Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research

Is Acetone Lurking in Your Terpenes? and Other Cannabis Science Musings feat. Jeff Raber, PhD

We kick off 2024 catching up with Dr. Jeff Raber of The Werc Shop to talk about Cannabis quality, Cannabis potency testing fraud, THC inflation, acetone showing up in Cannabis extracts, preparing young scientists for working in the Cannabis industry, the launch of The Werc Shop’s ENTOUR brand and more!

How do we fix the lab testing fraud issue in the Cannabis industry?

Why is acetone showing up in terpene-rich Cannabis samples?

How can young scientists prepare for the brutal realities of working for a startup Cannabis company?

We explore these questions and more in this episode of The Curious About Cannabis Podcast!

Learn more about ENTOUR at www.entourbrand.com

Learn more about The Werc Shop at www.thewercshop.com

Looking Back on Cannabis Research from 2023 | BTS 96

Welcome back! In this episode we will spend some time diving into some of the top several scientific research articles about Cannabis that got my attention in 2023. Also, don’t forget to sign up for the 2024 Curious About Cannabis Master Class before we fill up! As of now we have 7 spots left before we are all full for the year. Don’t miss your chance to attend one of the most epic and rewarding Cannabis education events of the year!

Articles mentioned:

Minor, Nonterpenoid Volatile Compounds Drive the Aroma Differences of Exotic Cannabishttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acsomega.3c04496

Selected cannabis terpenes synergize with THC to produce increased CB1 receptor activationhttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006295223001399

Combined non-psychoactive Cannabis components cannabidiol and β-caryophyllene reduce chronic pain via CB1 interaction in a rat spinal cord injury modelhttps://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0282920

Cannabinoformins: Designing Biguanide-Embedded, Orally Available, Peripherally Selective Cannabinoid-1 Receptor Antagonists for Metabolic Syndrome Disordershttps://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.3c00599

Cannabis: a multifaceted plant with endless potentialshttps://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2023.1200269/full

Photoperiods, Flushing, and the Science of Dense Buds with Michael Alden of Clemson University

12/12 photoperiods for flowering? Flushing for better flower? Eh, you might have been misled.

In this episode we meet Michael Alden, a researcher at Clemson University in South Carolina who has spent several years carefully examining how the Cannabis plant responds to inputs, stress and different cultivation techniques. He shares with us his findings so far regarding the science behind nutrient flushing, why 12/12 flowering photoperiods are not ideal for some plants, how to achieve dense buds without the use of plant growth regulators, and much more!

If you are interested in the science behind Cannabis cultivation – you’ve come to the right place.

#CuriousAboutCannabis #Cannabis #CannabisCultivation #CannabisGrowing #HempCultivation #HempGrowing #Flushing #PGRs #nutes #botany #horticulture #CannabisEducation #HempEducation #CannabisPodcast #CannabisScience

Seeing Through The Smoke: Separating Cannabis Facts from Fiction with Peter Grinspoon, MD | BTS 92

In this behind-the-scenes episode we catch up with physician and medical Cannabis educator Peter Grinspoon, MD to talk about the ways in which Cannabis is misunderstood – both by the anti-Cannabis camps and the pro-Cannabis camps. We talk about the clinical data around medical Cannabis, what issues Cannabis has demonstrated efficacy in treating, the limitations of medical Cannabis and more.

We also spend some time diving into Peter’s background, talking about his late father Lester Grinspoon, MD who authored a landmark book entitled Marihuana Reconsidered which was published in 1971 and paved the way for the medical Cannabis movements that would follow. We also discussed Peter’s brother Danny’s struggle with cancer, which claimed his life at the age of 15, and the role Cannabis played in enhancing Danny’s quality of life before he died. Later in life Peter would struggle with a grueling opiate addiction which he would later go on to write about in his 2016 book Free Refills: A Doctor Confronts His Addiction. Toward the end of the show we talk about what it was like growing up around famed scientist and science communicator Carl Sagan, who was a good friend of the Grinspoon family and also a Cannabis user.

Peter just released a new book entitled Seeing Through The Smoke: A Cannabis Specialist Untangles The Truth About Marijuana available now.

This was a special episode for me, personally, because Peter’s work, the work of his father, and the work of Carl Sagan all had big impacts on how I came to think about Cannabis and science education. I hope you enjoy!

#CannabisEducation #MedicalCannabis #MedicalMarijuana #CannabisIndustry #CannabisCommunity #Cannabinoids #Addiction #CarlSagan #LesterGrinspoon #PeterGrinspoon #Cancer

Remembering Raphael Mechoulam’s Legacy on Cannabis Science with Mark Scialdone, PhD | BTS 91

In this special episode we get together with chemist and Cannabis science educator Mark Scialdone, PhD to talk about the passing of “the godfather of Cannabis science”, Raphael Mechoulam, PhD. After his passing, many media and news outlets failed to accurately portray Mechoulam’s contributions or his place in the grand story of Cannabis science – so Dr. Scialdone and I decided to try to do our part to set the record straight. Along the way we spin off into talking about a variety of other topics like delta-8-THC synthesis from CBD, common misunderstandings around Cannabis chemistry, why the boiling point of THC is almost always incorrectly reported, and more.

The Quest for the CB3 Receptor and Beyond with Viola Brugnatelli, PhD | BTS 89

Is there a CB3 receptor?

In this episode we catch up with Italian endocannabinoid system researcher and neuropharmacologist Viola Brugnatelli, PhD to discuss her work investigating the activity of orphaned G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) like GPR55, GPR18, GPR92, and others.

