Medical cannabis in the 21st century: Mechanisms, evidence, and future directions in Behavioral Neuroscience

The Mediterranean Neuroscience Society Conference 2025

The clinical and research landscape around medical cannabis has evolved dramatically in the past two decades, moving from fringe interest to one of the most rapidly expanding areas in translational neuroscience. As medical cannabis legalization advances across regions, including Mediterranean countries, the need for rigorous behavioral neuroscience data on the efficacy, mechanisms, and safety of cannabinoid-based treatments has grown. In parallel, preclinical studies have uncovered key roles for the endocannabinoid system in modulating synaptic plasticity, emotional processing, pain, and neuroinflammation. Cannabinoids are now studied not only for their psychotropic effects but also for their potential to modulate glial function, affect neurodevelopmental trajectories, and alter disease progression in neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders.

This Research Topic, developed around the Mediterranean Neuroscience Society Conference 2025, will serve as a hub for consolidating recent evidence, and setting a new research agenda for cannabinoid science studies in behavioral neuroscience.

The collection accepts submissions covering a wide range of sub-topics, including (but not limited to):

• Endocannabinoid system in neuropsychiatric disorders: preclinical studies examining ECS involvement in schizophrenia, PTSD, and depression.
• Medical cannabis and anxiety disorders: evidence on the efficacy of cannabis-based products in treating panic disorder, OCD, and phobias.
• Non-psychotropic cannabinoids and pain modulation: mechanistic insights into analgesic effects and novel cannabinoid-based targets for chronic pain.
• Sex differences in cannabinoid action: how sex modulates cannabinoid pharmacodynamics, behavioral outcomes, and therapeutic efficacy.
• Minor cannabinoids in psychiatry: emerging evidence on the therapeutic potential of lesser-known cannabinoids (e.g., CBG, CBC) in mental health conditions.
• Medical cannabis for epilepsy: preclinical and clinical data on the use of cannabinoids in treatment-resistant epilepsy, including pediatric populations.
• Cannabinoid modulation of neuroinflammation: ECS pathways influencing glial activation and cytokine profiles in neuroimmune disorders.
• Glial cannabinoid receptors as therapeutic targets: role of astrocytic and glial CB1/CB2 receptors in MS, glioblastoma, and alzheimer’s pathology.
• Endocannabinoid dysregulation in CNS disorders: how ECS imbalance contributes to psychiatric and neurological disease mechanisms.
• Cannabinoids in PD and AD: therapeutic potential of targeting ECS in neurodegenerative diseases.
• Cannabis and opioid users: clinical impact of medical cannabis use on opioid consumption, dependency, and behavioral health.
• Synthetic cannabinoids and development: behavioral and neurobiological impact of synthetic cannabinoids across adolescence and adulthood.
• Cannabis–drug interactions: how cannabis interacts with prescription medications and drugs of abuse, altering behavioral or cognitive effects.
• Pharmacokinetics of cannabinoids: comparative data on metabolism, receptor activity, and delivery systems from classical to next-generation cannabinoids.
• Future of cannabinoid-based therapeutics: Novel target identification, compound development, and precision-medicine approaches in cannabinoid research.
• Medical cannabis regulation: Perspectives on safety, efficacy, regulation, and the public health implications of widespread medical cannabis use.

By uniting diverse methodological approaches, from behavioral neuroscience, neuropharmacology, and psychiatry, to molecular and systems neuroscience, this Research Topic will provide a comprehensive, evidence-based overview of cannabinoid science as it enters a new era of medical application.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Systematic Review

Keywords: medical cannabis, cannabis-drug interactions, pharmacokinetics, opioid users, synthetic cannabinoids, behavior, neuromodulation, epilepsy, psychiatry

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.