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Analgesic activity of δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol in the rat and mouse

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Abstract

An analysis of the analgesic activity of δ 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (δ 9-THC) was carried out in rats and mice using both the hot plate and tail flick tests. In the rat, the dose-effect curve of δ 9-THC was comparable to that of morphine in both tests. In the mouse, however, the THC dose-effect curves were more variable and less steep than the morphine dose-effect curves. THC was less potent than morphine in both tests in mice. THC analgesia reached its peak at one hour and had a longer duration of action than morphine.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, USA

    D. M. Buxbaum

  2. Tennessee Neuropsychiatric Institute, Central State Hospital, Nashville, Tennessee

    D. M. Buxbaum

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  1. D. M. Buxbaum
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Additional information

A preliminary report of this work has appeared in Fed. Proc. 28, 735 (1969).

Supported by USPH Grant MH-11468.

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Buxbaum, D.M. Analgesic activity of δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol in the rat and mouse. Psychopharmacologia 25, 275–280 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00422507

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00422507

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