Post by Logan on Jun 28, 2016 19:21:48 GMT -6
LITTLE ROCK — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences said Tuesday it will use a $2.7 million federal grant to conduct the first comprehensive study of the dangers posed by synthetic marijuana products.
The grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the National Institutes of Health, will allow a seven-member interdisciplinary research team to determine the toxicity of man-made cannabinoids such as K2 and Spice, which are intended to mimic the effects of marijuana, UAMS said in a news release.
Since 2015, the Arkansas Poison and Drug Information Center at UAMS has received 83 calls related to synthetic cannabinoid exposures. Synthetic cannabinoids are psychoactive chemicals often sprayed on plants that have been cut up to look like natural marijuana. They also are sold as powders, tablets and capsules.
Over the next five years, the UAMS team will explore why the synthetic compounds are more toxic than marijuana, even though both activate the same cannabinoid receptors in the brain. Researchers will study the effects of the compounds on human cells in the lab, in mice, and in people who take synthetic cannabinoids and are admitted to emergency rooms at UAMS and at New York hospitals.
Read more: swtimes.com/news/uams-gets-27-million-grant-synthetic-pot-study
The grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the National Institutes of Health, will allow a seven-member interdisciplinary research team to determine the toxicity of man-made cannabinoids such as K2 and Spice, which are intended to mimic the effects of marijuana, UAMS said in a news release.
Since 2015, the Arkansas Poison and Drug Information Center at UAMS has received 83 calls related to synthetic cannabinoid exposures. Synthetic cannabinoids are psychoactive chemicals often sprayed on plants that have been cut up to look like natural marijuana. They also are sold as powders, tablets and capsules.
Over the next five years, the UAMS team will explore why the synthetic compounds are more toxic than marijuana, even though both activate the same cannabinoid receptors in the brain. Researchers will study the effects of the compounds on human cells in the lab, in mice, and in people who take synthetic cannabinoids and are admitted to emergency rooms at UAMS and at New York hospitals.
Read more: swtimes.com/news/uams-gets-27-million-grant-synthetic-pot-study