Cannabinoid pharmacology is currently a very active research area. Thus, for example, there is considerable interest:

• in the pharmacology of known receptors for cannabinoids (CB1 and CB2) and of their endogenous agonists,
• in the roles of this system of receptors and endogenous agonists (the endocannabinoid system) in health and disease,
• in the possibility that there may be molecular targets for cannabinoids in addition to CB1 and CB2 receptors (and also additional endogenous agonists),
• in the therapeutic potential of cannabinoid receptor agonists and antagonists, and
• in pharmacological strategies for activating cannabinoid receptors in a manner that minimizes the unwanted consequences of this activation without also eliminating sought-after therapeutic effects.

It is also noteworthy that many important advances in the cannabinoid field have been made by co-authors of this review. These advances include the identification of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol as the main psychoactive constituent of cannabis, the discovery of cannabinoid receptors, early determinations of the distribution pattern of these receptors, the development of important bioassays for cannabinoid receptor ligands, the finding that there are endogenous cannabinoid receptor agonists, and the design, synthesis, and characterization of the first cannabinoid receptor antagonists.

This paper is a review article that summarizes current knowledge about cannabinoid receptors and their ligands. The review focuses particularly on:

• cannabinoid receptor agonists and antagonists and on the bioassay of these compounds,
• cannabinoid receptor signaling,
• the molecular biology and distribution patterns of cannabinoid receptors,
• the roles of cannabinoid receptors, particularly in the modulation of neurotransmission and immune function, and
• evidence that there may be additional molecular targets for cannabinoids.

  Could you summarize the significance of your paper in layman's terms?

The paper provides an overview of what is known about the mechanisms through which naturally occurring and synthetic cannabis-related compounds produce many of their effects both in the brain and in other parts of the body.