With the beginning of 2020, the pandemic made the world seem to have stopped. However, scientific research on cannabis, although somewhat difficult, was still ongoing in 2020.
And although the number of cannabis-related publications was much smaller than in previous years, scientists continued to discover new secrets of this fascinating plant.
A better understanding of how the endocannabinoid system works
The endocannabinoid system was discovered only in the 1990s, which means that it is still something new for scientists, hiding many secrets. The main components of the endocannabinoid system are the CB1 and CB2 receptors. They look similar but work completely differently. As a result, it is difficult to create drugs that selectively activate one or the other.
The ideal would be a cannabis-based drug intended for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders and pain, as well as neuroprotective by selectively activating CB2 receptors without activating CB1, allowing the relief of inflammation but without the intoxicating effect. To do this, drug designers need to know what both of these receptors look like when at rest and when activated.
Cannabis research in 2020 was groundbreaking. Scientists were finally able to take pictures of CB1 and CB2 receptors in different activation states using a method of shooting electrons at the receptors and measuring how they bounce. This is a lot of progress. Hopefully, these pictures will be used to develop specific drugs that will harness the tremendous power of the endocannabinoid system.
CB1 and CB2 receptors work differently on the reward system
According to a study published in late 2020, CB1 receptors are responsible for the enjoyment of small amounts of THC, but the effects of high doses become aversive due to the activation of CB2 receptors. Activating CB2 receptors reduces the amount of dopamine in the brain that encodes what was good so that it can be found and used again. This is the opposite of the activation of CB1 receptors, which increases dopamine levels.
Therefore, scientists say that feeling "high" and wanting to come back to it is the result of uneven activation of CB1 and CB2 receptors: if CB1 is more activated, the body will again demand psychoactive effects. This points to the additional utility of CB2-targeting drugs as potential therapies for cannabis abuse disorders.
Scientific research from 2020 also focused on determining whether using THC actually makes you lazy and weakens your motivation?
Athletes use marijuana to improve performance, increase exercise enjoyment, and aid recovery. The effect of THC on motivation and greater commitment to exercise is still not well understood. CB1 receptors in the brain are known to play an important role in motivating processes, but the contribution of THC itself is unknown.
To finally understand the impact of THC on exercise motivation, French scientists trained mice to unlock the jogging wheel with their noses. It turned out that THC had no effect on the desire to run, how the mice tried to unlock access to the reel, or their performance while running. These findings suggest that THC does not affect exercise motivation, and challenges the notion that THC simply makes you lazy.
However, the study authors also found that genetic elimination of the mice's CB1 receptors decreased their preference for running. This is important because excessive consumption of THC can cause tolerance, which is experienced as a decrease in the effects of THC and is associated with a decrease in the amount of CB1 receptors. This suggests that motivation may be weakened with frequent consumption of THC-rich cannabis. However, it seems that when it comes to occasional use, THC will not prevent anyone from pouring sweats during training.
