Synthetic Pot: Not Your Grandfather's Marijuana. (March 2017)
- Record Type:
- Journal Article
- Title:
- Synthetic Pot: Not Your Grandfather's Marijuana. (March 2017)
- Main Title:
- Synthetic Pot: Not Your Grandfather's Marijuana
- Authors:
- Ford, Benjamin M.
Tai, Sherrica
Fantegrossi, William E.
Prather, Paul L. - Abstract:
- Abstract : In the early 2000s in Europe and shortly thereafter in the USA, it was reported that 'legal' forms of marijuana were being sold under the name K2 and/or Spice. Active ingredients in K2/Spice products were determined to be synthetic cannabinoids (SCBs), producing psychotropic actions via CB1 cannabinoid receptors, similar to those of Δ 9 -tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ 9 -THC), the primary active constituent in marijuana. Often abused by adolescents and military personnel to elude detection in drug tests due to their lack of structural similarity to Δ 9 -THC, SCBs are falsely marketed as safe marijuana substitutes. Instead, SCBs are a highly structural diverse group of compounds, easily synthesized, which produce very dangerous adverse effects occurring by, as of yet, unknown mechanisms. Therefore, available evidence indicates that K2/Spice products are clearly not safe marijuana alternatives. Trends: SCBs are a large collection of man-made chemicals, reported in the scientific literature over decades of research to have affinity for CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors. Products known as K2 or Spice contain a mixture of SCBs that have been illicitly synthesized and sprayed onto inert plant material, to mimic the appearance and psychotropic effects of Δ 9 -THC in marijuana. K2/Spice products are falsely marketed to adolescent and other vulnerable populations as 'safe' and/or 'legal' alternatives to marijuana, and are widely known to avoid detection in standard drug screensAbstract : In the early 2000s in Europe and shortly thereafter in the USA, it was reported that 'legal' forms of marijuana were being sold under the name K2 and/or Spice. Active ingredients in K2/Spice products were determined to be synthetic cannabinoids (SCBs), producing psychotropic actions via CB1 cannabinoid receptors, similar to those of Δ 9 -tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ 9 -THC), the primary active constituent in marijuana. Often abused by adolescents and military personnel to elude detection in drug tests due to their lack of structural similarity to Δ 9 -THC, SCBs are falsely marketed as safe marijuana substitutes. Instead, SCBs are a highly structural diverse group of compounds, easily synthesized, which produce very dangerous adverse effects occurring by, as of yet, unknown mechanisms. Therefore, available evidence indicates that K2/Spice products are clearly not safe marijuana alternatives. Trends: SCBs are a large collection of man-made chemicals, reported in the scientific literature over decades of research to have affinity for CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors. Products known as K2 or Spice contain a mixture of SCBs that have been illicitly synthesized and sprayed onto inert plant material, to mimic the appearance and psychotropic effects of Δ 9 -THC in marijuana. K2/Spice products are falsely marketed to adolescent and other vulnerable populations as 'safe' and/or 'legal' alternatives to marijuana, and are widely known to avoid detection in standard drug screens due to their lack of structural similarity to Δ 9 -THC. SCBs present in K2/Spice products produce a variety of dangerous acute and chronic adverse effects, including psychosis, seizures, tolerance, dependence, and death, with a greater severity and frequency than observed following marijuana use. Very little is known about the mechanisms underlying the distinct toxic effects of SCBs compared to Δ 9 -THC, but it is likely that they result from actions at both CB1 and non-CB1 cannabinoid receptor targets. … (more)
- Is Part Of:
- Trends in pharmacological sciences. Volume 38:Number 3(2017)
- Journal:
- Trends in pharmacological sciences
- Issue:
- Volume 38:Number 3(2017)
- Issue Display:
- Volume 38, Issue 3 (2017)
- Year:
- 2017
- Volume:
- 38
- Issue:
- 3
- Issue Sort Value:
- 2017-0038-0003-0000
- Page Start:
- 257
- Page End:
- 276
- Publication Date:
- 2017-03
- Subjects:
- Pharmacology -- Periodicals
Pharmacology -- trends -- Periodicals
Pharmacologie -- Périodiques
Pharmacology
Electronic journals
Periodicals
615.1 - Journal URLs:
- http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/01656147 ↗
http://www.clinicalkey.com/dura/browse/journalIssue/01656147 ↗
http://www.clinicalkey.com.au/dura/browse/journalIssue/01656147 ↗
http://www.elsevier.com/journals ↗ - DOI:
- 10.1016/j.tips.2016.12.003 ↗
- Languages:
- English
- ISSNs:
- 0165-6147
- Deposit Type:
- Legaldeposit
- View Content:
- Available online (eLD content is only available in our Reading Rooms) ↗
- Physical Locations:
- British Library DSC - 9049.675000
British Library DSC - BLDSS-3PM
British Library STI - ELD Digital store - Ingest File:
- 8812.xml