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Cannabis medicine without a high

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Classical cannabinoid receptors do not mediate all actions of the active drug in cannabis, THC. Here the mechanism by which THC enhances glycine receptor activity has been identified and used to design new pain therapeutics that avoid THC's adverse effects.

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Figure 1: Δ9THC produces analgesia in the spinal cord by enhancing the actions of the inhibitory neurotransmitter glycine on its receptor GlyR.

Katie Vicari

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. MacDonald J. Christie is in the Brain and Mind Research Institute & Kolling Institute, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.,

    MacDonald J Christie

  2. Christopher W. Vaughan is in the Pain Management Research Institute & Kolling Institute, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.,

    Christopher W Vaughan

Authors
  1. MacDonald J Christie
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  2. Christopher W Vaughan
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Correspondence to MacDonald J Christie.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Christie, M., Vaughan, C. Cannabis medicine without a high. Nat Chem Biol 7, 249–250 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nchembio.567

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