CANNABINATION

The 2010 International Cannabinoid Research Meeting

The 2010 International Cannabinoid Research Society meeting marked the twentieth anniversary of the discovery of the cannabinoid receptor and the founding of the society itself. The meeting  was hosted in Lund, Sweden July 23^rd-27^th.

In order to present research at the ICRS, the data must be unpublished. So the presentations consist of new ideas and cutting edge research. Furthermore, most of the findings are conducted and presented by students. The combination of new research and youthful energy makes the ICRS meetings different from most other research societies.

The research topics range from the treatment of diseases to the evolution of THC synthase in Sativas and Indicas. A few highlights from the meeting were:

• THCV delayed the progression of Parkinson’s disease
• CB2 receptor activation inhibited cocaine self administration in mice
• The CB1 and CB2 receptors in appear to have a therapeutic role in bone health and metabolism
• Cannabinoid Acids from the cannabis plant inhibit breast cancer cells
• The characterization of endocannabinoids in stem cells

The entire program with summaries of all the research can be downloaded here:

“CB or not CB”

The meeting also held a debate, followed by a vote, to determine if the term “cannabinoid” should be changed to something “politically neutral” which would better describe all the components of the Endocannabinoid System. A move like this would change the name of the ICRS and the terms used in research publications.

Two teams were assembled to have the debate. Raphael Mechoulam led the debate team in favor of changing the term “cannabinoid.” For instance, he suggested that the cannabinoid Type 1 receptor could be changed to something like Human Receptor 184. Another member of Dr.Mechoulam’s team argued that we should change the term, because among the 100 some odd plant cannabinoids only THC is known to bind the CB1 receptor efficiently.

The other team rallied to keep “cannabinoid,” making arguments that changing the term would cause confusion and headaches for decades to come. One scientist argued comically, that we are lucky we call these molecules cannabinoids, because the CB1 receptor gene could have easily been dubbed the “pothead” gene. It was also stated that the term cannabinoid tells a beautiful story about how this receptor system was discovered.  In the end, the attendees voted overwhelmingly to keep “cannabiniod” as the official term.

Also of note, Ric Musty retired as the ED of the ICRS and received the lifetime achievement award.

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