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| Abbreviation | ICRS  |
|---|---|
| Established | 1990 (32 years ago) |
| Legal status | 501(c)(3) organization |
| Headquarters | Durham |
| Website | www |
The International Cannabinoid Research Society (ICRS) is a professional society for scientific research in all fields of the cannabinoids, based in North Carolina, US. ICRS is one of the very few global non-profit medical societies or associations [lower-alpha 1] related to cannabis and cannabinoids.
The ICRS was formally incorporated as a scientific research society in 1992. [1] Prior to that, early ICRS Symposia were organized by various researchers in the field since 1970. Membership in the Society has risen from 50 original members in its first year to 650+ members from all over the world.
The International Cannabinoid Research Society is a:
The mission of the ICRS is to:
Since 2019, [3] the ICRS has partnered with Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. Publishers to produce the academic journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research.
ICRS awards the "Raphael Mechoulam Award in Cannabinoid Research" annually.
The Society holds an annual meeting, not available to the media, [4] which generally alternates between North America and Europe.
| Year | Location |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Bloomington, IN |
| 2024 | Salamanca, Spain |
| 2023 | Toronto, Canada |
| 2022 | Galway, Ireland |
| 2021 | Jerusalem, Israel [5] (Held virtually due to COVID-19 pandemic) |
| 2020 | Galway, Ireland (Held virtually due to COVID-19 pandemic) |
| 2019 | Bethesda, MD |
| 2018 | Leiden, Netherlands |
| 2017 | Montreal, QC, Canada |
| 2016 | Bukovina, Poland |
| 2015 | Wolfville, NS, Canada [4] |
| 2014 | Baveno, Italy |
| 2013 | Vancouver, BC, Canada |
| 2012 | Freiburg, Germany |
| 2011 | Pheasant Run, IL |
| 2010 | Lund, Sweden |
| 2009 | Pheasant Run, IL |
| 2008 | Aviemore, Scotland |
| 2008 | Limmasol, Cyprus |
| 2007 | St. Sauveur, QC, Canada |
| 2006 | Tihany, Hungary |
| 2005 | Clearwater, FL |
| 2004 | Paestum, Italy |
| 2003 | Cornwall, ON, Canada |
| 2002 | Asilomar, CA |
| 2001 | Escorial, Spain |
| 2000 | Hunt Valley, MD |
| 1999 | Acapulco, Mexico |
| 1998 | La Grande Motte, France |
| 1997 | Stone Mountain, GA |
| 1996 | Cape Cod, MA |
| 1995 | Scottsdale, AZ |
| 1994 | L'Estérel, QC, Canada |
| 1993 | Toronto, ON, Canada |
| 1992 | Keystone, CO |
| 1991 | West Palm Beach, FL |
| 1990 | Κολυμβάρι, Crete, Greece |
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is a terpenoid found in cannabis. It is the principal psychoactive constituent of cannabis and one of at least 113 total cannabinoids identified on the plant. Its chemical formula C21H30O2 includes compounds, the term THC usually refers to the delta-9-THC isomer with chemical name (−)-trans-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol. It is a colorless oil.
The effects of cannabis are caused by chemical compounds in the cannabis plant, including 113 different cannabinoids such as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and 120 terpenes, which allow its drug to have various psychological and physiological effects on the human body. Different plants of the genus Cannabis contain different and often unpredictable concentrations of THC and other cannabinoids and hundreds of other molecules that have a pharmacological effect, so the final net effect cannot reliably be foreseen.
Cannabinoids are several structural classes of compounds found in the cannabis plant primarily and most animal organisms or as synthetic compounds. The most notable cannabinoid is the phytocannabinoid tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) (delta-9-THC), the primary psychoactive compound in cannabis. Cannabidiol (CBD) is also a major constituent of temperate cannabis plants and a minor constituent in tropical varieties. At least 113 distinct phytocannabinoids have been isolated from cannabis, although only four have been demonstrated to have a biogenetic origin. It was reported in 2020 that phytocannabinoids can be found in other plants such as rhododendron, licorice and liverwort, and earlier in Echinacea.
