Reefer Medness

Dr. Ethan Russo has made immense contributions to the understanding of cannabis. 2024 was particularly productive as Dr. Russo’s name kept popping up in some very interesting papers. We got him to chat with us about two of them.First there is the entourage effect paper. The entourage effect is the idea that different cannabinoids, terpenes and other components of the cannabis plant work together synergistically to give a desired effect. Professor Raphael Mechoulam and colleagues first talked about the entourage effect amongst endogenous cannabinoids in the human body. Dr. Ethan Russo and others have expanded the idea to phytocannabinoids and other cannabis plant components. But it is still just an idea. Now there is a trial that looks at if inhaled limonene makes THC cause less anxiety in people. This could be the beginning of the evidence to validate the entourage effect.Second, we chatted about a CBG paper. We have a lovely sound bite that describes CBG as a “bubble bath for your brain”. This study gives us