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Robert Laprairie PhD

Dr. Laprairie is the GlaxoSmithKline-CIHR chair in Drug Discovery and Development. He is a member of the Drug Discovery and Development Research Group (DDDRG) and the Cannabinoid Research Initiative of Saskatchewan (CRIS). He is the Director of Education for the Canadian Consortium for the Investigators of Cannabinoids (CCIC).  His teaching responsibilities include basic molecular pharmacology and neuroscience in the undergraduate and graduate Pharmacy programs. He is also involved in committee work with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Animal Research Ethics Board of the University of Saskatchewan.

Don't kink-shame the promiscuous CBD. It's okay that in a world of orthosteric normative binding, CBD is into allosteric binding. In fact, CBD is not just into any allosteric binding. CBD is into negative allosteric binding. If none of that makes any sense to you, don't worry. We are going to take a deep dive into how the famous cannabinoid, CBD, interacts with the cannabinoid receptor CB1. And it doesn't bind like a key into a lock, which is how pharmacy school told Trevor that all ligands bind to their receptors. Like all things cannabis, things are weirder, more complicated and more nuanced than our co-host, Trevor, thought. Put your science toques on and let's skate into some CB1 receptor research.
Thursday, 08 November 2018 02:24

S2E5 - The Endocannabinoid Researcher

What is the endocannabinoid system?  Did you have that friend in high school with the hemp shirt who told you, "The body was designed to smoke pot, man!"  That is not as crazy as it sounds.   Trevor and Kirk talk to Dr. Robert Laprairie.  He is a pharmacologist who studies the endocannabinoid system.  Your body produces its own cannabinoids and has receptors that can accept external cannabinoids like  THC and CBD.  But just because cannabis is natural doesn't mean that it shouldn't be used with caution.  Dr. Laprairie also discusses interactions with prescription medications and other thing to watch for.  But in general Dr. Laprairie is very positive about cannabis research in a post-legalization Canada!