CP-55,940: Specs, Where It Fits & Evidence

Cannabinoid · Synthetic (research chemical)

CP-55,940 is a fully synthetic cannabinoid used in labs as a Pfizer reference agonist and potency benchmark, part of a class that is potent, unpredictable and linked to serious harm and deaths.

Where it fits

What the research shows

Direct human research on CP-55,940 is minimal; it is characterised mainly by its chemistry and its place in the cannabinoid family rather than by clinical studies. We flag that plainly rather than overstate it.

FAQ

Is CP-55,940 intoxicating? CP-55,940 is intoxicating.

Where does CP-55,940 come from? From Synthetic.

Why is CP-55,940 important in cannabinoid science? Radiolabeled [3H]-CP-55,940 was the molecular probe used in 1988 to discover and map the CB1 cannabinoid receptor in mammalian brain tissue.

Pfizer Non-Classical Synthesis, CB1/CB2 Receptor Discovery, and Pharmacology

CP-55,940 (C24H40O3) is a bicyclic non-classical synthetic cannabinoid developed by Pfizer in 1974 that lacks the dihydropyran ring of tricyclic delta-9-THC while acting as a high-affinity full agonist at both CB1 and CB2 receptors (Pertwee, 1999, PubMed PMID 1106801). Tritiated [3H]-CP-55,940 served as the radioligand that enabled Devane et al. to identify and characterize the brain cannabinoid receptor (CB1) in 1988 (Devane et al., 1988, PubMed PMID 2848184), and high-resolution X-ray crystallography later resolved the active-state human CB1 receptor in complex with agonists related to CP-55,940 (Hua et al., 2017, PubMed PMID 28678776); see also HU-210 and WIN 55,212-2.

Part of the NOIDS cannabinoids index. Educational reference, not medical advice.