The link between Cannabis sativa and mental health disorders is complicated; both the neurochemical pathology of individual patients and the neuropharmacology of plant extracts are highly variable conditions that are impossible to replicate in the laboratory or across large sample populations in clinical settings. As a result, there is conflicting evidence for Cannabis sativa as both a potential therapeutic and a potential aggravator of mental health disorders including schizophrenia, anxiety, depression, bipolar, and autism spectrum disorder. However, there is theoretical precedence for the efficacy for Cannabis as an antidepressant, anxiolytic, and atypical antipsychotic. The proposed molecular mechanisms for these effects have been investigated in animal and human models from the early conception of endocannabinoid system (ECS) research. More recently, the identification of the biosynthetic and metabolic ECS enzymes have added to these findings. Activation of the ECS by direct interaction with receptors or inhibition of metabolic enzymes has been shown to modulate the serotoninergic and dopaminergic systems – the traditional pharmacological targets for mental health disorders. Furthermore the ECS is a critical regulator of social reward and metabolism, both of which can be contributing factors to mental health disorders. Through synergistic interactions with ECS receptors and enzymes, specific formulations of multiple cannabinoids present in modified hemp extracts were capable of aborting/preventing panic attacks, decreasing baseline anxiety, reducing suicidal ideations, reducing hyperesthesia, and reducing auditory hallucinations in a patient formerly diagnosed with co-morbid mental health disorders. Reported is the detailed methodology for titrating the minimum therapeutic dosage and determining a dose-schedule; and the proposed mechanism for chemodiverse cannabinoid formulations that have increased therapeutic efficacy with decreased risk of negative side effects and abuse potential.

Microdosing and macrodosing hemp cannabis extract as an antidepressant, anxiolytic, and atypical antipsychotic: Putative molecular mechanisms as derived by first-person experience

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.