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The Pharmacodynamics, Pharmacokinetics, and Potential Drug Interactions of Cannabinoids

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Cannabis in Medicine

Abstract

Drug-drug interactions are common with traditional prescription medications especially in patients older than 65 years of age and/or those with multiple chronic conditions. The risk of a potential drug-drug interaction rises with the increasing number of medications. Drug interactions can be classified as either pharmacokinetic or pharmacodynamic. There is less evidence of documented drug interactions with cannabinoids either delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or cannabidiol (CBD). Due to their metabolism through the liver, THC and CBD have the potential to cause significant drug-drug interactions; however, limited data exist documenting these interactions except those generated from clinical pharmacokinetic studies with Epidiolex® (cannabidiol). Therefore, we must extrapolate potential drug-drug interactions through an understanding of the pharmacokinetics of both the “victim” drug and cannabis. In this chapter, we will review what is known about drug-drug interactions and explore their clinical significance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Neurology, Aurora, CO, USA

    Grace S. Chin & Jacquelyn Bainbridge

  2. University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Aurora, CO, USA

    Robert L. Page II

  3. St. Joseph’s Hospital, Denver, CO, USA

    Grace S. Chin

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  1. Grace S. Chin
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  3. Jacquelyn Bainbridge
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Correspondence to Jacquelyn Bainbridge .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Springs Rehabilitation PC, Colorado Springs, CO, USA

    Kenneth Finn

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Chin, G.S., Page, R.L., Bainbridge, J. (2020). The Pharmacodynamics, Pharmacokinetics, and Potential Drug Interactions of Cannabinoids. In: Finn, K. (eds) Cannabis in Medicine. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-45968-0_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-45968-0_3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-45967-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-45968-0

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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