A substance is considered to be a cannabinoid if it binds to at least one of the body’s two cannabinoid receptors, which are referred to as CB1 and CB2. This extensive group of chemicals can be broken down into three distinct categories: those that are produced by cannabis, which are known as phytocannabinoids; those that are produced by the body themselves, which are known as endogenous cannabinoids or endocannabinoids; and those that are produced in a laboratory and do not occur naturally, which are known as synthetic cannabinoids. Our focus shifts to the more recent category of novel compounds, which includes both useful chemicals for research and hazardous pharmaceuticals sold on the street.
In the past, we have conducted research on synthetic cannabinoids on multiple occasions, and this includes looking into their possible role in the vaping problem of 2019. In addition, they continue to pique the interest of chemists, medical researchers, pharmaceutical businesses, law enforcement, legal experts, public health officials, as well as people who use illicit drugs.
In the scientific literature, synthetic cannabinoids can be further categorized according to their primary role. For example, as tools for learning more about cannabinoid receptors and the broader endocannabinoid system (ECS), as potential therapies for specific human health conditions, or as potentially dangerous recreational drugs, which proliferate in a world where safer, cannabis-derived cannabinoids are still mostly banned (even, in many cases, for research purposes). After being detailed in a scientific study, these synthetic chemicals that are difficult to detect and simple to produce have frequently made their way from the laboratory to the illegal drug market.
The majority of the new pre-clinical research that we report on makes use of synthetic cannabinoids to either study the possibility of other synthetics to treat human disease or tease out various facets of the ECS’s function. But a few studies that were done more recently focused on the third form that these man-made chemicals take as illegal medicines.
