• Maya R Jacobson, Jeremy J Watts, Isabelle Boileau, Junchao Tong, and Romina Mizrahi.
• Research Imaging Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 250 College St., Toronto, Ontario M5T 1R8, Canada; Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine, 1 King's College Circle, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A8, Canada. Electronic address: maya.jacobson@mail.utoronto.ca.
• Eur Neuropsychopharmacol. 2019 Mar 1; 29 (3): 330-348.

AbstractCannabis, the most widely used illicit drug worldwide, produces psychoactive effects through its component cannabinoids, which act on the endocannabinoid system. Research on how cannabinoid exposure affects the endocannabinoid system is limited. Substantial evidence indicates cannabis use as a risk factor for psychosis, and the mechanism(s) by which this is occurring is/are currently unknown. Here, we conduct the first review of the effects of exogenous cannabinoids on the endocannabinoid system in humans with and without psychotic disorders. The most well established finding is the down-regulation of cannabinoid CB1 receptors (CB1R) after chronic and recent cannabis exposure, but it remains uncertain whether this effect is present in cannabis users with schizophrenia. We highlight where cannabis exposure affects the endocannabinoid system in a pattern that may mirror what is seen in psychosis, and how further research can push this field forward. In these times of changing cannabis legislation, research highlighting the biological effects of cannabinoids is greatly needed.Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

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