Browse more cannabis research, findings, methods, and limitations.
NHANES analysis of nearly 13,000 adults found current marijuana users showed accelerated biological aging, with cadmium from smoke explaining about 8-16% of the effect.
First meta-analysis of CBD prevalence found nearly 29% lifetime use in North America vs. 13% in Europe, with opposite patterns for clinical vs. community use between continents.
Review found the endocannabinoid system regulates key headache mechanisms including pain signaling, inflammation, and cortical excitability, with sex differences shaping treatment responses.
Cannflavin B, a non-psychoactive cannabis flavonoid, normalized social behavior, reduced anxiety in females, and corrected brain wave abnormalities in an adolescent rat model of autism.
Focus groups with 28 Washington teens showed they misinterpret cannabis edible warnings, ignore nutrition labels, and find snack-like products less risky.
Study of 99,132 people in 20 legal-cannabis states found only the strongest marketing restrictions reduced exposure, while those under 21 saw the most cannabis marketing.
Veteran study found cannabis use disorder rose faster in states that legalized, but increases were similar for male and female veterans with one exception.
Survey of 1,742 NZ medical cannabis users found Maori, Pacific Peoples, women, and lower-income users less likely to get prescriptions and more likely to expect physician refusal.
Analysis of 48,058 German traffic cases found the new 3.5 ng/mL THC limit poorly separates impaired from unimpaired drivers, with identical median THC in both groups.
Pseudo-patron study found 74% of cannabis stores sold to apparently drunk customers, with posted signage being the only factor that increased refusal rates.
NSDUH analysis found 7% of pregnant individuals use cannabis, driven by psychological distress (6x odds) and polysubstance use, while risk perception strongly deterred use.
Survey of 9,100 adults found 45% of cigarette smokers in high-tobacco states also use cannabis, with co-use most common among young, male, and disabled individuals.
Canadian 24-week study found medical cannabis patients improved on pain, anxiety, depression, and quality of life measures, but improvements fell below clinically meaningful thresholds.
National survey of 52,525 people found elevated substance use including cannabis across all sexual minority groups, extending to those using newer identity labels.
Systematic review of 39 studies found cannabis and tobacco co-users showed similar cognitive and brain function to non-users, suggesting the substances may offset each other's impairments.
Large Kaiser study found adolescent cannabis use associated with significantly higher rates of psychotic, bipolar, depressive, and anxiety disorders diagnosed through age 25.
Machine learning models predicted cannabis use disorder progression with 74% accuracy using the All of Us cohort, with demographics and income being the strongest predictors.
German health insurance data from 4 million youth showed cannabis-related diagnoses rose 22% (2013-2022), with 78% having co-occurring psychiatric disorders, especially depression.
Lab tests showed THC inhibited the main cavity-causing bacterium at low concentrations and blocked 90%+ of its biofilm formation and acid production.
CBD protected mice from acute liver injury by preventing degradation of the mitochondrial protein MFN2, reducing inflammation, cell death, and oxidative stress.
CBD inhibited melanoma growth and metastasis in mice by activating PPARgamma-TET1 to demethylate LRSAM1, a newly identified anti-cancer gene.
CBD reversed depression-like behavior in mice by restoring mitochondrial function, reducing oxidative stress, and decreasing neuroinflammation in the hippocampus.
Combining CBD with the non-psychoactive cannabinoid CBG cut the anti-seizure CBD dose by over 50% in mice — the first detailed dose-response data for this combination.
Review found cannabinoid receptor agonists reduced chemotherapy-induced organ damage in preclinical studies by suppressing inflammation and oxidative stress.
Both THC and CBD reduced testosterone production in adrenal cells in vitro, contradicting the finding that cannabis users have higher testosterone, suggesting indirect mechanisms in the body.
Pilot RCT of 32 pancreatic cancer patients found medical cannabis feasible through state program partnership, with promising but non-significant improvements in pain, appetite, and insomnia.
Randomized trial found topical THC and CBD balms well tolerated for breast cancer treatment-related joint pain, with 86% reporting improvement and THC balm outperforming CBD.
