Natural Cannabis

Effects of Cannabinoids on the Limbic System

A major function of the CNS is to keep the internal environment stable and constant (homeostasis). The limbic system in general and the hypothalamus in particular are vital for this through three major, closely related processes the secretion of hormones, the central control of the autonomic nervous system, and the development of emotional and motivational states. The limbic system is the primitive brain ( reptilian brain) and consists of deeply seated brain structures the hippocampus,...

The Cannabis Species Debate

Twentieth-century taxonomists have variously characterized Cannabis. Although all taxonomists recognize the species Cannabis sativa, Small and Cronquist (20) subdivided C. sativa into two subspecies, each with two varieties based largely on can-nabinoid content and traditional usage. Schultes et al. (21) divided Cannabis into three separate species C. sativa, C. indica, and C. ruderalis. Several other researchers do not preserve C. ruderalis, but recognize both C. sativa and C. indica (22,23)....

Resin Gland Anatomy and Development

As resin gland development commences, the medically important cannabinoids and the associated terpenes begin to appear. Although the cannabinoids are odorless, terpenes are the primary aromatic principles found in the essential oil of Cannabis (9,10). Most interesting economically and medically are the cannabinoid-rich terpenoid secretions of the head cells of glandular hairs densely distributed across the myriad surfaces of the female flowers. Male plants are of no consequence in medicine...

Hypothalamus and Neuroendocrine Effects

The hypothalamus is the principal brain region controlling feeding and regulation of body weight. Several neurotransmitters are involved in the control of food intake. Serotonin and norepinephrine tend to inhibit feeding peptides such as NPY and orexins A and B tend to stimulate eating behaviors, whereas cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcripts and proopiomelanocortin-derived peptides are anorectic hormones such as insulin and leptin also play a role, with leptin preventing body weight...

Pharmchem Sweat Drug Patch Test

The substance collected for sweat testing is actually a combination of secretions onto the skin. Cannabinoids and other drugs are transported into sweat by diffusion from blood and other depots. Sweat from eccrine glands and sebum from apocrine sweat glands and sebaceous glands are the main constituents. Eccrine glands are located throughout the body near the surface of the skin, and the sweat they produce is aqueous, contains salts, is usually in the pH range of 4.0-6.0, and is produced at...

Elimination

After the initial distribution phase, the rate-limiting step in the elimination of THC is its redistribution from lipid depots to blood (54). Early studies showed that Fig. 4. Urinary excretion profile of 11-nor-9-carboxy-A9-THC (THCCOOH) as measured by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC MS) in one subject following smoking of a single 3.55 THC cigarette. The horizontal line at 15 ng mL represents the current GC MS cutoff used in most testing programs. The urinary THC-COOH concentrations...

Cannabinoids Pharmacokinetics and Drug Analysis

Cannabinoids immunoassays for each type of biological matrix have to be designed and interpreted in the context of A9-THC absorption and metabolism. The Fig. 1. Chemical structure of naturally occurring cannabinoids. 21 CFR 862.3870 defines a cannabinoid test system as a device intended to measure any of the cannabinoids, hallucinogenic compounds endogenous to marihuana, in serum, plasma, saliva, and urine. Cannabinoid compounds include A9-tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabinol, and...

Determination of Cannabinoids in Blood or Plasma

Cannabinoid concentrations in urine are not very useful for determining impairment or recent use of marijuana. Therefore, in forensic cases it is important to measure cannabinoid concentrations in blood or plasma, particularly the concentrations of THC and HO-THC, the two psychoactive cannabinoids. However, analysis of cannabinoids in blood or plasma is complicated by the difficulty of separating the cannabinoids from the abundance of endogenous lipophilic and proteinaceous compounds in blood...

Stability of Cannabinoids in Biological Matrices

Different stability studies have been conducted to investigate the stability of THC-COOH in urine or the stability of THC and THC-COOH in blood (84,85,129-134). The hydrophobic nature of cannabinoid molecules may lead to the loss of drugs in the specimen caused by surface adsorption to the specimen-handling and storage devices and containers. The loss of analyte from calibrator solutions can lead to inaccuracy of the analytical system (129). The stability of cannabinoids in immunoassay...