John W. Huffman

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John William Huffman (born July 21, 1932 in Evanston (Illinois) ) is a professor emeritus of organic chemistry at Clemson University , who synthesized novel cannabinoids for the first time .

Huffman studied at Northwestern University with a bachelor's degree in 1954 and at Harvard University with a master's degree in 1956 and a doctorate in chemistry in 1957 with Robert B. Woodward . He was then an Assistant Professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology until 1960 and became an Assistant Professor at Clemson University in 1960, where he received a full professorship in 1967.

He deals with organic synthesis and medicinal chemistry.

From 1965 to 1970 he had a Career Development Award from the National Institutes of Health. In 1982 he was visiting professor at Colorado State University.

Cannabinoid research

Starting in 1984, Huffman and his research team were synthesizing cannabinoid compounds with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) properties for medical research purposes. Over the course of 20 years, Huffman and his team developed over 400 synthetic cannabinoid compounds that were used as pharmacological tools to study endocannabinoids and cannabinoid receptors. Ultimately, cannabinoid research provided a better understanding of the physiological cannabinoid control system in the human body and brain and opened the way to "elucidating this natural regulatory mechanism in health and disease". He himself also researches the cannabis receptors CB1 and CB2 in the human body. It is also hoping that the synthesis of new THC analogues will produce alternative drugs to THC (for example, as drugs for nausea, glaucoma, appetite stimulants, for example for AIDS) and also synthesizes THC metabolites for use in drug tests.

In the late 2000s, two Huffman cannabinoid compounds were found in street drugs K2 and Spice , which were sold as marijuana alternatives in Germany . “I thought when it started in Germany it would spread. I'm afraid it might hurt people, ”said Huffman. “I think that was something that was more or less inevitable. It bothers me that people are stupid enough to use this stuff. ”Huffman developed these compounds for scientific purposes, but was held responsible for their abuse as of 2011. One of the cannabinoids synthesized by Huffman is JWH-018 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Birth and career data according to American Men and Women of Science , Thomson Gale 2004
  2. ↑ Description of his research on his homepage , Clemson University
  3. ↑ Michael Tatusov, Maryann Mazer-Amirshahi, Lewis Nelson, and Jesse Pines: Things Every EP Needs to Know About K2 / Spice & the Synthetic Cannabinoid Epidemic , Emergency Physicians Monthly, October 23, 2015.
personal data
SURNAME Huffman, John W.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Huffman, John William
BRIEF DESCRIPTION organic chemist
DATE OF BIRTH July 21, 1932
PLACE OF BIRTH Evanston (Illinois)