We also discuss Viola’s decision to focus her energy on educating the healthcare community and others about the science of Cannabis through her company Cannabiscientia which just published a great resource for health care providers called The Principles of Clinical Cannabinology.

To learn more about Cannabiscientia, visit https://cannabiscientia.com/

#cannabis #cannabinoids #cb3 #ecs #endocannabinoidsystem #cannabiscientia #cannabisscience #cannabinoidpharmacology #medicalcannabis #medicalmarijuana #curiousaboutcannabis

Cannabis and the Convergence of Neurodivergence with Miyabe Shields PhD | BTS 87

Disclaimer: In this episode, we discuss some heavy topics that touch on mental health struggles and suicidal ideation. None of the information in this episode or any other Curious About Cannabis episode should be considered medical advice. All of our content is for educational and entertainment purposes only.

In this raw behind-the-scenes episode I had the chance to catch up with endocannabinoid system researcher and science communicator Miyabe Shields, PhD. We spent much of our time together discussing the convergence of Cannabis, mental health, and neurodivergence – addressing many of the taboos and social stigmas associated with altering consciousness and treating the mind with Cannabis.

This is almost certainly just the beginning of a series of conversations that Miyabe and I will be having as we continue to unpack their fascination with the endocannabinoid system and natural products science – so stay tuned for more!

#Cannabis #CannabisResearch #Neurodiversity #Neurodivergent #Spectrum #Consciousness #CannabisEducation #MedicalCannabis #CannabisForMentalHealth #Psychology #NaturalProducts #CuriousAboutCannabis

CBD, Pain and Opioids: Bringing Translational Research to Cannabis with Maria T Rivera-Garcia PhD | BTS 86

In this behind-the-scenes interview we talk with Dr. Maria T Rivera-Garcia about her research investigating the effects of CBD-rich whole plant extract vapor on pain and opioid reward seeking behavior in female rats in a study titled, “High-CBD Cannabis Vapor Attenuates Opioid Reward and Partially Modulates Nociception in Female Rats”.

While on the surface this may seem like a simple study about how CBD influences opioid use – there is actually a lot more going on here. First of all this study utilized female rodents, which is very uncommon. The vast majority of preclinical rodent research uses male rodents almost exclusively due to reasons we unpack during the episode. This has led to a gross under-representation of sex differences in biomedical research.

Second, Maria and colleagues decided to utilize the vapor of whole plant CBD-rich Cannabis extract rather than using CBD isolate that is often diluted and injected, ultimately leading to results that do not accurately reflect real-world situations.

Together, these two decisions point to a common theme that is woven into this research study – scientists need to focus on doing research that better represents the real world. The results from this study are fascinating, so get your notebook ready and let’s dive in!

Link to the study: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772392522000451

About Maria:

Maria Teresa Rivera-Garcia has a major in psychology and a minor in neuroscience from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, where she started defining her academic interests towards the study of neurobiological mechanisms of addiction. After undergrad, Maria did a Master and a PhD in Neuropharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, her research focused on the neurochemical effects of solvent inhalation and its relation with the development of psychosis. Maria moved to the US in 2016 to pursue her postdoctoral training in the Oregon and Health and Science University, studying sex and age differences in dopaminergic function and how this is related to psychiatric illnesses, including addiction. In 2020, Maria joined Legacy Research Institute to complete her second postdoctoral stay under the guidance of Dr. Adie R. Wilson-Poe, where she studied the pharmacological interaction between opioids and cannabinoids in pain-oriented models. Recently, Maria got accredited as Qualified Mental Health Provider and became a member of the Cascadia Health clinicians team, currently providing services within the Child and Family Program.

#CannabisEducation #CBD #CBDOil #WholePlantExtract #WholePlant #FullSpectrum #BroadSpectrum #Hemp #HempExtract #MedicalCannabis #Addiction #MentalHealth #Opioids #CuriousAboutCannabis

Standards: The Final Frontier? ASTM Intl’s Effort to Standardize the Cannabis Industry with Darwin Millard (The Spock of Cannabis) | BTS 83

In this behind-the-scenes conversation I beam aboard the USS Cannabis starship to join “The Spock of Cannabis” Darwin Millard to talk about ASTM International’s efforts to bring the planet together to develop unifying standards for the Cannabis industry. In this conversation we talk about why the development of international quality standards is critical, how ASTM’s collaborative open-door process of standard development is unique compared to how other organizations or government agencies develop standards, and how everyone with any interest in Cannabis has been invited to join the table to lend a voice and help drive the future of the international Cannabis industry.

You can learn more about ASTM International’s Cannabis subcommittee and get involved here: https://www.astm.org/get-involved/technical-committees/committee-d37

You can learn more about Darwin’s work at thespockofcannabis.com

“Live Long and Process!” – The Spock of Cannabis

#CannabisEducation #CannabisQuality #Cannabis #Hemp #CannabisIndustry #HempEducation #GlobalCannabis #GlobalCannabisIndustry #ASTM #ASTMIntl #LiveLongAndProcess #CuriousAboutCannabis

Cannabinoid Science: Past, Present and Future (Southern Oregon University Lecture, 2021)

The history of cannabinoid science tells a fascinating story that many people are really unfamiliar with. In this lecture, which I gave for Southern Oregon University back in October of 2021, I chart some of the basic series of events that led to the discovery of CBD, THC, cannabinoid receptors, the endocannabinoid system, and the endocannabinoidome.

The video associated with this lecture is available on the Curious About Cannabis YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/@curiousaboutcannabis

The 2023 Curious About Cannabis Master Class is coming up! Spend 6 months diving into a Cannabis science crash course with me and over a dozen special guests! Register today at http://www.masterclasscannabis.com

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