Cannabinoid receptors, located throughout the body, are part of the endocannabinoid system of vertebrates– a class of cell membrane receptors in the G protein-coupled receptor superfamily. As is typical of G protein-coupled receptors, the cannabinoid receptors contain seven transmembrane spanning domains. Cannabinoid receptors are activated by three major groups of ligands:
Cannabinol (CBN) is a mildly psychoactive cannabinoid that acts as a low affinity partial agonist at both CB1 and CB2 receptors. This activity at CB1 and CB2 receptors constitutes interaction of CBN with the endocannabinoid system (ECS).
Tetrahydrocannabivarin is a homologue of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) having a propyl (3-carbon) side chain instead of pentyl (5-carbon), making it non-psychoactive in lower doses. It has been shown to exhibit neuroprotective activity, appetite suppression, glycemic control and reduced side effects compared to THC, making it a potential treatment for management of obesity and diabetes. THCV was studied by Roger Adams as early as 1942.
The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is a biological system composed of endocannabinoids, which are endogenous lipid-based retrograde neurotransmitters that bind to cannabinoid receptors, and cannabinoid receptor proteins that are expressed throughout the vertebrate central nervous system and peripheral nervous system. The endocannabinoid system remains under preliminary research, but may be involved in regulating physiological and cognitive processes, including fertility, pregnancy, pre- and postnatal development, various activity of immune system, appetite, pain-sensation, mood, and memory, and in mediating the pharmacological effects of cannabis. The ECS plays an important role in multiple aspects of neural functions, including the control of movement and motor coordination, learning and memory, emotion and motivation, addictive-like behavior and pain modulation, among others.
2-Arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) is an endocannabinoid, an endogenous agonist of the CB1 receptor and the primary endogenous ligand for the CB2 receptor. It is an ester formed from the omega-6 fatty acid arachidonic acid and glycerol. It is present at relatively high levels in the central nervous system, with cannabinoid neuromodulatory effects. It has been found in maternal bovine and human milk. The chemical was first described in 1994–1995, although it had been discovered some time before that. The activities of phospholipase C (PLC) and diacylglycerol lipase (DAGL) mediate its formation. 2-AG is synthesized from arachidonic acid-containing diacylglycerol (DAG).
The Society of Cannabis Clinicians (SCC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization registered in the United States, dedicated to educating healthcare professionals about the medical use of cannabis. Its mission is to unite into one association members of the various medical specialties and allied professionals with this common purpose. SCC is one of the oldest active organization of its kind, and one of the few global non-profit medical societies related to cannabis and cannabinoids, along with the International Cannabinoid Research Society and the International Association for Cannabinoid Medicines.
JWH-073, a synthetic cannabinoid, is an analgesic chemical from the naphthoylindole family that acts as a full agonist at both the CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors. It is somewhat selective for the CB1 subtype, with affinity at this subtype approximately 5× the affinity at CB2. The abbreviation JWH stands for John W. Huffman, one of the inventors of the compound.
Raphael Mechoulam was a Bulgarian-born Israeli organic chemist and a professor in the Department of Natural Materials at the School of Pharmacy in the Faculty of Medicine of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Mechoulam served as Rector of the university from 1979-1982. He was elected to the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities in 1994 and served as its scientific chair from 2007-2013. He was a recipient of the Israel Prize for Chemistry Research in 2000 and the Harvey Prize for 2019-2020.
