cannabisnews.com: Marijuana May Spur New Brain Cells





Marijuana May Spur New Brain Cells
Posted by CN Staff on October 13, 2005 at 14:34:07 PT
By Steve Mitchell
Source: United Press International
Washington, D.C. -- Scientists said Thursday that marijuana appears to promote the development of new brain cells in rats and have anti-anxiety and anti-depressant effects, a finding that could have an impact on the national debate over medical uses of the drug.Other illegal and legal drugs, including opiates, alcohol, nicotine and cocaine, have been shown to suppress the formation of new brain cells when used chronically, but marijuana's effect on that process was uncertain.
Now, a team led by Xia Zhang of the department of psychiatry at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon may have found evidence the drug spurs new brain cells to form in a region of the brain called the hippocampus, and this in turn reduces anxiety and depression.Marijuana appears "to be the only illicit drug whose capacity to produce increased ... neurons is positively correlated with its (anti-anxiety) and anti-depressant-like effects," Zhang and colleagues wrote in the November issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation. The paper was posted online Thursday. In the study, rats were given injections of HU210 -- a synthesized version of a cannabinoid chemical found in marijuana -- twice per day for 10 days. Zhang told United Press International this would be "a high dose" of smoked marijuana, but he added he is not certain how many equivalent joints it would take or whether patients now using the drug typically would be getting this much HU210. Although HU210 was injected, Zhang said there would be no difference if it was obtained by smoking marijuana. The rats showed evidence of new neurons in the hippocampus dentate gyrus, a region of the brain that plays a role in developing memories.Zhang's team suspected the new brain cells also might be associated with a reduction in anxiety and depression, because previous studies had indicated medications used to treat anxiety and depression achieve their effect this way.To find out, they treated rats with HU210 for 10 days and then tested them one month later. When placed in a new environment, the rats were quicker to eat their food than rats that did not receive the compound, which suggested there was a reduction in anxiety behaviors.Another group of rats treated with HU210 showed a reduction in the duration of immobility in a forced swimming test, which is an indication the compound had an anti-depressant effect.Asked how he thought the findings might impact the debate over using marijuana to treat medical conditions, Zhang said, "Our results indicate cannabinoids could be used for the treatment of anxiety and depression." He added that his view is "marijuana should be used as alcohol or nicotine," noting "it has been used for treating various diseases for years in other countries."Last June the U.S. Supreme Court voted 6-3 that the federal ban on marijuana supersedes the laws of certain states that allow the substance to be used for medicinal purposes, such as the treatment of pain, nausea in cancer patients and glaucoma. Eleven states have passed laws legalizing marijuana use by patients with a doctor's approval, including California, Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington. The Bush administration, through the Department of Justice's Drug Enforcement Agency, began conducting raids in California in 2001 on patients using marijuana. Two of those arrested by the DEA -- Angel Raich, who suffers from brain cancer, and Diane Monson, who used the drug to help alleviate chronic back pain -- sued Attorney General John Ashcroft, requesting a court order to be allowed to grow and smoke marijuana, which led to the Supreme Court decision.Paul Armentano, senior policy analyst with the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, told UPI he thought the findings "would have a positive impact on moving forward this debate, because it is giving ... a scientific explanation that further supports long-observed anecdotal evidence, and further lends itself to the notion that marijuana, unlike so many other prescription drugs and controlled substances, appears to have incredibly low toxicity and as a result lacks potential harm to the brain that many of these drugs have."The DEA Web site, however, contends that "marijuana is a dangerous, addictive drug that poses significant health threats to users," including cancer and impaired mental functioning.Armentano said this is a distortion of what scientific studies actually show. Studies in animals indicate marijuana actually may protect against many forms of cancer, rather than cause the disease, he said. In addition, studies in marijuana smokers have found little evidence of cognitive deficits, and even when they do, the defects disappear if the person stops smoking for 30 days. Source: United Press International (Wire)Author: Steve MitchellPublished: October 13, 2005Copyright 2005 United Press InternationalWebsite: http://www.upi.com/ Contact: sciencemail upi.comNORMLhttp://www.norml.org/CannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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Comment #8 posted by runruff on October 14, 2005 at 09:54:33 PT:
Getting smarter every day.
I was born a spit drouling moron but after smoking pot for
40 years I am a 145 iq genius. Just not a very bright one, that's all.
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on October 14, 2005 at 08:41:08 PT
global_warming 
I hope it doesn't make it to your house. The flooding looks really bad back east.
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Comment #6 posted by global_warming on October 14, 2005 at 08:36:36 PT
flood waters
The worst I have seen in over 20 years at the same location, the river is up to the driveway.
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Comment #5 posted by Sam Adams on October 14, 2005 at 06:52:47 PT
poor rats
They could've just ASKED us whether or not cannabis reduces depression and anxiety, no need to go drowning a bunch of rats, oh sorry, it was a "forced swimming" experiment.Science has brought us so many great things, and yet some of its practices are so twisted it boggles the mind.
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on October 13, 2005 at 16:06:15 PT
global_warming 
I hope that you aren't getting flood waters where you live. 
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Comment #3 posted by global_warming on October 13, 2005 at 15:49:31 PT
Today
I was talking to a couple of guys, co-workers, and we somehow got on the topic of medical marijuana, one of the guys said that paranoia was his biggest problem with the blessed leaf, earlier in the conversation, he was telling me how one of his walls in his house was all wet, all this rain here in the NE, back in NJ, the rivers are rising and Mother nature is knocking on our doors.Katrina, oh Katrina, we gave you a name, yet you came with such anger, now the mold and reminders inside our coffins, stink and has placed the smell in our nostrils, that is filled with molded reminders of the rotting weeds in front of little green spaces.Many years ago, a person could purchase a kilo of marijuana for around $ 125.000 Dollars, I can remember those colorful wrappings, like all this rain, the smell of that mildew and mold, was what came from the local "drug" dealer, yup, that darkest of creature that was selling "illicit" drugs to those that had "money".If you smoke marijuana, be as sure as you can, the purest marijuana can bring you before God, the dirty drug dealer, that filthy merchant, cannot "guaranty" purity or the organics of clean cannabis. Yom Kippur is probably the most important holiday of the Jewish year. Many Jews who do not observe any other Jewish custom will refrain from work, fast and/or attend synagogue services on this day. Yom Kippur occurs on the 10th day of Tishri. The holiday is instituted at Leviticus 23:26On Yom Kippur, the judgment entered in these books is sealed. This day is, essentially, your last appeal, your last chance to change the judgment, to demonstrate your repentance and make amends.God is a Mercifull God,
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on October 13, 2005 at 15:17:26 PT
global_warming 
You made me laugh! Thanks.
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Comment #1 posted by global_warming on October 13, 2005 at 14:58:55 PT
Well, lets hurry up
I could really use some new brain cells.http://www.earthcalendar.net/index.phphttp://www.jewfaq.org/holiday4.htm#Dates
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