Thus, tracking tasks, which are very sensitive to short-term changes in attention, are sensitive to cannabis impairment. Possible effects of cannabisįrom the viewpoint of driving, studies with cannabis show that it first seems to affect all tasks requiring psychomotor skills and continuous attention. The principal psychoactive ingredients in cannabis are: 1.ĭelta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ 9 THC), commonly referred to as THC 2.ĭelta-8-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ 8 THC) is also a psychoactive, but minor, constituent of cannabis 3.ĩ-carboxy-THC (THC-COOH) is the most common and rapidly produced metabolite but it is not psychoactive. 205 This may be a useful model to study the amotivational syndrome in humans.
In a rat study, it was found that behavioral suppression by delta-8-THC was mediated by activation of the arachidonic acid cascade through the CB1 receptor. Consequently, it could, at least partially, be responsible for the ‘munchies’, a popular name for Cannabis-induced increase in appetite.
204 This low dose is equivalent to about 0.1 mg for an average human, an amount that could easily be formed by degradation of THC during the smoking of Cannabis (or be already present in aged plant material). In very low concentrations (0.001 mg kg −1 in mice, intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection), it increased food consumption, more than THC, whereas performance and activity of the animals were similar. It is probably not produced by plant metabolism, but rather it is an artifact caused by the degradation of THC (Section 3.24.2.3). Even though delta-8-THC has been very important for SAR studies on the classical cannabinoids, not many bioactivity studies have been done with the pure compound. Ruhaak, in Comprehensive Natural Products II, 2010 3.24.4.3 Delta-8-Tetrahydrocannabinolĭelta-8-tetrahydrocannabinol(Delta-8-THC) is a positional isomer of delta-9-THC with a similar pharmacological profile and slightly lower psychoactive potency.