cannabisnews.com: Pothead Rats Still Smart 





Pothead Rats Still Smart 
Posted by CN Staff on July 05, 2003 at 07:50:03 PT
By Dan Arsenault, Health Reporter
Source: Halifax Herald 
Some St. Francis Xavier University lab rats have been getting high and feeling no pain, all in the name of science. John McKenna, a psychology professor at the Antigonish university, hopes soon to publish a study showing rodents feel less pain after receiving a marijuana-mimicking substance, while maintaining some other abilities. "They don't look stoned at all," he said. "It's quite an exciting discovery." Mr. McKenna, who heard Thursday his lab is getting more than $100,000 in federal and provincial funding, started his study more than a year ago. 
Although early testing shows results, he's careful about calling the experiment a success. "That's part of the scientific process. If you think that you found something then you try and disprove it. If you can't disprove, then you go ahead and publish your results." He hopes to publish his findings in September. What he's looking for is a painkilling compound that doesn't impair the rats. He noted that morphine or other opiates block pain, but have harmful side effects, such as slower heart rates or reduced motor skills. In this experiment, he drills holes into drugged rats' skulls, inserts a tube and, a week later, tests how they respond to pain while on a drug that mimics marijuana. The compound he uses is WIN-55,212 - an experimental substance supplied by a British pharmaceutical company. He said it's more stable than THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. "I'm licensed to import the active ingredient," he said. Mr. McKenna places rats under observation and uses tubes to inject WIN-55,212. Then he applies a painful stimulus - akin to a bee sting - to their feet. Later, using infrared beams, he monitors how much the rats move around. A snack placed inside the cage provides another incentive to move about. "Do they move around in this environment and sniff it and investigate it or . . . (get) stoned to the point they can't move?" He's finding the rats' pain isn't stopping them from investigating while under the influence. The study also tests to see whether the drug makes rats overly active. Mr. McKenna said the test might show something he finds quite exciting. "We think we've discovered a new area of the brain that produces analgesia (absence of pain)." He said all mammals have similar brain structures, so the information will likely be useful in fighting human pain. Ottawa "seems to have a dire need for good scientific information about the whole cannabis-medical marijuana issue. These findings can help." John Cook, director of the Halifax branch of the Cannabis Buyers Club of Canada, is hopeful the study leads to government action, but he's doubtful. "Anything that convinces the government" to make it easier for those in pain to get marijuana is good, he said. "The problem seems to be there are studies for and studies against." Note: Study may point way to ease pain.Source: Halifax Herald (CN NS)Author: Dan Arsenault, Health ReporterPublished: Saturday, July 5, 2003 Copyright: 2003 The Halifax Herald LimitedContact letters herald.ns.caWebsite: http://www.herald.ns.ca/Related Articles & Web Site:Cannabis Buyers Club of Canadahttp://www.cbc-canada.com/Study: Marijuana Eases Traumatic Memories http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13601.shtmlPot Blocks Painful Memories, Study Says http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13600.shtmlPot-Like Chemical Helps Beat Fear http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13596.shtml 
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Comment #23 posted by FoM on July 06, 2003 at 14:29:05 PT
afterburner
Thank you! I don't know what I'm doing when it comes to video. I can see the video but that doesn't mean that anyone else can. That's what I needed checked. Back to my mowing. It's hot today out in the sun. 
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Comment #22 posted by afterburner on July 06, 2003 at 13:41:05 PT:
FoM
I get only the audio on Greendale. It stops frequently because I have only dial-up. I tried Powderfinger for contrast. It stopped once. Then I rested the mouse pointer on the pause button, and it played straight through.