The 1964 paper that first isolated pure THC from cannabis and determined its chemical structure, unlocking the entire field of cannabinoid science.
The 1990 cloning of the CB1 cannabinoid receptor gene — revealing the most abundant GPCR in the mammalian brain and the molecular target through which cannabis works.
The 1993 cloning of CB2 — the immune system's cannabinoid receptor — explaining why cannabis modulates inflammation and opening a therapeutic target for pain without psychoactivity.
The discovery of 2-AG — the endocannabinoid 170× more abundant than anandamide — establishing it as the brain's primary retrograde signaling molecule and the true workhorse of the endocannabinoid system.
The 74-page review that became the endocannabinoid field's reference bible — mapping 15+ disease areas and three therapeutic strategies, cited nearly 3,000 times.
The landmark review that explained why endocannabinoid signaling is fundamentally different from every other neurotransmitter system — four rules that define how the brain's cannabis system works.
The concise history of cannabinoid pharmacology from 1940 to 2006 — told by a scientist who was in the field for 38 of those 66 years.
The first crystal structure of the human CB1 receptor — 26 years after the gene was cloned, scientists could finally see what the most abundant receptor in the brain actually looks like.
The 2007 paper proposing GPR55 as a third cannabinoid receptor — activated by THC and endocannabinoids but with fundamentally different pharmacology from CB1 and CB2.
A 2018 review mapping the endocannabinoid system's neuroprotective role across Huntington's, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, epilepsy, and cancer — revealing the ECS as a neural shield whose failure precedes disease.
A concise history of cannabis from 12,000-year-old Central Asian origins through ancient medicine, Victorian physicians, 20th-century prohibition, and the molecular discoveries that explained why the plant works.
Third putative endocannabinoid (noladin ether) isolated from pig brain by the Mechoulam lab. Binds CB1 with high affinity but its endogenous status is disputed — some labs can detect it, others cannot.
GC-MS analysis of 108 cannabis cultivars: beta-caryophyllene and myrcene dominate most terpene profiles. Hanuš (who co-discovered anandamide) provides the analytical chemistry that terpene marketing has been missing.
The paper that coined 'entourage effect' — showing that inactive lipids in the body amplify 2-AG's cannabinoid signaling. Originally about endogenous biochemistry, not cannabis terpenes.
Phase 3 RCT in The Lancet: CBD reduced Lennox-Gastaut drop seizures by 43.9% vs 21.8% placebo (p=0.0135). The second RCT that led to Epidiolex becoming the first FDA-approved cannabis drug.
The first CBD epilepsy trial (1980): 10% of CBD patients still seizing vs 90% placebo. Published by Carlini and Mechoulam, ignored for 40 years, vindicated by Epidiolex trials in 2017-2018.
Small dose-ranging trial (34 Dravet patients, ages 4-10) that identified the CBD-clobazam interaction explaining somnolence, confirmed the CBD-valproate liver signal, and showed dose-proportional pharmacokinetics.
CBD matched amisulpride for treating acute schizophrenia with dramatically fewer side effects — working through a novel mechanism: enhancing the brain's own anandamide signaling rather than blocking dopamine.
Gold-standard trial: CBD reduced heroin craving and anxiety for 7+ days after just 3 days of treatment — non-addictive, no cognitive impairment.
Landmark Nature Medicine study showing THC caused brain tumor regression in rats through a ceramide-mediated cell death pathway that selectively killed cancer cells while sparing normal tissue — opening the field of cannabinoid anticancer research.
Harvard-affiliated preclinical study showing CBD selectively kills both triple-negative and ER-positive breast cancer cells through coordinated autophagy and apoptosis while sparing normal mammary cells.
NEJM trial showing nabilone (synthetic cannabinoid) was dramatically superior to standard anti-nausea drug for chemo patients — 80% vs 32% response rate. Among the earliest RCTs of any cannabinoid, co-authored by cisplatin pioneer Larry Einhorn.
Over 50,000 Americans across two national surveys showed cannabis users had dramatically lower obesity rates (14-17% vs 22-25%) — the opposite of what the munchies would predict.