Synthetic Cannabis & Chemistry

You've probably heard about the dangers of K2, Spice, and other strains of synthetic cannabis. As well as the horror stories of zombie-like states and fatalities.

But you might be surprised to hear about its noble beginnings. That's according to Dr. Andrew Coop.

Dr. Coop received his Ph.D. from the University of Bristol in the area of chemistry of drugs of abuse, followed by a Fogerty post-doctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Health. He has been a faculty member in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Maryland since 1999, serving as chair of the department from 2007-2015. His NIH-funded research area focuses on the design and synthesis of new opioid analgesics with reduced tolerance, and the development of novel antidepressants.

He joins Dr. Hal Altman MD, MS in this encore episode from May 2022 to talk about his passion for this field, the early days of synthetic cannabis, and the higher efficacy and potency of these strains.


Be sure to also check out the other episodes in our series with Dr. Andrew Coop!