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Comment #21 posted by FoM on July 06, 2003 at 10:04:56 PT
afterburner
Would you do me a small favor? I saved the video last night from Greendale and cut out broken stuff. Does this work for you? This is not real video but the Microsoft Media Player. Thanks!http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/Greendale.htm
The Latest from Neil Young
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Comment #20 posted by FoM on July 05, 2003 at 17:48:18 PT
Thanks afterburner and ekim
The Greendale DVD Preview is working now. It's just the one song but it is good.http://www.neilyoung.com/premiere.html
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Comment #19 posted by afterburner on July 05, 2003 at 17:28:56 PT:
400,000 people expected July 30 for Rolling Stones
Memory lane - Stones perform at local Toronto club, the El Mocambo, affectionately known as the Elmo, circa 1977: Note to Stones: Remember the Elmo http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1056665411734
2003-06-28 10:12:27 "[Entertainment]
If history could be seen in reverse, the July 30 Rolling Stones' boost-Toronto blast at Downsview Park, with up to 400,000 fans expected, would seem like small potatoes compared to the pair of really big little soirees the band hosted at the El Mocambo on March 4 and 5, 1977. Peter Goddard reports."400,000 people are expected for the July 30th Rolling Stones Concert at Downsview Park in Toronto. If any one is having trouble with the Stones tix flying; Rush added to bill link (the servers seem really busy), try The Star Home Page http://www.thestar.com/ and do a 14-day site search for "tix"ego transcendence follows ego destruction, giving Satisfaction. 
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Comment #18 posted by ekim on July 05, 2003 at 16:27:44 PT
hey FoM "Starting July 4, 240,000 tickets will be 
Comment #2 posted by afterburner on July 02, 2003 at 21:43:47 PT:
 
ekim 
How much support does Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich -- http://www.kucinich.us/ have in Michigan, so far? I can hardly wait for the primary.
Rolling Stones confirm Toronto concert http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20030624.wston0624_3/BNStory/National/ [ Tickets for the concert go on sale Friday [June 27, 2003] at a cost of $21.50 (Canadian) and $16 (U.S.)."We're happy to tell you that we're coming to play on July 30 in a great concert for the people in the city of Toronto, to help bring back the energy to our favourite city," [said] Mick Jagger [in a taped message]. Mr. Manley said organizers hope to attract busloads of Americans to the concert: "Let this be the biggest invasion of Canada from the United States since the War of 1812. Bring them on!" ]Stones tix flying; Rush added to bill http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1056709608028 2003-06-27 20:51:09 [Entertainment] The SARS-ravaged economy of Toronto got a rock 'n' roll boost today as people across the city lined up for tickets to a blockbuster concert featuring the Rolling Stones. "Starting July 4, 240,000 tickets will be sold at A&P, Dominion and Farmer Jack grocery stores on both sides of the border." [This link also contains a link to Downsview Park where the concert will be held.]Get a breath of freedom, escape the fear if just for a few days. ego transcendence follows ego destruction, hope to see you all there! 
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Comment #17 posted by FoM on July 05, 2003 at 12:23:18 PT
News Article from Snipped Source
Country Fans, Deadheads Dance Together at Willie's Picnic 
By Michael Corcoran, Jeremy Schwartz and Melissa LudwigSaturday, July 5, 2003A clump of nouveau flower children stood outside a purple bus in the parking lot with index fingers raised, a plea for spare tickets. Three shirtless college-age men in cowboy hats blasted David Allan Coe songs from a Jeep. A middle-age couple in matching Lone Star flag running shorts hopped off a trailer selling "$1 hayrides" from the camping area to the front gate. The sound of Johnny Bush singing "Whiskey River" intertwined with a dreadlocked conga player, who had a sign asking for gas money.Two concert traditions converged Friday off Texas 71 in Spicewood, as Willie Nelson's 30th anniversary Fourth of July Picnic attracted Central Texas' usual outlaw-country crowd as well as the traveling freak show known as the Deadheads. In the process, the new Two River Canyon Amphitheatre was baptized when a downpour forced fans to huddle under the misting tent for shelter. Meanwhile, thousands stewed in traffic that backed up for miles from the venue's entrance. It was as if the Deadheads, out to see their heroes on tour for the first time since Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia died in 1995, all decided to come at the same time.One of the vehicles choked in the traffic was a tour bus, which may have explained why popular Austin singer Pat Green missed his slot. That led to a one-hour gap before the Dead took the stage just after 6 p.m. with "Let the Good Times Roll." Peeved Dead fans Linda and Rick Diehlman of Austin were stuck in traffic for almost four hours and missed more than half the band's set. "We've waited for this for months," Linda said. "We're here for the Dead and only the Dead." Snipped:Complete Article: http://www.statesman.com/metrostate/content/metro/july4/0705picnicupdate.html
Jerry Garcia - Audio Clips
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Comment #16 posted by FoM on July 05, 2003 at 12:01:42 PT
Aljazeerah Article about Canada
I find this interesting since I read CNews is banned in their countries.http://www.aljazeerah.info/Opinion%20editorials/2003%20Opinion%20Editorials/July/5o/Canada%20is%20at%20crossroads%20as%20social%20fabric%20is%20strained,%20%20Nihal%20Kaneira.htm
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Comment #15 posted by lag on July 05, 2003 at 11:21:13 PT
yeah, but are they schizophrenic?
