Lab rats given drug 100 times as strong as pot

[epilepticme]

Lab rats given drug 100 times as strong as pot

DAWN WALTON

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.

"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."

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/study-turns-pot-wisdom-on-head/article893819/

epilepticme Reviewed by epilepticme on 06-14-2009. Lab rats given drug 100 times as strong as pot Lab rats given drug 100 times as strong as pot DAWN WALTON 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 Rating: 5

[valium10]

Very good information but now i am upset because i cant blame 30 years of smokin weed on me being stupid..lol..I guess i was just born this way :rasta:

[fluid69]

hell yeah! I got to get me some HU-210. I bet that stuff will knock your hat in the creek. LOL

[filo6942]

^^ yeah that would be FTW!!

[dmahny88]

Xia Zhang, an associate professor with the Neuropsychiatry Research Unit at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon
where the f is that you ask? Canada. i looked it up.
This Is So Cool!!
A legitimate scientific community giving pot more legitimate medical uses with new research. Good news! I also like how much "pot" they gave them lil suckers lol. I would be such a mad-crazy little rat if that was me! lol id be jumping off walls going absolutely nuts for those 10 days lol greatest 10 days of my life hehe
What do you think about pot stimulating the hippocampus, weird. i really think being high is such a mind-state that in HUMANS it really could have a wide variety of affects, like different strokes(in the brain) for different folks is kinda what i believe what weed does to us. I think, same bud, same dosage, 2 different people..those people's physiological effects of being high can do very different things.
I believe that just having your mind in a different zone when you are high can do tons of change on your high and affect your body and brain differently every time. But i guess thats just the dif between us and rats haha

[valium10]

I bet it wont be to long somebody will figure out how to brew some 100X killer syntheticly treated bud that will make u higher than shit. Years back (1978)i got a hold of some thai stick and i swear it had a drop or 2 of something that made me higher than shit. Payed 20 bux for 1 small stick with some form of weed wraped around the stick. Smoked 1 pin joint between 3 of us and i swear i never been higher. Damn lucky rats get all the good shit.lmao

[JD1stTimer]

Doesn't thai stick have opium added in?

[valium10]

I am pretty sure that opium is a possible substance used but that is for the most part a rumor. Real thai stick that i was getting was just a premium seedles brown high potency bud possibly dipped but i was told most real stick that was in the 70's was dipped in hash oil but i could not taste any thing on the weed. I could be wrong but the stuff i was getting in the late 70's was just well grown premium seedless brown bud. IMO i think modern growers have mastered the methods of obtaining high potency so this has drivin the thai stick out of business. I also think that now that the vietnam war is over that kind of hurt the method of transportation which in turn now you rarely hear of thai stick being sold. In 1988 I was lucky enough to visit korat Air Base in Thailand during a training exersise and i can assure you that outside grown seedles brown dry good tasteing bud is still very much available in thailand and they take pride in it being potent. Opium is everywhere in thailand as well so i imagine some of it might have made its way on those tiny sticks but i wouldn't buy it if i detected it on my bud. If you ever watch locked up abroad you will understand the reasons not to try to traffic bud from any overseas country period. They would lock up americans and throw the key away if caught any place surrounding thailand with bud. I been to many far east countries and we americans are not very well liked from what i have experianced. They only like our cash $$..Thats cool to me because the only thing i liked there was the woman and the partying. So if you ever hear an old timer say he had some killer brown bud back in the day you can almost bet its true. Another rumor about thai stick is it comes only from thailand. Bud was tied to sticks in vietnam,Laos,cambodia and all the surrounding countries in the 70's. I am sure you might find some thai stick from time to time being sold but it is not as abundant as during the vietnam war. The Far East is full of bud and they know us americans love our bud. Many times i have witnessed small children selling weed at traffic lights to americans. OK, I admit i have bought it, lol. About 2 bux used to buy around an 1/8 of decent bud and i would roll a few jays and throw the rest away because to enter the base at night you had to pass K-9 100% of the time. Now thats wasteing bud! :rasta:

[jwelly]

My dads hates cali's med cannibus in comparison to the thai he got in Vietnam. He once told me his 'war' story where him and his friend went to this singer's house and he was thai(or vietminiese whatev) and he pulled out this thai weed my dad had smoked before. It was tradition in the air force at that time to take the new kid out to this guys house to smoke this weed. Not for everyone just for my dads little squad. He made this guy smoke a full joint of the stuff and the guy was so high he just stared for days. My dad prompted him that they had to return to base an hour after he had smoked it and he just sat there. Then he had to say, "Dan, stand up" and he stood up, he then told him that he had to give the police your ticket when you get on the bus and your id card to the military police on base. From their all the way to the bus station he walked like the drug dealer in grandmas boy who was imitating Frankenstein. Once they got on the bus there was viet police that would check all tickets to make sure they were all people that paid. the guy asked dan, "ticket". he started to hand him money. then my dad started to nudge him because he though the guard might think he's bribing him or something. "Ticket!" all the sudden my dad say's to dan, "dan pull out your ticket" the guy then tried to give him, his money and the ticket. then the police officer ripped the mula from dan, walked off mumbling.

i wish i could be that insanely high from thai. he's been smoking for his whole life and his says he knows it was just pure homegrown. To this day he gives me 60$ for the clubs finest 1/8 looking for something to compare.

[Medicaldelivery]

Lab rats given drug 100 times as strong as pot

DAWN WALTON

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.

"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."

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/study-turns-pot-wisdom-on-head/article893819/

Yeah I know.:rastasmoke: