Rimonabant is an anorectic antiobesity drug that has been withdrawn from the market due to potentially serious side effects.Rimonabant reduced resumption of cocaine-seeking responses triggered by two of the three most common triggers of relapse in humans: priming and cues.Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is known to impair short-term memory. It was therefore hypothesised that rimonabant may reduce or inhibit the atrophic effects of cannabinoids. Indeed, in animal studies, it significantly improved the ability of rats to encode information into short-term memory. Rimonabant has been described colloquially as "reverse marijuana", having a depressing effect on appetite inverse to the increased appetite created by cannabinoids. Rimonabant blocks the psychoactive and some of the cardiovascular effects of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in humans without affecting the pharmacokinetics.
-O223.gif)