Marijuana

Facilitation of dopaminergic activity by A9-THC may result from multiple mechanisms. A9-THC increases DA synthesis149 and release150 in synaptosomal preparations. In addition, using in vivo 

In 1980 the total number of natural compounds identified in C. sativa L. was 423.3 By 1995 the number had risen to 483, and recently 6 new compounds, 4 new cannabinoids and 2 new flavonoids, have been described.4 

Cannabinoid-coupled G protein-coupled receptors me involved in the control of many processes, including metabolic regulation, craving, pain, anxiety, bone growth, and immune 

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Other Substances. Driving under the influence of alcohol cases are compHcated because people sometimes consume alcohol with other substances (11—13). The most common iUicit substances taken with alcohol are marijuana and cocaine (see Table 1) (14). In combination with alcohol, some dmgs have an additive effect. When a blood or urine alcohol sample is tested for alcohol and the result is well below the legal concentration threshold yet the test results are not consistent with the arresting officers observation that the subject was stuporous, further toxicological tests for the possible presence of dmgs are indicated. 

The most common illicit dmgs ia the United States today are heroin, cocaine, marijuana, hashish, phenycHdine, LSD, and methamphetamine. These make up at least 90% of the total dmgs seized. 

Dronabinol. Marinol ( ii7R-/n7 j )-6i7,7,8,I0i7-tetrahydro-6,6,9-trimethyl-3-pentyl-6JT-diben2o(B,D) pyran-I-ol is the principal psychoactive substance present in Cannabis sativa F., ie, marijuana. It is a controlled substance, formulated in sesame oil and encapsulated in soft gelatin capsules for oral adrninistration. 

Heroin Narcotic drugs Marijuana Cocaine Heroin Physical factors Temperarure Lightning Hypoxia Irradiation... 

Cannabinoids were used in medicine in the form of their crude extracts many centuries ago. Lately the use of cannabis for so-called recreational purposes has become a national vice of substantial proportions. Several attempts have been made to focus the potentially useful pharmacological properties of marijuana into drug molecules with no abuse potential. 

Roger Adams (1889-1971) wa s born in Boston, Massachusetts, and received his Ph.D. in 1912 at Harvard. He taught at the University of Illinois from 1916 until his retirement in 1957, during which lime he had an enormous influence on the development of organic chemistry in the United States. Among many other accomplishments, he established the structure of tetrahydrocannabinol, the active ingredient in marijuana. 

Gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) finds many applications outside the chemistry laboratory. If you ve ever had an emissions test on the exhaust system of your car, GLC was almost certainly the analytical method used. Pollutants such as carbon monoxide and unbumed hydrocarbons appear as peaks on a graph such as that shown in Figure 1.7. A computer determines the areas under these peaks, which are proportional to the concentrations of pollutants, and prints out a series of numbers that tells the inspector whether your car passed or failed the test. Many of the techniques used to test people lor drugs (marijuana, cocaine, and others) or alcohol also make use of gas-liquid chromatography. 

The plant Cannabis sativa produces the psychoactive diug A9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Recreationally, THC is consumed in form of marijuana (dried flowers and leaves) or hashish (resin). The cultivation and possession of Cannabis for recreational use is not... 

Marijuana is the name given to the dried leaves and flower heads of the hemp plant, Cannabis sativa, prepared as a smoking mixture. 

Examples heroin, marijuana, LSD (lysergicadd diethylamide), peyote... 

Dronabinol is the only currently available derivative of THC, which is a derivative of the active substance found in marijuana Dronabinol is a second-line antiemetic and is used after treatment with other antiemetics has failed. 

Psychosocial and environmental factors play a major role in the development and recovery from opioid dependence however, a detailed discussion is beyond the scope of this chapter. In general, the use of such drugs as marijuana and alcohol precedes the use of opioids (Clayton and Voss 1981 Kandel and Faust 1975). Although one cannot predict definitively which users will proceed to opioid use, those who do generally have low self-esteem, disrupted families, and/or difficult relationships with their parents. The increased availability of opioids in inner cities of major urban centers contributes to initiation of use and relapse. It is particularly difficult to avoid use and relapse in areas with high unemployment, poor school systems, and high crime rates, because living in such an area may contribute to the very affects opioid use temporarily reheves. 

Research on CBl knockout mice demonstrated the pivotal role of CBl receptors in cannabis dependence knockout mice have been shown not to self-administer cannabinoids (Ledent et al. 1999) and also to fail to exhibit symptoms ofSRl417l6A-precipitated withdrawal (Ledent et al. 1999 Lichtman et al. 2001). Although the research summarized earlier is consistent in reporting the occurrence of a variety of withdrawal symptoms following cessation of exposure to cannabinoids (which were injected), precipitated withdrawal in mice following chronic exposure to marijuana smoke was more recently reported (Lichtman and Martin 2002). 

Budney AJ, Radonovich KJ, Higgins ST, et al Adults seeking treatment for marijuana dependence a comparison with cocaine-dependent treatment seekers. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 6 419 26, 1998... 

Budney AJ, Higgins ST, Radonivich KJ, et al Adding voucher-based incentives to coping skills and motivational enhancement improves outcomes during treatment for marijuana dependence. J Consult Clin Psychol 68 1051-1061, 2000... 

Budney AJ, Hughes JR, Moore BA, et al Marijuana abstinence effects in marijuana smokers maintained in their home environment. Arch Gen Psychiatry 58 917-924, 2001... 

Chen CY, Wagner FA, Anthony JC Marijuana use and the risk of major depressive episode epidemiological evidence from the United States National Comorbidity Survey. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 37 199-206, 2002... 

Compton WM, Grant BF, Colliver JD, et al Prevalence of marijuana use disorders in the United States 1991-1992 and2001-2002. JAMA291 2114-2121,2004 Cook SA, Lowe JA, Martin BR CBl receptor antagonist precipitates withdrawal in mice exposed to delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 285 1150— 1156, 1998... 

Cornelius JR, Salloum IM, EhlerJG, et al Fluoxetine in depressed alcoholics a doubleblind, placebo-controlled trial. Arch Gen Psychiatry 54 700—705, 1997 Cornelius JR, Salloum IM, Haskett RF, et al Fluoxetine versus placebo for the marijuana use of depressed alcoholics. Addict Behav 24 111—114, 1999 Cui S-S, Bowen RC, Gu G-B, et al Prevention of cannabinoid withdrawal syndrome by lithium involvement of oxytocinergic neuronal activation. J Neurosci 21 9867— 9876, 2001... 

Kandel DB Marijuana users in young adulthood. Arch Gen Psychiatry 42 200—209, 1984... 

Kouri EM, Pope HG Jr Abstinence symptoms during withdrawal from chronic marijuana use. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 8 483 92, 2000... 

Kouri EM, Pope HG Jr, Lukas SE Changes in aggressive behavior during withdrawal from long-term marijuana use. Psychopharmacology 143 302-308, 1999... 

Lichtman AH, Martin BR Marijuana withdrawal syndrome in the animal model. J Clin Pharmacol 42 S20-S27, 2002... 

Mannion V Case report adverse effects of taking tricyclic antidepressants and smoking marijuana. Can Earn Physician 45 2683—2684, 1999... 

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