Abstract
The present article reviews the main toxic effects of cannabis and cannabinoids in animals. Toxic effects can be separated into acute and chronic classifications. Acute toxicity studies show that it is virtually impossible to die from acute administration of marijuana or tetrahydrocannabinol, the main psychoactive component of cannabis. Chronic toxicity involves lesions of airway and lung tissues, as well as problems of neurotoxicity, tolerance and dependence, and dysregulations in the immune and hormonal systems. Animal toxicity data, however, are difficult to extrapolate to humans.
Highlights
Pierre Beaulieu MD PhD FRCAToxic effects of cannabis and cannabinoids: Animal data
The present article reviews the main toxic effects of cannabis and cannabinoids in animals
One must keep in mind that most of the animal studies performed have used delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) injections of 10 mg/kg to 20 mg/kg, whereas, for an average adult of 70 kg smoking a cigarette containing 15 mg of THC, this corresponds to an administration of 40 μg/kg of THC (5)
Summary
Toxic effects of cannabis and cannabinoids: Animal data. The present article reviews the main toxic effects of cannabis and cannabinoids in animals. The adverse effects of cannabis in humans are reviewed in the present supplement to Pain Research & Management (1). Hundreds of studies, starting in the 1970s, have been published on the toxicity of cannabinoids in animals, and it is well beyond the scope of the present article to review them all. We will only concentrate on key animal data regarding the acute and chronic toxic effects of cannabis and cannabinoids. ACUTE TOXICITY In animals, the administration of high doses of THC, other cannabinoids or endogenous cannabinoids (endocannabinoids) such as anandamide, produces a typical response characterized by hypothermia, hypolocomotion, catalepsia and antinociception. Phillips et al (10) investigated the acute toxicity of pure THC in rats and mice (Table 1).
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