Cannabis-Adjacent: Transient Receptor Potential Channels
Just when you think you’ve figured out all of the complex ways that cannabis works in the body, scientists come up with new additions. The classic endocannabinoid system (ECS) is composed of CB1, CB2, anandamide, and 2-AG. But certain channels, known as transient receptor potential (TRP) ion channels, interact with cannabinoids, cannabis terpenes, or molecules in the body, to produce effects and influence sensations. The TRP channels are a diverse set of channels, some of which are part of a larger ECS, dubbed the endocannabinoidome (eCBome), a complex, master regulatory system.2 English, Please TRP channels can be found broadly in nature, occurring in humans, rodents, worms, zebrafish and more.3 These channels perform many functions, most of which are for environment sensing. For example, these receptors are at least partially responsible for the body’s ability to sense and feel temperature changes. TRP channels help our bodies sense and respond to light, sound, touch, taste and chemical exposure.3 They are widely spread at a cellular level throughout the living world to help life rapidly respond to the environment during a dynamic life on earth. TRP channels are densely distributed throughout much of the body, both inside and out. This superfamily of TRP [...]
Basics: THCP — Shedding Light on a Lesser-Known Cannabinoid
It’s been more than 50 years since the discovery of THC. Since then, more than 150 phytocannabinoids have been identified in nature, with nearly 90 of them originating from the cannabis plant.1,2 Interestingly, scientists have discovered that cannabinoids are also produced by other flowering plants such as rhododendron, and even some fungi can produce cannabinoid compounds.3 Despite identifying a vast number of these compounds, there are still many mysteries surrounding cannabinoids and their therapeutic potential. Whilst CBD and THC tend to get the most attention, an increasing focus by scientists on less common cannabinoids is leading to new and exciting discoveries. In late 2019, a group of Italian scientists uncovered two previously unidentified naturally occurring phytocannabinoids known as delta-9-tetrahydrocannabiphorol (THCP) and cannabidiphorol (CBDP).4 These newly identified cannabinoids were discovered within a strain of cannabis known as FM2, named for its federal producer, Farmaceutico Militare, and its two primary constituents, CBD and THC. Interestingly, in Italy, medical cannabis is produced under a federally run program that grows and processes two distinct strains of cannabis for medical patients: FM1 (low CBD, high THC) and FM2 (balanced CBD and THC).5 What makes these discoveries so intriguing is that even though these cannabinoids are [...]
Pharmacology 101 – Efficacy
Hey all, it's Codi your cannabis pharmacist.Thanks for tuning in to another one of my blog posts! I don't always get around to writing you a blog post, often just opting for some social media posts. But here on my blog you will be able to read all of what I want to write in long-form. Sometimes that means excessive words and rambling, and other time that means more elaboration, details, and pharmacology fun! Pharmacology 101 - PharmacoDYNAMICS - EfficacyEfficacy is a measure of receptor activation. It represents the amount of change in the receptor from rest (baseline) to activated. This activation can vary dramatically based on small changes in the shape of the drug.Imagine it like this: The receptor is a lock, and the drug is a key, and efficacy is how far the key can turn within the lock.The info-graphic shows how different drugs (keys) can produce profoundly different actions at the receptor (locks), depending on their shape. Very much like the notches in a key interacting with a lock in a door. Efficacy of a drug represents the max amount of activation the drug can cause at a receptor--or how far the lock can turn given the [...]
Pharmacokinetics
Pharmacology 101 - Pharmacokinetics Hello all, coming at you with some basic pharmacology concepts here today! Earlier we learned about the two branches of pharmacology - kinetics and dynamics. Today we will be focusing on pharmacokinetics. This arm of pharmacology focuses on the movement of drugs around the body. "Kinetic" means relating to motion or movement. KINETICS can be summarized as: A-D-M-E All of these processes begin as soon as the drug enters the body. All the phases occur at once, and our understanding of each aspect of pharmacokinetics has it's limitations and variables. Differences in patients genetics, in their body type (excess fat), and in their individual health can all lead to major changes in the pharmacokinetics of a particular substance To give you perspective on ADME, here is an example using the most commonly consumed illicit chemical in the world--the notorious THC molecule. From a pharmacokinetics perspective, a person smoking a THC-containing joint means: Absorption: THC in the joint is burnt, that THC is inhaled into the lungs, where it is absorbed into the bloodstream and then moved around the body. Distribution: The movement of the THC from the lungs into the blood, tissues and brain. Because [...]
Freedom isn’t free – Cannabis Reform
As cliche as it may sound, the saying is as true as ever: Freedom is not free. Freedom is earned. Freedom is defended. Freedom is fought over and lives are lost over it. Our Freedoms in the USA are celebrated annually during the holiday of Independence Day, July 4th. On this we celebrate our founding fathers, citizens of the New World, who declared the injustice and authoritarianism of the British crown untenable. And looking around today, it's clear America has plenty to celebrate. So far, our 245 year experiment in democracy can be considered a success. On the flip side, our country sits on taken ground. Regardless of the intentions of the people who took the land, the reality is this country will always have some blood and shame on its hands. Between the injustices borne by the indigenous people of the Americas, or the inhumanities of the slave trade on which the country was built -- there are blood stains on steps of our democracy that can never be fully erased. In addition to shortcomings on the equity side of things, our democracy has not properly defended the health of the American citizen. Bad government policy has let profit [...]
Cannabis IS Medicine
Hello! I am Dr. Codi Peterson, PharmD, and you have stumbled upon my very first blog post! As a practicing pharmacist, I know medicine! I dispense it every day. Whether it's the notorious opioids like oxycodone or natural chemicals your body naturally produces like epinephrine (adrenaline)--I know about drugs! Even though the cannabis plant is not itself a drug, it produces numerous plant molecules that have actions in the body (aka drugs!). When you frame cannabis in this way, as a collection specific drugs rather than just an herb, all the of the sudden the topic of using cannabis as medicine becomes much more complex. With tens or even hundreds of active molecules in cannabis flowers, it's not easy to know which ones are truly providing the therapeutic benefits. It's possible that because of the complexity of the endocannabinoid system (more posts on the ECS in the future) it may take decades for us to truly understand why cannabis can be such a helpful therapeutic for so many conditions. There is an entire field dedicated to looking at how and why drugs do what they do: pharmacology--the science and study of drugs. It just so happens that pharmacology is my [...]
