Multimodal examination of daily stress rhythms in chronic Cannabis users.

Rationale: Chronic cannabis users frequently report stress relief as their primary reason for use. The endocannabinoid system is involved in the neuroendocrine stress response, and diurnal cortisol rhythms may be disrupted in chronic cannabis users.

Objectives: The objectives were to determine whether cannabis users demonstrate disruptions in diurnal stress rhythms and examine the acute effects of cannabis on stress-related outcomes in cannabis users' natural environments.

Sex Differences in Response-Contingent Cannabis Vapor Administration During Adolescence Mediate Enduring Effects on Behavioral Flexibility and Prefrontal Microglia Activation in Rats.

Cannabis is the most used illicit drug in the United States. With many states passing legislation to permit its recreational use, there is concern that cannabis use among adolescents could increase dramatically in the coming years. Historically, it has been difficult to model real-world cannabis use to investigate the causal relationship between cannabis use in adolescence and behavioral and neurobiological effects in adulthood.

Vaporized cannabis extract-induced antinociception in male vs female rats with persistent inflammatory pain.

Although preclinical studies generally report robust antinociceptive effects of cannabinoids in rodent persistent pain models, randomized controlled trials in chronic pain patients report limited pain relief from cannabis/cannabinoids. Differences between animal and human studies that may contribute to these discrepant findings include route of cannabis/cannabinoid administration, type of cannabis/cannabinoid, and how pain is measured. To address these factors, rats with complete Freund adjuvant (CFA)-induced hind paw inflammation were exposed acutely or repeatedly to vaporized cannabis extract that was either tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or cannabidiol (CBD)dominant.

Sex and timing of gonadectomy relative to puberty interact to influence weight, body composition, and feeding behaviors in mice.

Gonadal sex steroids are important regulators of energy balance in adult rodents, and gonadectomy (GDX) has opposing effects on weight gain in sexually mature males and females. Puberty is associated with the emergence of sex differences in weight, body composition, and feeding behaviors, yet the role of gonadal hormones at puberty remains unclear. To address this, we performed GDX or sham surgery in male and female C57Bl/6 mice at postnatal day (P)25 (prepubertal) or P60 (postpubertal) timepoints and measured weight and body composition for 35 days, after which ad libitum and operant food intake was measured using Feeding Experimentation Device 3 (FED3s) in the home cage.

Sex differences in adolescent cannabis vapor self-administration mediate enduring effects on behavioral flexibility and prefrontal microglia activation in rats.

Cannabis is the most used illicit drug in the United States. With many states passing legislation to permit its recreational use, there is concern that cannabis use among adolescents could increase dramatically in the coming years. Historically, it has been difficult to model real-world cannabis use to investigate the causal relationship between cannabis use in adolescence and behavioral and neurobiological effects in adulthood.

A review of the effects of acute and chronic cannabinoid exposure on the stress response.

While cannabis has been used for centuries for its stress-alleviating properties, the effects of acute and chronic cannabinoid exposure on responses to stress remain poorly understood. This review provides an overview of studies that measured stress-related endpoints following acute or chronic cannabinoid exposure in humans and animals. Acute cannabinoid exposure increases basal concentrations of stress hormones in rodents and humans and has dose-dependent effects on stress reactivity in humans and anxiety-like behavior in rodents.

Overbaked: assessing and predicting acute adverse reactions to Cannabis.

Background: Trends toward legalizing cannabis may increase experimentation with the drug among less experienced users with limited knowledge of possible adverse reactions. This study explores the prevalence, frequency, and levels of distress produced by various acute adverse reactions to cannabis, as well as predictors of these reactions.

Methods: The Adverse Reactions Scale (ARS) was created and administered to a large sample of undergraduate college students (n = 999) who were predominantly white (> 70%), female (> 70%), recreational (> 90%) cannabis users.

Cannabis vapor self-administration elicits sex- and dose-specific alterations in stress reactivity in rats.

Rationale: Cannabis users frequently report stress relief as their primary reason for use. Recent studies indicate that human cannabis users exhibit blunted stress reactivity; however, it is unknown whether this is a cause or a consequence of chronic cannabis use.

Objectives: To determine whether chronic cannabis vapor self-administration elicits sex- and/or dose-dependent alterations in stress reactivity and basal corticosterone (CORT) concentrations, or whether pre-vapor exposure stress reactivity predicts rates of cannabis vapor self-administration.

Short and Long-Term Effects of Cannabis on Symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Background: Many individuals use cannabis to manage symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and evidence indicates that the endocannabinoid system represents a viable target for treating these symptoms.

Method: Data from 404 medical cannabis users who self-identified as having PTSD were obtained from Strainprint®, a medical cannabis app that patients use to track changes in symptoms as a function of different strains and doses of cannabis across time. This sample collectively used the app 11,797 times over 31 months to track PTSD-related symptoms (intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, irritability, and/or anxiety) immediately before and after inhaling cannabis.

Vaporized Cannabis Extracts Have Reinforcing Properties and Support Conditioned Drug-Seeking Behavior in Rats.

Recent trends in cannabis legalization have increased the necessity to better understand the effects of cannabis use. Animal models involving traditional cannabinoid self-administration approaches have been notoriously difficult to establish and differences in the drug used and its route of administration have limited the translational value of preclinical studies. To address this challenge in the field, we have developed a novel method of cannabis self-administration using response-contingent delivery of vaporized Δ-tetrahydrocannabinol-rich (CAN) or cannabidiol-rich (CAN) whole-plant cannabis extracts.

Motives Matter: Cannabis use motives moderate the associations between stress and negative affect.

Young adults in the U.S. report high levels of stress which are known to contribute to depression and anxiety.