I mean, do they have delusions of granduer...I bet they are going to cite evidence that they have good strong indications these rats are planning something...something like taking over the world.
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Comment #14 posted by FoM on July 05, 2003 at 11:05:41 PT
Virgil
I understand what you are saying. I want truth. I don't like mind games. That's what a lot of this is just mind games. I want to hear a yes mean yes and a no mean no and explain why. 
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Comment #13 posted by Virgil on July 05, 2003 at 11:00:28 PT
"They are not listening to us."
Memes are an interesting thing. You can look up meme at dictionary.com or webster.com and it can explain it better than I can. It is an area worthy of a Ledher composition and I hope we can all be so lucky. A few years ago a person that wrote a book on memes was on Charlie Rose explaining how powerful memes are.Dictionary.com will present an explanation along the lines of things that replicate like viruses. I am mostly interested in memes that become internal programming but things like hola-hoops in the 50's or the big toy that has to be had for Christmas could be explained by memes."We are under attack" was a meme that spread to everyone's internal programming and for polical reasons the meme "We are at war" is kept alive. We went to war and acted like we were being attacked when we used the meme to become the aggressors and violate the UN Charter and international law.But memes really are powerful things. I seem to jest at "Just say no" but it was very powerful. "Don't abuse drugs" or "Don't abuse your body" would convey a completely different line of programming to be replicated in people's internal programming.That is why Walter's always says "Marijuana is a dangerous drug." People hit that line of programming and there you are. There will come a mime to wipe it out because it is a lie. That is why I suggest adopting a line and using it- "Marijuana is a beneficial plant." Our mime will kill their mime.This article is about cannabinoids as medicine. The prohibitionist spout one mime over and over so that it might dwell in the minds of people that have no knowledge and to act like they have a sincere position- "Marijuana has no medical value." Now when 80% and rising of the people have overcome the propaganda and outright lie of the Schedule One Lie, it raises the one line we should draw from it- "They are not listening to us." That is another powerful mime that will take hold as the fascists hold on to an untenable position. "They ignore science and reason to preserve their position" is a line of programming worthy of advancing. Of course the one thing a reformer has to change is talking about cannabis prohibition instead of cannabis itself. Just say "Marijuana is a beneficial plant" and move on to the harms of prohibition. And if time is short give it a meme- "Cannabis prohibition is a hoax."
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Comment #12 posted by FoM on July 05, 2003 at 10:49:16 PT
Thanks Jose
I hope Kucinich really gets out there and stands up for medical marijuana. I really want to hear him talk about it. I am not political because I'm twisted I suppose. Too many lies for too many years by politicans. Politicans really need to be vocal and stand up and be counted and then I will believe them. 
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Comment #11 posted by Jose Melendez on July 05, 2003 at 10:36:24 PT
Music Icon Shills For Kucinich 
from:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10541-2003Jul4.htmlPresidential candidate Howard Dean may be the Democrats' best-financed lefty, but progressive Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (D-Ohio) had his own victory to announce last week: the endorsement of country-western icon Willie Nelson."I am endorsing Dennis Kucinich for president, because he stands up for heartland Americans who are too often overlooked and unheard," Nelson said. "A Kucinich administration will put the interests of America's family farmers, consumers and environment above the greed of industrial agribusiness."Nelson said he planned concerts to help fill Kucinich's campaign coffers.Kucinich was thrilled. "It's an honor to earn the support of a man who has come to symbolize the best values of America," he said.
Rove Spends the Fourth Rousing Support for Dean 
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Comment #10 posted by FoM on July 05, 2003 at 10:26:12 PT
afterburner
Hot-cha-cha-cha-cha! back at ya! LOL!
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Comment #9 posted by FoM on July 05, 2003 at 10:25:08 PT
afterburner 
The Rolling Stones concert should be really great! I wonder how big the concert will be. It could be huge. Do you have any ideas about the size? 
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Comment #8 posted by afterburner on July 05, 2003 at 10:11:12 PT:
Still Waiting for Neil Young Tickets to Manifest..
for September in Toronto, but I have my Rolling Stones tickets. I bought them on the Fourth of July. Celebrating American Independence with a British band in a Canadian city. Hot-cha-cha-cha-cha!ego transcendence follows ego destruction, the legalization wave is coursing around the world.
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on July 05, 2003 at 09:32:04 PT
Off Topic - Entertainment
Tonight starting at 8 PM ET a preview of the DVD version of Greendale will be available to see and hear. It is only tonight so if you missed the Greendale tour you might want to check this out.http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/young.htmhttp://www.neilyoung.com/premiere.html
Neil Young
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on July 05, 2003 at 09:11:18 PT
Thanks afterburner
I saw that article the other day. I agree that forfeiture laws need changed. I only have ever read where they take homes etc. from people where they find marijuana. I wonder if they take homes, cars etc. from people who are into Cocaine or Heroin or other hard drugs?
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Comment #5 posted by afterburner on July 05, 2003 at 08:55:00 PT:
A Good Idea from Utah That Needs Some Developing
US UT: Law Makes Forfeitures A Hot Potato http://www.mapinc.org/newscc/v03/n1003/a07.html?397 04 Jul 2003 
Salt Lake Tribune "Initiative B, a voter-approved act that prohibits police and prosecutors from pocketing forfeiture profits."ego transcendence follows ego destruction, click-click-click, the dominos are falling.
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on July 05, 2003 at 08:09:13 PT
Jose
You're very welcome!
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on July 05, 2003 at 08:08:25 PT
News Article from Snipped Source
Mixed Signals Given by Judges in Saskatchewan 
Kevin O'Connor, Leader-Post Saturday, July 05, 2003 
 
Although Saskatchewan courts have ruled Canada's law against the possession of marijuana is still in effect here, some judges are giving out the most lenient sentences possible.Earlier this week, Provincial Court Judge Diane Morris gave a 43-year-old Regina man an absolute discharge after he pleaded guilty to possession of 14 grams of marijuana.It's the latest in a series of cases where Saskatchewan judges have made reference to the changing landscape of marijuana laws in Canada.An absolute discharge is the mildest sentence available when there is a conviction and results in no criminal record if the offender didn't have one previously.Last month, another Regina judge gave a man caught with 50 grams of marijuana an absolute discharge after he pleaded guilty. Morris said the discharge she ordered was appropriate "due to the developments in this area of the law."That's presumably a reference to recent Ontario court decisions where marijuana charges have been thrown out -- as well as to the federal government's plan to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of the drug.Currently, the maximum penalty for simple possession of less than 30 grams is a six-month jail term and a $1,000 fine.But under legislation introduced May 27 by federal Justice Minister Martin Cauchon, possession of up to 15 grams of pot would be a minor offence, fines would be reduced and jail wouldn't be an option. Parliament, which has adjourned for the summer, has yet to pass the proposed law.In the meantime, an Ontario Superior Court ruling has effectively struck down the law against simple possession in that province.Snipped:Complete Article: http://www.canada.com/regina/news/story.asp?id=2D48572E-8A8D-4D00-9B71-DD8BDCAB0D63
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Comment #2 posted by Sam Adams on July 05, 2003 at 08:07:11 PT
Welcome to the world of Modern Man
We've got thousands of old people driving to Canada to buy prescription drugs because the corporate/government elite use their power to hoard the supply and extort money from the elderly. We've got tens of millions of people with no health care insurance suffering, kids with teeth rotting out of their mouths. BUT, as a society we still have enough money to pay some guy to torture rats and then play around injecting various drugs into them. Good thing the US of A has the BEST health care system, the BEST form of government, and the BEST doctors in the world........
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Comment #1 posted by Jose Melendez on July 05, 2003 at 07:55:58 PT
they lose.
FoM, thanks for everything you've done here. Here is more proof we can only win the war on us.From:http://business.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2003/07/04/website_turns_tables_on_government_officials
 Annoyed by the prospect of a massive new federal surveillance system, two researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are celebrating the Fourth of July with a new Internet service that will let citizens create dossiers on government officials. 
The system will start by offering standard background information on politicians, but then go one bold step further, by asking Internet users to submit their own intelligence reports on government officials -- reports that will be published with no effort to verify their accuracy.(Snipped)
Website turns tables on government officials
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