Cannabis and Cannabinoids

This comprehensive volume presents state-of-the-art scientific research on the therapeutic uses of cannabis and its derivatives. Cannabis and Cannabinoids: Pharmacology, Toxicology, and Therapeutic Potential features fair, equitable discussion of the benefits, drawbacks, and side effects of medical marijuana as a treatment for pain, nausea, anorexia, cachexia, glaucoma, ischemia, spastic disorders, and migraine. It examines all facets of the medical use of marijuana, including botany, history, biochemistry, pharmacology, clinical use, toxicology, and side effects. No other book available offers such a comprehensive, even-handed look at this deeply divisive subject.

Franjo Grotenhermen, MD, has worked in the fields of internal medicine, surgery, and integrative medicine. Since 1994 he has been researching medical uses of hemp at the Nova Institut. He is also a member of the working group on quality of life for cancer patients at the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Cologne. Ethan Russo, MD, is a child and adult neurologist at Montana Neurobehavioral Specialists. He has had a lifetime interest in medicinal plants. He holds a faculty position in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and is also Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Washington.

* About the Editors * Contributors * Foreword * Preface * Definitions and Explanations * Part I: Botany, Taxonomy, Chemistry, and History * Chapter 1. Botany of Natural Cannabis Medicines * Introduction * Natural Life Cycle * Agricultural Field Production * Vegetative Crop Production * Resin Gland Development * Cannabis Origins * Cannabis Taxonomy * Medical Cannabis Today * Medical Cannabis Tomorrow * Conclusion * Chapter 2. Taxonomy of Cannabinoids * Phytocannabinoids * Synthetic Analogues * Anandamide Congeners * Receptor Antagonists * Chapter 3. Chemical Constituents of Cannabis * Chemical Constituents * Conclusion * Chapter 4. History of Cannabis in Western Medicine * Cannabis Before the Birth of Christ * Cannabis in the Classical Era * Hashish in the Arabic World * Hemp in Central Europe * Cannabis in European Medicine of the Eighteenth Century * Cannabis in Nineteenth-Century Western Medicine * The Positive Trend Holds True * 1880-1900: The Climax * Cannabis As a Medicine in the Twentieth Century * An Era Comes to an End * Conclusion * Part II: Pharmacology and Pharmacokinetics * Chapter 5. Effects of Cannabis and the Cannabinoids * Effects on Psyche and Behavior * Central Nervous System and Neurochemistry * Circulatory System * Other Organ Systems and Effects * Tolerance * Drug Interactions * Cannabinoid Interactions * Actions of Other Cannabinoids * Chapter 6. Pharmacokinetics * General * Absorption and Bioavailability * Distribution * Metabolism * Excretion * Plasma Levels versus Administration Route * Chapter 7. Sites and Mechanisms of Action * The Endogenous Cannabinoid System * Cannabinoid Receptor Ligands * Palmitylethanolamide * Inhibitors of Endogenous Cannabinoid Tissue Uptake or Metabolism * Other Types of Cannabinoid Receptors * Concluding Discussion * Chapter 8. Mechanisms of Cannabinoid Analgesia * Pharmacological Actions of Cannabis sativa * Do Cannabinoids Have Analgesic Activity? * An Endogenous Cannabinoid Pain Control System * Cannabinoids and Central Analgesic Pathways * Cellular Actions of Cannabinoids in Pain Pathways * Summary * Chapter 9. Cannabinoids As Neuroprotectants Against Ischemia * Introduction * Cannabinoids and Ischemia * Cannabinoid Receptors and Presynaptic Calcium Channels * Cannabinoid Receptors and Postsynaptic Calcium Channels * The Cannabinoid System As an Endogenous Regulator of Calcium Influx * Cannabinoids and NMDA Receptor Blockade * Oxidants and Ischemia * Cannabinoids As Neuroprotective Antioxidants * Chapter 10. Possible Mechanisms in Autoimmune Diseases * Part III: Indications for Cannabis and THC * Chapter 11. Review of Therapeutic Effects * Hierarchy of Therapeutic Effects * Indications * Surveys * Chapter 12. Medical Use of Cannabis: Experience in California * Effects of Proposition 215 * Usage Surveys * Chapter 13. Anorexia and Cachexia * Anorexia and Cachexia in Cancer Patients * Mechanisms of Cancer Cachexia * Anorexia and Cachexia in AIDS Patients: Wasting Syndrome * Cannabis, 9-THC, and Cancer Cachexia/AIDS Wasting * Conclusion * Chapter 14. Antiemetic Effects of Cannabinoids * Antiemetics in Clinical Use * Rationale for the Use of Cannabinoids As Antiemetics * Clinical Data * Current Role of Cannabinoids As Antiemetics * Chapter 15. Pain Therapy * Pain Disorders and Their Treatments * Theoretical and Experimental Data * Clinical Trail Data and Case Histories * Summary * Chapter 16. Migraine * Migraine and Its Symptoms * Standard Treatment of Migraine * Clinical History of Cannabis in Migraine Treatment * Theoretical and Experimental Data with THC Pertinent to Migraine * Value and Place of Cannabis in Migraine Treatment * Chapter 17. Spasti