CB 1 cannabinoid receptor (CB 1 R) undergoes both constitutive and agonist-induced internalization, but the underlying mechanisms of these processes and the role of β-arrestins in the regulation of CB 1 R function are not completely understood. In this study, we followed CB 1 R internalization using confocal microscopy and bioluminescence resonance energy transfer measurements in HeLa and Neuro-2a cells. We found that upon activation CB 1 R binds β-arrestin2 (β-arr2), but not β-arrestin1. Furthermore, both the expression of dominant-negative β-arr2 (β-arr2-V54D) and siRNA-mediated knock-down of β-arr2 impaired the agonist-induced internalization of CB 1 R. In contrast, neither β-arr2-V54D nor β-arr2-specific siRNA had a significant effect on the constitutive internalization of CB 1 R. However, both constitutive and agonist-induced internalization of CB 1 R were impaired by siRNA-mediated depletion of clathrin heavy chain. We conclude that although clathrin is required for both constitutive and agonist-stimulated internalization of CB 1 R, β-arr2 binding is only required for agonist-induced internalization of the receptor suggesting that the molecular mechanisms underlying constitutive and agonist-induced internalization of CB 1 R are different.