The Science of Marijuana

Contents......Page 14
1. Introduction......Page 20
The Plant......Page 23
Smoking......Page 33
Eating and Drinking......Page 36
A Brief History......Page 37
2. The Pharmacology of THC, the Psychoactive Ingredient in Cannabis......Page 48
Man-Made Cannabinoids......Page 57
Structure–Activity Relationships for Cannabinoids......Page 60
Cannabinoid Antagonists......Page 62
Smoking......Page 64
Oral Absorption......Page 66
Other Routes of Administration......Page 68
Elimination of THC from the Body......Page 69
How Does THC Work?......Page 71
Discovery of Naturally Occurring Cannabinoids......Page 77
Biosynthesis and Inactivation of Endocannabinoids......Page 80
Interaction of Cannabinoids with Other Chemical Messenger Systems in the Brain......Page 82
Heart and Blood Vessels......Page 84
Suppression of Immune System Function......Page 86
Sex Hormones and Reproduction......Page 87
Pain Sensitivity......Page 88
Motility and Posture......Page 91
The Billy Martin Tests......Page 93
3. The Effects of Cannabis on the Central Nervous System......Page 96
Subjective Reports of the Marijuana High......Page 97
Laboratory Studies of Marijuana in Human Volunteers......Page 108
Effects on Psychomotor Function and Driving......Page 109
Higher Brain Function, Including Learning and Memory......Page 111
Comparisons of Marijuana with Alcohol......Page 116
Where in the Brain Does Marijuana Act?......Page 117
Functional Neuroanatomy of Cannabinoid Receptor CB-1 in the Brain......Page 119
What Can Animal Behavior Experiments Tell Us?......Page 121
Does Repeated Use of Marijuana Lead to Tolerance and Dependence?......Page 127
4. Medical Uses of Marijuana—Fact or Fantasy?......Page 140
The Modern Revival of Interest in Cannabis-Based Medicines......Page 150
Dronabinol (Marinol®)......Page 157
Nabilone (Cesamet®)......Page 158
Nausea and Vomiting Associated with Cancer Chemotherapy......Page 159
AIDS Wasting Syndrome......Page 166
Pain......Page 169
Multiple Sclerosis......Page 174
Glaucoma......Page 183
Epilepsy......Page 188
Bronchial Asthma......Page 190
Mood Disorders and Sleep......Page 191
Conclusions......Page 193
5. Is Cannabis Safe?......Page 196
Toxicity......Page 197
Acute Effects of Cannabis......Page 200
Effects of Long-Term Exposure to Cannabis......Page 201
Cannabis in Pregnancy......Page 203
Cannabis and Mental Illness......Page 206
Special Hazards of Smoked Marijuana......Page 209
Marijuana Smoke and Smoking Behavior......Page 210
Effects of Marijuana Smoke on the Lungs......Page 213
Marijuana Smoking and Lung Cancer......Page 216
Can Smoking Marijuana be Recommended for Medical Use? Are There Alternative Delivery Systems?......Page 222
Comparison of the Health Risks of Cannabis with Those of Alcohol and Nicotine......Page 224
Alcohol......Page 225
Summary of the Conclusions Regarding the Medical Uses of Cannabis......Page 226
6. The Recreational Use of Cannabis......Page 228
Prevalence......Page 230
How Is Cannabis Consumed and Where Does It Come From?......Page 233
Patterns of Recreational Use......Page 236
What Are the Effects of Recreational Cannabis Use?......Page 239
The Potency of Illicit Marijuana......Page 242
Is Marijuana a \"Gateway\" Drug?......Page 246
Do Recreational Marijuana Users Become Dependent?......Page 248
Forensic Testing for Cannabis — Growth Industry of the 1990s......Page 250
Snapshots of Cannabis Use Around the World......Page 251
India and Pakistan......Page 252
Nepal and Tibet......Page 253
Africa......Page 254
Caribbean and Latin America......Page 255
Conclusions......Page 257
7. What Next?......Page 258
A Hundred Years of Cannabis Inquiries......Page 259
The Indian Hemp Drugs Commission Report (1894)......Page 260
Mayor La Guardia\'s Report on \"The Marijuana Problem in the City of New York\" (1944)......Page 262
The Wootton Report, England 1968......Page 264
Report Followed Report......Page 265
The Dutch Experiment......Page 268
The Campaign for Medical Marijuana......Page 271
What Promise Does Cannabis Research Hold?......Page 276
Opium......Page 278
Cocaine......Page 281
Tobacco......Page 282
What Are the Likely Outcomes in the Twenty-First Century?......Page 283
References......Page 288
C......Page 298
H......Page 299
M......Page 300
T......Page 301
Z......Page 302