WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
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Correspondent Zyro Roze asks Dr. Ziva Cooper about the perils and promise of Cannabis use in recreational and medical settings, addressing the developments in clinical research and changes in state and federal law, including what the differences are with synthetic cannabinoids, particular natural components on the market, trends of usage and areas of scientific exploration, such as the treatment of depression, pain relief and anti-inflammatory effects and how to ameliorate potential downsides.
Dr. Ziva Cooper is the Director of the UCLA Center for Cannabis and Cannabinoids and Associate Professor at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior and Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and the Department of Anesthesiology.
She focuses on preclinical and clinical studies on the behavioral and physiologic effects of psychoactive drugs that are of significant public health relevance, including cannabis and opioids. She received her PhD from the University of Michigan in Biopsychology in 2007 in the field of preclinical psychopharmacology.
Over the last ten years she has sought to translate preclinical studies of drug action to the clinic using controlled human laboratory studies to investigate the direct effects of abused substances. Her current research, funded by NIDA and industry contracts, involves understanding the neurobiological, pharmacological, and behavioral variables that influence both the abuse liability and therapeutic potential of cannabinoids (cannabis, cannabinoid receptor agonists, and cannabidiol) and opioids.
Dr. Cooper served on the National Academies of Sciences Committee on the Health Effects of Marijuana that recently published a comprehensive consensus report of the health effects of cannabis and cannabinoids. Dr. Cooper also serves on editorial boards, is President of the International Study Group Investigating Drugs as Reinforcers (ISGIDaR), and is Associate Editor of The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse.
