Behavioral effects of cannabinoids show differential sensitivity to cannabinoid receptor blockade and tolerance development

This study compared the potency and efficacy of the cannabinoids Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (Delta(9)-THC), HU-210, WIN 55,212-2 and CP 55,940 in suppressing food-reinforced operant behavior, increasing reaction latency in a hot-plate test and inducing hypothermia, and tested whether these behavioral effects induced by CP 55,940 showed differential sensitivity to the cannabinoid CB1 receptor antagonist SR141716A, and to tolerance development. After acute i.p. administration to rats, operant behavior was more potently affected than reaction latency and body temperature, but the order of potency of the different drugs was similar across the tests: HU-210 < CP 55,940