Cannabis and Organ Damage: A Focus on Pancreatitis (to Include Different Scenarios)

Cannabis is a widely and commonly used illicit drug. The regular use of cannabis has revealed numerous side effects on different body sites. From 2004 (Grant and Gandhi 2004) to now, literature data have been reporting an increased number of acute pancreatitis related to cannabis use and/or abuse. The mechanism by which cannabis induces acute pancreatitis has not been fully understood and recent researches are still underway to determine the exact pathophysiology. It is known that cannabinoids receptors named cannabinoids receptor type 1 (CB1) and type 2 (CB2) are sited in the pancreatic islets of Langerhans. So, the active cannabinoids compounds may “influence” the pancreatic activity through the binding with these receptors, with effects “dose-related,” according to the recent evidence. This review aims to summarize the current knowledge regarding the effects of cannabis and cannabinoids derivatives on pancreas, since its use and/or abuse is progressively increasing and a large widely legalization is achieving.