Medicine
June 2023
Margaret Haney, Monique Vallée, Sandy Fabre et al.
Cannabis use disorder (CUD) is widespread, and there is no pharmacotherapy to facilitate its treatment. AEF0117, the first of a new pharmacological class, is a signaling-specific inhibitor of the cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1-SSi). AEF0117 selectively inhibits a subset of intracellular effects resulting from Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) binding without modifying behavior per se. In mice and...
March 15, 2023
Will Lawn, Xuejun Hao, Anna B. Konova et al.
preprint
Background: Despite the critical role of choice processes in substance use disorders, the neurobehavioral mechanisms guiding human decisions about drugs remain poorly understood. We adapted a neuroeconomic framework to characterize the neural encoding of subjective value (SV) for cannabis versus non-drug rewards (snacks) in near-daily cannabis users. We also assessed the impact of cannabis and...
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
February 1, 2023
Conor H. Murray, Margaret Haney, Richard W Foltin et al.
Despite the high prevalence of polysubstance use, outcomes and potential risks associated with common drug combinations are not well characterized. Many individuals who use cocaine also use cannabis, yet little is known about how interactions between the two drugs might contribute to continued co-use. The aim of this double-blind, placebo-controlled study was to determine the physiological and...
Neuropsychopharmacology
July 2016
Margaret Haney, Robert J Malcolm, Shanna Babalonis et al.
Cannabidiol (CBD), a constituent of cannabis with few psychoactive effects, has been reported in some studies to attenuate certain aspects of Δ(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) intoxication. However, most studies have tested only one dose of CBD in combination with one dose of oral THC, making it difficult to assess the nature of this interaction. Further, the effect of oral CBD on smoked cannabis...
Current Psychiatry Reports
April 14, 2016
Ziva D. Cooper
Although several chemical structural classes of synthetic cannabinoids (SCs) were recently classified as Schedule I substances, rates of use and cases of serious toxic effects remain high. While case reports and media bring attention to severe SC toxicity, daily SC use resulting in dependence and withdrawal is a significant concern that is often overlooked when discussing the risks of these...
Psychopharmacology
August 2010
Ziva D. Cooper, Margaret Haney
Studies in laboratory animals strongly suggest reciprocal modulation of the opioidergic and endocannabinoid systems, a relationship that has not been demonstrated in humans. This study sought to clarify this interaction by assessing how a range of naltrexone doses altered the subjective, cognitive, and cardiovascular effects of marijuana. Daily marijuana smokers (n = 29) participated in this...
Addiction Biology
June 2008
Ziva D. Cooper, Margaret Haney
Awareness of cannabis dependence as a clinically relevant issue has grown in recent years. Clinical and laboratory studies demonstrate that chronic marijuana smokers can experience withdrawal symptoms upon cessation of marijuana smoking and have difficulty abstaining from marijuana use. This paper will review data implicating the cannabinoid CB1 receptor in regulating the behavioral effects of...
Carolyn M. Amir, Dara G. Ghahremani, Sarah E. Chang et al.
preprint
Abstract Importance Rates of prenatal cannabis exposure (PCE) are rising with increasingly permissive legislation regarding cannabis use, which may be a risk factor for psychosis. Disrupted reward-related neural circuitry may underlie this relationship. Objective To elucidate neural mechanisms involved in the association between PCE and youth-onset psychotic-like experiences by probing...