INVESTIGATOR: Ziva Cooper, Ph.D.
STUDY LOCATION: University of California, Los Angeles
PROJECT TITLE: Analgesic and subjective effects of cannabichromene administered alone and in combination with delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol
FUNDING SOURCE: Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research
PROJECT TYPE: Clinical Study
STATUS: Active
ABSTRACT:
Chronic pain is a significant public health burden for which there are few effective treatments; while opioid analgesic prescribing has decreased, patients with chronic pain remain a central element in the current opioid epidemic. Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive component of cannabis, holds promise as a novel therapeutic candidate to treat chronic pain. However, these therapeutic effects are accompanied by intoxication, abuse liability, and cognitive disruption thus limiting its clinical utility. Cannabichromene (CBC) is a minor cannabinoid that in laboratory animals lacks the discriminative stimulus and cannabimimetic psychoactive effects of THC that are associated with adverse effects in humans. Preclinical studies point to CBC’s pain-relieving effects. It is unknown if these findings translate to humans. It has been hypothesized that minor cannabinoids, like CBC, may interact synergistically with THC to enhance therapeutic outcomes while reducing negative psychoactive effects. Specifically, CBC increases the analgesic effects of THC in animal models. If translated to humans, CBC may increase the analgesic effects of low, minimally intoxicating, doses of THC, and/or reduce adverse consequences of higher doses. Understanding if CBC has analgesic properties alone, or in combination with THC, is fundamental to developing novel cannabinoid-based therapeutics for pain. At a time when diverse pharmacotherapeutic strategies to treat pain are desperately needed, probing the analgesic effects of CBC and its potential THC-sparing effects is of significant interest. The proposed double-blind, placebo-controlled study will be the first to assess the dose- dependent analgesic and psychoactive effects of oral CBC alone and in combination with THC in volunteers. Analysis of plasma THC, CBC, and respective metabolites will determine the degree to which effects observed under CBC-THC dose combinations are due to a pharmacokinetic interaction. The objectives of this study address a central mission of the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research and will lay the foundation for future studies developing CBC as an innovative therapeutic to treat pain.