An N-acylethanolamine (NAE) is a type of fatty acid amide where one of several types of acyl groups is linked to the nitrogen atom of ethanolamine, and highly metabolic formed by intake of essential fatty acids through diet by 20:4, n-6 and 22:6, n-3 fatty acids, and when the body is physically and psychologically active,. The endocannabinoid signaling system (ECS) is the major pathway by which NAEs exerts its physiological effects in animal cells with similarities in plants, and the metabolism of NAEs is an integral part of the ECS, a very ancient signaling system, being clearly present from the divergence of the protostomian/deuterostomian, and even further back in time, to the very beginning of bacteria, the oldest organisms on Earth known to express phosphatidylethanolamine, the precursor to endocannabinoids, in their cytoplasmic membranes. Fatty acid metabolites with affinity for CB receptors are produced by cyanobacteria, which diverged from eukaryotes at least 2000 million years ago (MYA), by brown algae which diverged about 1500 MYA, by sponges, which diverged from eumetazoans about 930 MYA, and a lineages that predate the evolution of CB receptors, as CB1 – CB2 duplication event may have occurred prior to the lophotrochozoan-deuterostome divergence 590 MYA. Fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) evolved relatively recently, either after the evolution of fish 400 MYA, or after the appearance of mammals 300 MYA, but after the appearance of vertebrates. Linking FAAH, vanilloid receptors (VR1) and anandamide implies a coupling among the remaining ‘‘older’’ parts of the endocannabinoid system, monoglyceride lipase (MGL), CB receptors, that evolved prior to the metazoan–bilaterian divergence, but were secondarily lost in the Ecdysozoa, and 2-Arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG).
Lumír Ondřej Hanuš is a Czech analytic chemist and leading authority in the field of cannabis research. In 1992, he and William Anthony Devane isolated and first described the structure of anandamide, an endogenous cannabinoid neurotransmitter.
Cannabis consumption in pregnancy may or may not be associated with restrictions in growth of the fetus, miscarriage, and cognitive deficits. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommended that cannabis use be stopped before and during pregnancy. There has not been any official link between birth defects and marijuana use. Cannabis is the most commonly used illicit substance among pregnant women.
The entourage effect is a hypothesis that cannabis compounds other than tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) act synergistically with it to modulate the overall psychoactive effects of the plant.
The Cannabinoid Research Initiative of Saskatchewan (CRIS) was founded in 2017 as an interdisciplinary research team of clinician researchers (medical and veterinary), basic scientists, and social scientists. CRIS aims to obtain scientific evidence about the application of Cannabinoids and Medical cannabis to humans and animals, for health, disease and disorders. The team was initially based at the University of Saskatchewan, in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada but includes researchers based at the University of Regina and University of Alberta. A strategic management executive committee coordinates activities and develops research opportunities. The sections of CRIS include: Analytical Evaluations, Human Clinical Studies, Biomedical studies, Veterinary Sciences, Knowledge Translation and Studies of Cannabinoids and Society. CRIS members participate in the Canadian Consortium for the Investigation of Cannabinoids, and the International Cannabinoid Research Society.
Alexandros Makriyannis is an American biochemist and professor of chemistry and chemical biology in the department of medicinal chemistry at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, where he directs the Center for Drug Discovery and holds the George Behrakis Chair of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology. His research has focused on the biochemical basis of the endocannabinoid system and on the development of synthetic cannabinoids.
Michael Alan Krawitz is a US Air force veteran, Executive Director of the non-profit Veterans for Medical Cannabis Access, researcher on the history of medical cannabis, and international advocate for cannabis policy reform with FAAAT think & do tank and the International Association for Cannabinoid Medicines.
Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Mary Ann Liebert since 2016 and "dedicated to the scientific, medical, and psychosocial exploration of clinical cannabis, cannabinoids, and the biochemical mechanisms of endocannabinoids". The editor-in-chief is Daniele Piomelli. It is the official journal of the Association of Cannabis Specialists, the International Association for Cannabinoid Medicines, and the International Cannabinoid Research Society.
The International Association for Cannabinoid Medicines (IACM), formerly known as the International Association for Cannabis as a Medicine, is a non-profit scientific society founded in Cologne in 2000 and dedicated to the advancement of knowledge of cannabis and cannabinoid medicines among medical professionals. IACM is one of the few global non-profit medical societies or associations related to cannabis and Cannabinoids, along with the Society of Cannabis Clinicians and the International Cannabinoid Research Society.
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