CB2 cannabinoid receptors: new vistas

Over the years CB2 cannabinoid receptors have received much less attention than CB1 receptors, the latter mediating most of the psychoactive effects of cannabis. Primarily this was due to difficulties in assigning a physiological function to CB2 receptors. In recent years this situation has changed, and CB2 receptors have been implicated in processes as diverse as analgesia, hepatic fibrosis, bone growth, and atherosclerosis. This special issue of the British Journal of Pharmacology addresses these and other topics in CB2 receptor research by compiling a series of reviews and primary research papers stemming from a meeting ‘CB22 cannabinoid receptors: New vistas’ that was held in Banff, Canada, from May 31 to June 3, 2007. British Journal of Pharmacology (2008) 153, 177–178; doi: 10.1038/sj.bjp.0707617