2012 Division of medicinal chemistry award address. Trekking the cannabinoid road: a personal perspective.

My involvement with the field of cannabinoids spans close to 3 decades and covers a major part of my scientific career. It also reflects the robust progress in this initially largely unexplored area of biology. During this period of time, I have witnessed the growth of modern cannabinoid biology, starting from the discovery of its two receptors and followed by the characterization of its endogenous ligands and the identification of the enzyme systems involved in their biosynthesis and biotransformation. I was fortunate enough to start at the beginning of this new era and participate in a number of the new discoveries. It has been a very exciting journey. With coverage of some key aspects of my work during this period of "modern cannabinoid research," this Award Address, in part historical, intends to give an account of how the field grew, the key discoveries, and the most promising directions for the future.