25 years of groundbreaking research — an annotated history.
By Martin A. Lee on July 01, 2020
A key turning point for modern cannabis research came in 1964, when Israeli scientists Raphael Mechoulam and Yechiel Gaoni isolated and identified tetrahyrdocannabinol (THC) as the high causer. Mechoulam also elucidated the chemical structure of several other cannabis components, including cannabidiol (CBD), an intriguing, non-intoxicating molecule. He called these unique botanical compounds “cannabinoids” and likened the plant to “a pharmacological treasure trove.”
ENDOCANNABINOID DISCOVERY TIMELINE
“…The buzz about THC, the queen bee of cannabinoid pharmacology, was the main impetus for scientists who sought to understand how marijuana conferred its psychoactive effects. What happens in the brain that makes people feel high? Or hungry? Or calm? Or slightly less encumbered by life’s difficulties? Animal studies focusing on THC provided a foundation for investigating its mechanism of action on a molecular level. Another quarter of a century would pass before cannabis, the plant teacher, led researchers to one of the great scientific discoveries of all time – actually, a series of discoveries – that revealed the existence and inner workings of a protective, body-wide regulatory system activated by cannabinoid compounds…”