A comparison of some pharmacological actions of morphine and ?9-tetrahydrocannabinol in the mouse

Abstract

The effects of morphine and Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on the tail-flick reflex, body temperature, and catecholamine synthesis were examined in the mouse in order to compare their effects in a single species and strain under uniform conditions. Naloxone antagonism of THC and cross-tolerance between morphine and THC were also studied. Both morphine and THC produced antinociception, hypothermia, and increased catecholamine synthesis at 30 min after s.c. injection. Morphine produced greater increases in dopamine synthesis and was a more potent antinociceptive agent, while THC produced greater increases in norepinephrine synthesis and was a more potent hypothermic agent. Naloxone pretreatment (1 mg/kg) partially antagonized the hypothermia and increase in catecholamine synthesis produced by THC. There was also crosstolerance between morphine and THC, but it was asymmetric in that THC-tolerant animals were crosstolerant to only the hypothermic action of morphine and morphine-tolerant animals cross-tolerant to only the antinociceptive action of THC.