The Society for Ethnobotany

Welcome to the Journal Club, a new feature for SEB members to meet online to discuss journal articles in the field of ethnobotany. Your moderator is Jim Bauml, Ph.D. The plan is to meet online quarterly for approximately 1½ hours.

Article:
Vaporized D-limonene selectively mitigates the acute anxiogenic effects of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol in healthy adults who intermittently use cannabis
Authors: Tory R. Spindle, C. Austin Zamarripa, Ethan Russo, Lauren Pollak, George Bigelow, Alexandra M. Ward, Bridget Tompson, Cristina Sempio, Touraj Shokati, Jost Klawitter, Uwe Christians, Ryan Vandrey

Our first club meeting features Ethan Russo’s (et al) recent article on the genus Cannabis, a remarkably important ethnobotanical and economic plant. Despite its long history of use, relatively little is known about the interactions of many of its chemical components with the major psychoactive cannabinoid molecule ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). In 2011*, Dr. Russo proposed the “entourage effect”, the synergy among the many phytochemical components in cannabis. In the current article Dr. Russo and a team of researchers at Johns Hopkins University describe clinical trials on the interaction of a terpenoid component, D-limonene, with THC in mitigating anxiety and paranoia that are sometimes associated with Cannabis use. The results point toward improved therapeutics for medical patients and applications for recreational users as well.

Dr. Russo will give a Powerpoint presentation on his work, followed by questions and discussions.

*Russo, E.B. 2011. Taming THC: potential cannabis synergy and phytocannabinoid-terpenoid entourage effects. Br. J. Pharm. 163: 1344-1364,

General considerations to Zoom meetings apply here:

• Engage in respectful dialogue
• Share time speaking so that all can be heard
• Bring an openness to examining new perspectives
• Please do not share trauma details as they could be triggering to others.
• Feel free to offer your own experiences, without interpreting others’ experiences

• Click here to access the article (PDF) to be discussed
  
  
• Wednesday, May 29, 2024, 5:00 pm PST (Pacific Standard Time-US) via Zoom
  
  
• The recording for this event can be accessed by clicking here.

Ethan Russo, MD, is a board-certified child and adult neurologist (1987), psychopharmacologist, and Founder/CEO of CReDO Science https://credo-science.com]. He is also Chief Medical Officer to Andira Pharmaceuticals Andira – Bringing Healing to Life, Senior Medical Advisor to Canurta Home | Canurtaand Medical Director of Breeder’s Best HOME - Breeder's Best - Connecting Independent Cannabis Breeders to World Markets (breedersbest.com)

He was Director of R&D for the International Cannabis and Cannabinoids Institute, 2017-19, Medical Director of PHYTECS, 2015-2017, and from 2003-2014, Senior Medical Advisor, medical monitor/study physician to GW Pharmaceuticals for numerous Phase I-III clinical trials of Sativex® and Epidiolex®.

He was a 1973 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (Psychology), University of Massachusetts Medical School (1978), and trained in pediatrics (Phoenix Hospitals Affiliated Pediatrics Program) (1978-1980) and pediatric and adult neurology at the University of Washington (1980-1983). He was a clinical neurologist in Missoula, Montana for 20 years in a practice with a strong chronic pain component. In 1995, he pursued a 3-month sabbatical doing ethnobotanical research with the Machiguenga people in Parque Nacional del Manu, Peru.

He has held faculty appointments as Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Montana and Clinical Assistant Professor, University of Washington School of Medicine.

He is author/editor of seven books and has published over than 70 peer-reviewed articles.

James A. Bauml, Ph.D., Retired Botanist/Senior Biologist at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanical Garden, Arcadia, CA (1983-2007); Huntington Botanical Gardens (1979-1983).

Jim received his Ph.D. from the Claremont Graduate School (now University) in ethnobotany based on his survey of useful plants among the peyote-using Huichol (Wixárika) Indians of Mexico. That work also included a study on the origins of the Huichol ceremonial marigold (Tagetes erecta) from wild species using isozymes. He also completed a MS thesis at Cornell University on the taxonomy of genus Hymenocallis (Amaryllidaceae) in Mexico. He has a wide-ranging interest in ethnobotanical plants, especially psychoactive species. While at the LACABG Jim held a DEA permit allowing him to collect and grow peyote and other scheduled plants. He is on the board of the Cactus Conservation Institute devoted to the natural history, chemistry, evolution, and taxonomy of peyote (Lophophora) as well as the endangered Astrophytum asterias (Star cactus). He is currently based in Humboldt County, CA, where he is pursuing his newfound interest in the botany, ethnobotany, and colorful history of Cannabis in the Emerald Triangle and beyond.