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In The Science of Marijuana the author explains the remarkable advances that have been made in scientific research on cannabis with the discovery of specific receptors and the existence of naturally occurring cannabis-like substances in the brain. The book also gives an objective and up to date assessment of the scientific basis for the medical use of cannabis and what risks this may entail. The recreational use of the drug and how it affects users is described along with some predictions about how attitudes to cannabis use may change in the future. The book is written with a minimum of scientific jargon or technical language for readers who want to know more about the science that underlies the current cannabis debate.
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The Science °f Marijuana This page intentionally left blank The Science of Marijuana Leslie L. Iversen OXPORD UNIVERSITY PRESS OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS Oxford New York Athens Auckland Bangkok Bogota Buenos Aires Cape Town Chennai Dar es Salaam Delhi Florence Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kolkata Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai Nairobi Paris Sao Paulo Shanghai Singapore Taipei Tokyo Toronto Warsaw and associated companies in Berlin Ibadan Copyright © 2000 by Oxford University Press, Inc. First published in 2000 by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York, 10016 http://www.oup-usa.org First issued as an Oxford University Press paperback, 2002. Published by Oxford University Press, Inc., 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York, 10016 Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Iversen, Leslie L. The science of marijuana / Leslie L. Iversen. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-19-513123-1; 0-19-515110-0 (pbk.) 1. Marijuana — Physiological effect. 2. Marijuana —Toxicology. 1. Title. [DNLM: 1. Tetrahydrocannabinol — pharmacology. 2. Cannabis — adverse effects. 3. Cannabis — therapeutic use. 4. Central Nervous System — drug effects. QV 77.7 I94s 2000] QP801.C27I94 2000 615'.7827-dc21 DNLM/DLC for Library of Congress 99-32747 246797531 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper Foreword SOLOMON H. SNYDER More than virtually any drug in history, cannabis exemplifies the adage that history repeats itself again and again —and we never learn. My first focus on cannabis came in 1970 when I wrote a book on it for the general public. During the relatively brief interval between then and now, thinking has veered several times in diverse directions, especially in the United States, clearly justifying the fresh look provided by the present volume. The late 1960s witnessed a renaissance of cannabis research following Raphael Mechoulam's discovery that the active ingredient in cannabis is delta-1-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). There was a flurry of excitement by drug companies attempting to develop derivatives of THC that might exert therapeutic effects but would not be psychoactive. In the sociopolitical realm, the era's youth culture and freethinking about drugs led to progressively "softer" cultural views regarding the use of cannabis for recreational purposes. Over the next two decades the inevitable retrogression ensued. Researchers failed to identify safe and effective derivatives of THC. Social and political attitudes in the United States and Western Europe became progressively more conservative with police pursuing users and dealers with ever greater fervor. In the mid 1990s attitudes changed once more with a focu