Pharmacological interventions in the treatment of the acute effects of cannabis: a systematic review of literature


Autoria(s): Crippa, José Alexandre de Souza; Derenusson, Guilherme Nogueira; Chagas, Marcos Hortes Nisihara; Atakan, Zerrin ; Martín-Santos, Rocio ; Zuardi, Antonio Waldo; Hallak, Jaime EC
Contribuinte(s)

UNIVERSIDADE DE SÃO PAULO

Data(s)

14/10/2013

14/10/2013

2012

Resumo

Abstract Background Cannabis intoxication is related to a number of physical and mental health risks with ensuing social costs. However, little attention has been given to the investigation of possible pharmacological interactions in this condition. Objective To review the available scientific literature concerning pharmacological interventions for the treatment of the acute effects of cannabis. Methods A search was performed on the Pubmed, Lilacs, and Scielo online databases by combining the terms cannabis, intoxication, psychosis, anxiety, and treatment. The articles selected from this search had their reference lists checked for additional publications related to the topic of the review. Results The reviewed articles consisted of case reports and controlled clinical trials and are presented according to interventions targeting the physiological, psychiatric, and cognitive symptoms provoked by cannabis. The pharmacological interventions reported in these studies include: beta-blockers, antiarrhythmic agents, antagonists of CB-1 and GABA-benzodiazepine receptors, antipsychotics, and cannabidiol. Conclusion Although scarce, the evidence on pharmacological interventions for the management of cannabis intoxication suggests that propanolol and rimonabant are the most effective compounds currently available to treat the physiological and subjective effects of the drug. Further studies are necessary to establish the real effectiveness of these two medications, as well as the effectiveness of other candidate compounds to counteract the effects of cannabis intoxication, such as cannabidiol and flumazenil.

GND is the recipient of a research grant from the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq, Brazil). JASC (1C), JECH (2) and AWZ (1C) are recipients of CNPq Productivity Awards. The study was supported in part by the Research, Teaching, and Assistance Foundation of the Ribeirão Preto Medical School University Hospital (FAEPA, Brazil) and SGR2009/1435 (Departament d'Universitats Innovació i Empresa, Generalitat de Catalunya, Spain).

Identificador

Harm Reduction Journal, London, v. 9, n. 7, p. 1-6, 2012

1477-7517

http://www.producao.usp.br/handle/BDPI/34785

10.1186/1477-7517-9-7

http://www.harmreductionjournal.com/content/9/1/7

Idioma(s)

eng

Publicador

London

Relação

Harm Reduction Journal

Direitos

openAccess

Crippa et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. - This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Tipo

article