“We can produce medications for pain, medications that deal with liver diseases, with sleep-a wide variety of these by making molecules that can turn these switches on or off more precisely,” says Makriyannis, who directs the Center for Drug Discovery at Northeastern. The idea is to use the benefits of cannabinoids like those found in marijuana, while leaving the potential negative effects behind. Makriyannis, also a professor of chemistry and chemical biology, is on a quest to synthesize these molecules. Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University Previously, Makriyannis’s team was part of a team of researchers that imaged the structure of cannabinoid receptor type one through novel compounds synthesized in the Center for Drug Discovery at Northeastern. Behrakis Chair of pharmaceutical biotechnology at Northeastern, says there are many ways to design new molecules in the lab to tweak that endocannabinoid system and control several of the biochemical reactions that lead to anxiety, chronic pain, and other physiological processes. It uses the endocannabinoid system, and it is how mood, appetite, and other sensations are regulated.Īlexandros Makriyannis, George D. Right now, your body is growing its own crop of cannabinoids to run itself smoothly. Because of the abilities of compounds in marijuana to stimulate our sensations, some people use cannabis to cope with chronic pain, anxiety, and other health problems.īut tetrahydrocannabinol is just one of the many compounds in a class of molecules known as the cannabinoids, which can also be found within your body even if you don’t use marijuana or products derived from it.
Those are some of the effects that tetrahydrocannabinol, the main psychoactive compound in marijuana, might have on you and the trillions of cells within your body. You could become paranoid, and hungry, and drowsy. You might feel relaxed and introspective. You could become overly excited and real giggly. It would do things to your mind and to your body.