If you are developing novel cannabinoid-based drugs for therapeutic use you may be interested in our recent critical evaluation of the abuse and dependence and associated safety risks of botanically-derived and chemically-synthesized cannabinoid compounds.
Our review brings together evidence from non-clinical and clinical sources to assess the safety risks associated with psychoactive and non-psychoactive cannabinoids derived from cannabis and a wide range of synthetic cannabinoids (which are mostly psychoactive).
Our methodology includes comparing the profiles of the different cannabinoids in the package of studies required by regulatory authorities like the FDA and EMA for the safety pharmacology assessment of drugs for medical use in humans. Data from other drugs of abuse have been considered for comparison.
The full details of the publication are:
Heal DJ, Gosden J, Smith SL. A critical assessment of the abuse, dependence and associated safety risks of naturally occurring and synthetic cannabinoids. Front Psychiatry, 2024; 15:1322434. doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1322434.
You can download the article to read our conclusions about the abuse and dependence risks of cannabis-derived psychoactive and non-psychoactive cannabinoids and potent synthetic cannabinoid (CB1/CB2) receptor agonists here