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Researchers discovered several decades ago that the primary psychoactive compound in marijuana, ?9-THC, activates two receptors, CB1, found in high abundance in the brain and central nervous system, and CB2, found primarily in the immune system. To study these receptors, researchers identified other naturally occurring chemicals and developed synthetic cannabinoid (SCB) compounds that also bind to them; collectively, these compounds are known as cannabinoids. Although they activate the CB1 and CB2 receptors, SCBs and other cannabinoids are otherwise chemically distinct from marijuana and often from each other. SCBs are now marketed and sold as synthetic marijuana under names such as "K2" and "Spice." "It started in the early 2000s in Europe, and in the U.S., in 2007 or so, we started seeing all kinds of people coming into emergency rooms saying they smoked marijuana, but then they had these really bizarre symptoms that did not correspond with the effects y...

While both cannabinoids and opioids regulate the perception of pain, the two drugs affect different parts of the brain and also affect how the sensation is communicated between neurons. For example, previous research shows that cannabinoids have a stronger effect on inflammation-based chronic pain, while opioids are particularly good at relieving acute pain. Problematically, opioids can quickly lead to a deadly addiction. "If you look at both drugs and where their receptors are, opioids are much more dangerous in part because of the potential for overdose. The opioid receptors are very abundant in the brainstem area that regulates our respiration so they shut down the breathing center if opioid doses are high," says Dr. Hurd. "Cannabinoids do not do that. They have a much wider window of therapeutic benefit without causing an overdose in adults. However, children have overdosed from consuming edible marijuana so that's something to consider when making decision...

The researchers reported on data from school- and college-based surveys from Europe, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East. In the U.S., they summarized information from data collected from the 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. In Beirut, past-year nonmedical use of any prescription drugs was 22 percent among private university students, and 10 percent among high school students, with prescription opioids the drug of choice. ). In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a recent school-based survey showed a lifetime prevalence of 7 percent for the nonmedical use of any prescription drug. In Europe, three-quarters of overdose deaths and 3.5 percent of total deaths among 15 to 39 year olds were attributed to prescription opioids. Data from 36 countries collected as part of the most recent 2011 European School Survey Project on Alcohol and other Drugs showed that, on average, 6 percent of European school students (mean age of 16 years) reported lifetime nonmedical use of tranqui...