Therapeutic potential and safety considerations for the clinical use of synthetic cannabinoids.

ABSTRACT: The phytocannabinoid Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) was isolated and synthesized in the 1960s. Since then, two synthetic cannabinoids (SCBs) targeting the cannabinoid 1 (CB1R) and 2 (CB2R) receptors were approved for medical use based on clinical safety and efficacy data: dronabinol (synthetic THC) and nabilone (synthetic THC analog). To probe the function of the endocannabinoid system further, hundreds of investigational compounds were developed; in particular, agonists with (1) greater CB1/2R affinity relative to THC and (2) full CB1/2R agonist activity. This pharmacological profile may pose greater risks for misuse and adverse effects relative to THC, and these SCBs proliferated in retail markets as legal alternatives to cannabis (e.g., novel psychoactive substances [NPS], "Sp

SUBMITTER: Sholler DJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7725960 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature