[Mb-civic] Re: [Mb-hair] weed - it's good for the brain!

[Robin McNamara]

There are many things that marijuana is good for both physical & mental. Our 
government refuses to study it properly & spreads garbage propaganda of how 
bad it is for you. Carl Sagen, said that marijuana gave him intellectual 
insight.

Love forever
Robin




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jonathon B" <jonboy3000 at yahoo.com>
To: "jon bush" <jonbushfilms at yahoo.com>
Sent: Friday, October 14, 2005 3:28 PM
Subject: [Mb-hair] weed - it's good for the brain!


> By DAWN WALTON
>
> Friday, October 14, 2005 Posted at 3:57 AM EDT
>
>>From Friday's Globe and Mail
>
> Calgary - Forget the stereotype about dopey potheads.
> It seems marijuana could be good for your brain.
>
> While other studies have shown that periodic use of
> marijuana can cause memory loss and impair learning
> and a host of other health problems down the road, new
> research suggests the drug could have some benefits
> when administered regularly in a highly potent form.
>
> Most "drugs of abuse" such as alcohol, heroin, cocaine
> and nicotine suppress growth of new brain cells.
> However, researchers found that cannabinoids promoted
> generation of new neurons in rats' hippocampuses.
>
> Hippocampuses are the part of the brain responsible
> for learning and memory, and the study held true for
> either plant-derived or the synthetic version of
> cannabinoids.
>
> Advertisements
>
>
>
>
>
>
> "This is quite a surprise," said Xia Zhang, an
> associate professor with the Neuropsychiatry Research
> Unit at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon.
>
> "Chronic use of marijuana may actually improve
> learning memory when the new neurons in the
> hippocampus can mature in two or three months," he
> added.
>
> The research by Dr. Zhang and a team of international
> researchers is to be published in the November issue
> of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, but their
> findings are on-line now.
>
> The scientists also noticed that cannabinoids curbed
> depression and anxiety, which Dr. Zhang says, suggests
> a correlation between neurogenesis and mood swings.
> (Or, it at least partly explains the feelings of
> relaxation and euphoria of a pot-induced high.)
>
> Other scientists have suggested that depression is
> triggered when too few new brain cells are created in
> the hippocampus. One researcher of neuropharmacology
> said he was "puzzled" by the findings.
>
> As enthusiastic as Dr. Zhang is about the potential
> health benefits, he warns against running out for a
> toke in a bid to beef up brain power or calm nerves.
>
> The team injected laboratory rats with a synthetic
> substance called HU-210, which is similar, but 100
> times as potent as THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol),
> the compound responsible for giving marijuana users a
> high.
>
> They found that the rats treated regularly with a high
> dose of HU-210 -- twice a day for 10 days -- showed
> growth of neurons in the hippocampus. The researchers
> don't know if pot, which isn't as pure as the
> lab-produced version, would have the same effect.
>
> "There's a big gap between rats and humans," Dr. Zhang
> points out.
>
> But there is a lot of interest -- and controversy --
> around the use of cannabinoids to improve human
> health.
>
> Cannabinoids, such as marijuana and hashish, have been
> used to address pain, nausea, vomiting, seizures
> caused by epilepsy, ischemic stroke, cerebral trauma,
> tumours, multiple sclerosis and a host of other
> maladies.
>
> There are herbal cannabinoids, which come from the
> cannabis plant, and the bodies of humans and animals
> produce endogenous cannabinoids. The substance can
> also be designed in the lab.
>
> Cannabinoids can trigger the body's two cannabinoid
> receptors, which control the activity of various cells
> in the body.
>
> One receptor, known as CB1, is found primarily in the
> brain. The other receptor, CB2, was thought to be
> found only in the immune system.
>
> However, in a separate study to be published today in
> the journal Science, a group of international
> researchers have located the CB2 receptor in the brain
> stems of rats, mice and ferrets.
>
> The brain stem is responsible for basic body function
> such as breathing and the gastrointestinal tract. If
> stimulated in a certain way, CB2 could be harnessed to
> eliminate the nausea and vomiting associated with
> post-operative analgesics or cancer and AIDS
> treatments, according to the researchers.
>
> "Ultimately, new therapies could be developed as a
> result of these findings," said Keith Sharkey, a
> gastrointestinal neuroscientist at the University of
> Calgary, lead author of the study.
>
> (Scientists are trying to find ways to block CB1 as a
> way to decrease food cravings and limit dependence on
> tobacco.)
>
> When asked whether his findings explain why some swear
> by pot as a way to avoid the queasy feeling of a
> hangover, Dr. Sharkey paused and replied: "It does not
> explain the effects of smoked or inhaled or ingested
> substances."
>
>
>
>
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