Drug and alcohol dependence
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Mar 2017
Comparative StudyComparison of the discriminative stimulus and response rate effects of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol and synthetic cannabinoids in female and male rats.
Women report greater sensitivity to the subjective effects of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Similarly, female rodents tend to be more sensitive to some pharmacological effects of THC and synthetic cannabinoids. This study examined sex differences in discriminative stimulus and response rate effects of THC and synthetic cannabinoids in rats. ⋯ This study represents one of the first direct comparisons of sex differences in THC discrimination. Females were more sensitive to THC's effects, which may be related, in part, to sex differences in THC metabolism. Synthetic cannabinoids were more potent than THC in both sexes, but were considerably more so in male than in female rats. Future research should emphasize further characterization of sex differences in cannabinoid pharmacology.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Mar 2017
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyOral cannabidiol does not produce a signal for abuse liability in frequent marijuana smokers.
Cannabidiol (CBD) is a naturally occurring constituent of the marijuana plant. In the past few years, there has been great interest in the therapeutic effects of isolated CBD and it is currently being explored for numerous disease conditions (e.g., pain, epilepsy, cancer, various drug dependencies). However, CBD remains a Schedule I drug on the U.S. Controlled Substances Act (CSA). Despite its status, there are no well-controlled data available regarding its abuse liability. ⋯ Overall, CBD did not display any signals of abuse liability at the doses tested and these data may help inform U.S. regulatory decisions regarding CBD schedule on the CSA.