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. Chronic cannabis exposure is associated with dampened stress reactivity, a blunted cortisol awakening response (CAR), and flattened diurnal cortisol slope in humans. Sex differences in these effects remain underexamined, with limited evidence for sex differences in effects of cannabinoids on stress reactivity in rodents. Future research is needed to better understand sex differences in the effects of cannabis on the stress response, as well as downstream impacts on mental health and stress-related disorders.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.yfrne.2021.100945 | DOI Listing |
Mol Metab
January 2025
Leibniz Institute for Resilience Research, 55122, Mainz, Germany; Institute of Physiological Chemistry, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University, 55128, Mainz, Germany. Electronic address:
Overconsumption of palatable food and energy accumulation are evolutionary mechanisms of survival when food is scarce. This innate mechanism becomes detrimental in obesogenic environment promoting obesity and related comorbidities, including mood disorders. The endocannabinoid system favors energy accumulation and regulates reward circuits.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiomed Pharmacother
January 2025
Department of Health Sciences, Section of Clinical Pharmacology and Oncology, University of Florence, Italy. Electronic address:
Cannabis derivatives are among the most widely used psychoactive substances in the world, which leads to growing medical concerns regarding its chronic use and abuse especially among adolescents. Exposure to THC during formative years produces long-term behavioral alterations that share similarities with symptoms of psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders. In this study, we have analyzed the functional and molecular mechanisms that might underlie these alterations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPsychoneuroendocrinology
December 2024
Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research and Education, Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy & Psychiatry, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Electronic address:
Management of stress and anxiety is often listed as the primary motivation behind cannabis use. Human research has found that chronic cannabis use is associated with increased basal cortisol levels but blunted neuroendocrine responses to stress. Preclinical research has demonstrated mixed effects of Δ-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC; the psychoactive constituent of cannabis), much of which is suggestive of dose-dependent effects; however, the predominance of this work has employed an injection method to deliver cannabis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPharmaceutics
December 2024
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Washington State University, 412 E Spokane Falls Blvd., Spokane, WA 99202, USA.
Morphine is a commonly prescribed opioid analgesic used to treat chronic pain. Morphine undergoes glucuronidation by UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) 2B7 to form morphine-3-glucuronide and morphine-6-glucuronide. Morphine is the gold standard for chronic pain management and has a narrow therapeutic index.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPharmaceuticals (Basel)
December 2024
Laboratory of Forensic Toxicology, Section of Legal Medicine, Social Security and Forensic Toxicology, Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Via Montpellier 1, 00133 Rome, Italy.
Drugged driving is associated with an increased risk of road accidents worldwide. In Italy, driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol and drugs is a reason for driving disqualification or revocation of the driving license. Drivers charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs must attend a Local Medical Commission (LMC) to undergo mandatory examinations to regain the suspended license.
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