# Discriminative Stimulus Effects of Opioid Withdrawal

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCIENCE CENTER · 2021 · $656,399

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
This revised application requests 5 years of support to continue a translational research program that has made
numerous important contributions to our understanding of opioid use disorder (OUD). More than 2 million
Americans have OUD and the number of deaths due to opioid overdose continues to rise, in part because of the
increased availability of fentanyl and its analogs that are potent, inexpensive, and easy to manufacture. This
public health crisis continues despite the availability of medications that substitute for or block the abuse-
related and toxic effects of opioids. New and better treatments are needed to address this crisis; ideally, an
effective medication for OUD would be nonopioid with little or no abuse or dependence liability and few other
adverse effects. Research proposed in this application explores the therapeutic potential of cannabidiol (CBD), a
constituent of cannabis that is available increasingly due to legalization of “medical” and “recreational” cannabis
by states as well as Federal approval of the CBD-containing medication Epidiolex®. Data from our pilot studies,
from other preclinical laboratories, and from a recent study in humans69 suggest that CBD, while itself having no
abuse liability, shows promise for treating various dimensions of OUD. Moreover, some studies suggest that
mixtures of CBD and Δ9tetrahydrocannabinol (THC; Marinol®) might be more effective than CBD alone for
treating OUD. The proposed research also responds to the NIH initiative to repurpose drugs already approved
for use in humans by exploring the therapeutic potential of CBD, given alone and with THC, for treating different
dimensions of OUD, including drug taking, relapse, and withdrawal. CBD/THC mixtures also simulate
cannabis use, which will identify any detrimental effects of cannabis use by patients taking CBD for OUD. These
experiments will use well-established procedures that are ongoing in our laboratory and that are highly
translatable to humans. Aim 1 will tackle drug taking and relapse by determining the effects of CBD, alone or
with THC, on fentanyl self-administration in a food versus drug choice procedure and on reinstatement of
responding previously reinforced by fentanyl. Aim 2 will evaluate the ability of CBD, alone or with THC, to
attenuate withdrawal in morphine-dependent monkeys, and Aim 3 will investigate changes in opioid toxicity by
characterizing the effects of CBD on the ventilatory-depressant, antinociceptive, and cognitive effects of opioids
as well as the pharmacokinetic profile of CBD alone and in combination with opioids. The persistence of the
opioid crisis underscores the need to explore potential new treatments including nonopioid medications to
increase options for treating OUD. In the period of just a few years, CBD has become widely available, promoted
for a broad range of indications, and used extensively despite very little rigorous research that either supports or
refutes its therapeutic potentia...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10113800
- **Project number:** 2R01DA005018-32A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCIENCE CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** CHARLES P FRANCE
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $656,399
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 1995-05-01 → 2025-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10113800

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10113800, Discriminative Stimulus Effects of Opioid Withdrawal (2R01DA005018-32A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10113800. Licensed CC0.

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