title: Cannabinoid pharmacology: the first 66 years.
abstract: Research into the pharmacology of individual cannabinoids that began in the 1940s, several decades after the presence of a cannabinoid was first detected in cannabis, is concisely reviewed. Also described is how this pharmacological research led to the discovery of cannabinoid CB(1) and CB(2) receptors and of endogenous ligands for these receptors, to the development of CB(1)- and CB(2)-selective agonists and antagonists and to the realization that the endogenous cannabinoid system has significant roles in both health and disease, and that drugs which mimic, augment or block the actions of endogenously released cannabinoids must have important therapeutic applications. Some goals for future research are identified.
authors.affiliation: School of Medical Sciences, Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill, Aberdeen AB25 2ZD. rgp@abdn.ac.uk
authors.forename: Roger G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Pertwee
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D063385:Cannabinoid Receptor Modulators / Q000266:history / Q000502:physiology; D002186:Cannabinoids / Q000266:history*; D004361:Drug Tolerance; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D008024:Ligands; D043882:Receptors, Cannabinoid / Q000187:drug effects / Q000266:history*
chemical_list: D063385:Cannabinoid Receptor Modulators; D002186:Cannabinoids; D008024:Ligands; D043882:Receptors, Cannabinoid