So FAAH, So Good, Maybe

A paper in Nature Chemical Biology describes the potent analgesic effect of a class of organophosphorus compounds that enhances cannabinoid receptor activity.¹ Unlike pain treatments based on agonizing cannabinoid receptors with compounds such as cannabis-derived tetrahydrocannabinol, these organophosphorous compounds inhibit fatty acid amide hydrolase and monoacylglycerol lipase, two enzymes responsible for degrading the major endocannabinoids anandamide and 2-arachidonylglycerol.

Academics and companies are still hashing out which of the two enzymes is the better target for therapeutics, and opinions are also mixed on the toxicity and potential side effects of the organophosphorous compounds described in the paper...