Archives of General Psychiatry
October 2001
A J Budney, J R Hughes, B A Moore et al.
Although withdrawal symptoms are commonly reported by persons seeking treatment for marijuana dependence, the validity and clinical significance of a marijuana withdrawal syndrome has not been established. This controlled outpatient study examined the reliability and specificity of the abstinence effects that occur when daily marijuana users abruptly stop smoking marijuana. Twelve daily...
Psychopharmacology
August 2001
Torbjörn U C Järbe, R J Lamb, S Lin et al.
(R)-methanandamide (AM-356), a metabolically more stable chiral analog of the endocannabinoid ligand anandamide, was used as a representative of fatty acid ethanolamide CB1 receptor ligands to characterize the discriminative stimulus functions of anandamides. Rats discriminated between 10 mg/kg (R)-methanandamide and vehicle administered IP 15 min prior to session onset. Another group of rats...
Fortschritte der Neurologie · Psychiatrie
August 1, 2001
J Schlimme, D Rada, Udo Schneider
Cannabis consumption is a social and cultural phenomenon. It has a specific place in each society, therefore psychotropic effects are judged differently. In medieval Islam cannabis consumption showed connections with religious and mystic events and was basically formed through consuming sufis. The main risk of cannabis use was especially the induction of "madness" or psychotic states in case of...
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
July 1, 2001
Aron H Lichtman, Justin L. Poklis, Alphonse Poklis et al.
Although the majority of cannabinoid users smoke marijuana, the preponderance of laboratory animal research is based on administration of Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Delta9-THC) or other cannabinoid agents via injection. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of inhaling marijuana, or ethanol-extracted placebo smoke in the mouse model of cannabinoid activity by assessing...
Neuropharmacology
July 1, 2001
S Lamarque, K Taghzouti, H Simon
Cannabis sativa preparations are some of the most widely used illicit recreational drugs. In addition to their direct addictive potential, cannabinoids may influence the sensitivity to other drugs. The aim of the present study was to determine if a cross-sensitization between Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (Delta(9)-THC) and other drugs (amphetamine and heroin) could be demonstrated. We examined...
European Journal of Neuroscience
February 2001
S C Azad, Giovanni Marsicano, I Eberlein et al.
This study investigated whether the nitric oxide pathway was involved in the central effects of Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (Delta(9)-THC), the major psychoactive constituent of cannabis sativa. Body temperature, nociception and locomotion were measured in neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) knock-out (KO) mice and wild-type (WT) controls after intraperitoneal application of Delta(9)-THC....
The British Journal of Psychiatry
February 1, 2001
Andrew Johns
474 citations
BACKGROUND: Cannabis is commonly regarded as an innocuous drug and the prevalence of lifetime and regular use has increased in most developed countries. However, accumulative evidence highlights the risks of dependence and other adverse effects, particularly among people with pre-existing psychiatric disorders. AIMS: To re-evaluate the adverse effects of cannabis in the general population and...
Drug and Alcohol Review
September 1, 2000
Robert F. Grace, Gillian Shenfield, Christopher C Tennant
Abstract: This study assessed the duration of admission and time to relapse in 62 acute psychiatric in‐patients who had urinary drug screens performed because of suspicion of illicit drug use. Some 51% of those with psychosis (n = 45) and 29% of those with non‐psychotic illness (n = 17) were THC‐positive although this was not significant. In those with recurrent admissions for psychosis...
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
February 1, 2000
W Hall, L Degenhardt
This paper evaluates evidence for two hypotheses about the relationship between cannabis use and psychosis: (i) that heavy cannabis use causes a 'cannabis psychosis', i.e. a psychotic disorder that would not have occurred in the absence of cannabis use and which can be recognised by its pattern of symptoms and their relationship to cannabis use; and (ii) that cannabis use may precipitate...
Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior
November 1999
J L Wiley, B R Martin
Interaction of cannabinoids with GABAergic systems has been noted in a number of previous studies. In the present study, this interaction was examined in a drug-discrimination paradigm. Rats were trained to discriminate either delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta9-THC; 3 mg/kg) or diazepam (2.5 mg/kg) from vehicle in two-lever drug discrimination procedures for food reinforcement. As in previous...