Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol-like discriminative stimulus effects of five novel synthetic cannabinoids in rats.
Michael B. Gatch, Michael J Forster
Psychopharmacology March 2018 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-017-4783-6 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Drug discrimination study in rats Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Rats trained to discriminate Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) from vehicle |
| Interventions | BB-22 FUB-PB-22 5F-AMB NM2201 MAB-CHMINACA Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) rimonabant |
| Topics | Cannabis |
| Keywords | Abuse liability Cannabinoids Drug discrimination Locomotor activity Mouse Rat |
| Key points | All five synthetic cannabinoids (BB-22, FUB-PB-22, 5F-AMB, NM2201, MAB-CHMINACA) fully substituted for Δ9-THC's discriminative stimulus effects in rats, with MAB-CHMINACA showing an inverted U-shaped dose effect. Rimonabant fully antagonized these effects for four compounds but only partially reduced FUB-PB-22 to 40-50% of Δ9-THC-appropriate responding. The authors suggest these compounds will likely have abuse liability similar to controlled cannabinoids. |
Abstract
Novel synthetic cannabinoid compounds continue to appear in the market advertised as legal alternatives to marijuana and the older synthetic cannabinoid compounds which are now controlled substances. Most of these newer compounds have been found to act at CB1 receptors, so the purpose of this study was to study the abuse liability of these compounds. Five of these compounds (BB-22, FUB-PB-22, 5F-AMB, NM2201, and MAB-CHMINACA) were tested for their ability to produce discriminative stimulus effects similar to Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) in rats. The ability of the CB1 receptor inverse agonist rimonabant to antagonize the discriminative stimulus effects of the five test compounds was also tested. All five of the test compounds fully substituted for the discriminative stimulus effects of Δ9-THC at some dose, although MAB-CHMINACA produced an inverted U-shaped dose effect. Rimonabant fully antagonized the Δ9-THC-like discriminative stimulus effects of BB-22, 5F-AMB, NM2201, and MAB-CHMINACA but only reduced the effects of FUB-PB-22 to 40-50 % of Δ9-THC-appropriate responding. These findings suggest that all five of the test compounds produced Δ9-THC-like effects and will likely have abuse liability similar to that of the controlled cannabinoid compounds.
Comparable studies
Other preclinical and animal studies on cannabis, most cited first.
Citations in the library
Cites 7
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and 2 more in the library