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Cannabinoids Induce Brain Cell Growth?
Posted by
ScuttleMonkey
on Sun Oct 16, 2005 03:33 AM
from the lots-of-happy-people-made-happier dept.
from the lots-of-happy-people-made-happier dept.
Harlan writes "The Globe and Mail is reporting that researchers at the University of Saskatchewan are claiming that high doses of cannabinoids have induced new brain cell growth in the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for learning and memory, in rat subjects. There are some interesting potential implications in regards to high doses of cannabinoids found in substances like marijuana."
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This was never really in doubt... (Score:5, Funny)
There's some serious brain power gone into engineering those bastards.
It is still in doubt actually (Score:5, Insightful)
But similar results done with THC (Tetra Hydro Cannabinol), the main compound in hash and weed have found no evidence for this cellgrowth stimulation. So let's not jump for joy yet. One experiment/paper does not mean it has been accepted as scientific fact yet.
Besides, you can be sure that with such a hot subject and the way research is financed/politiced there will be more research 'debunking' this even if it turns out to be true after all.
Parent
Re:It is still in doubt actually (Score:5, Informative)
Actually, the research talks about "cannabinoids." Cannabinoids are the primary psychoactive alkaloids contained in cannabis, of which, THC is the most concentrated in most strains, although each strain contains different levels of each. THC is a cannabinoid so it likely has very similar pharmacological effects as HU-210.
Parent
Re:It is still in doubt actually (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:It is still in doubt actually (Score:5, Informative)
Methanol is metabolized by alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) via formaldehyde to formic acid, being responsible for the metabolic acidosis in methanol poisoning.
That's why ethanol is given as a cure for methanol poisoning; by adding ethanol to the bloodstream the metabolization rate of methanol decreases as the body will also metabolize ethanol, and thus the level of toxic methanol byproducts in the blood will be kept at a non-lethal level.
Parent
Re:It is still in doubt actually (Score:5, Informative)
Are you still sure that the only method they used was injecting cannabinoids and measuring how much they ate?
I guess that experiment is an accepted test for anxiety, and prozac cum suis scores very good on it. Science gets better if you use standard test where you can. Even though your 'munchies' hypothesis sounds plausible, it still cannot explain the neurogenesis bit.
Parent
Re:It is still in doubt actually (Score:3, Informative)
Yeah, they probably were studying MDMA ("ecstasy") this time. http://www.markarkleiman.com/archives/000078.html [markarkleiman.com]
Re:It is still in doubt actually (Score:5, Insightful)
Most people who are new to cannabis have short term memory problems while high. My >cough friend would get halfway through some brilliant philosophical conversation and then forget what he was talking about, for instance. People who do a lot of cannabis seem to get over this problem. Perhaps the brain is compensating for the memory impairment while high by building strengthening itself.
Parent
Re:It is still in doubt actually (Score:3, Informative)
And FYI: the aargument was if cannabis causes brain cell growth, not if weed is good or bad.
And as for my bias: I've grown about a kilo of the stuff over the years. Does that make my bias clear?
Re:It is still in doubt actually (Score:5, Informative)
Happy now?
Parent
Re:This was never really in doubt... (Score:5, Funny)
McGayver Friend: Hey, man, we're out of papers.
McGayver Smoker: All right. Then get me a toilet paper roll, a corkscrew and some tin foil.
McGayver Friend: We don't have a corkscrew.
McGayver Smoker: All right. Then get me an avocado, an ice pick and my snorkel.
McGayver Smoker: [Friend looks at him funny] Trust me, bro. I've made bongs with less. Hurry up!
Parent
Brain cells the are limiting factor (Score:5, Insightful)
This is just my observation but when a persons health fails in old age, a key factor seems to be failure in the nervous system. I had a great aunt who lived five years after a stroke. Her body went downhill because her brain wasn't running the show properly.
So I think treatments which can help revive the brain can also help other systems in the body.
And it is the only organ which can not be replaced in some way by machinery.
Re:Brain cells the are limiting factor (Score:3, Funny)
Yay! (Score:5, Funny)
Man... (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Dude (Score:3, Funny)
Actually that is more accurate than you realize (Score:5, Funny)
Thus your comment is right on.
Clearly the only solultion is to first smoke loads of weed to build up your brains connecitons, and then huff gasoline to prune them back to a useful level. Then you will be a super genius.
Worked for me.
Parent
Ah... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Ah... (Score:3)
So, what do you want to do tonight, Brain? (Score:5, Funny)
Take that parents! (Score:3, Funny)
Great... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Great... (Score:3, Insightful)
Actually, this applies to all people, not just kids. Take global warming as an example.
Dude! (Score:3, Funny)
HU-210 (Score:5, Funny)
Clearly my dealer has been lying to me. He swore there was nothing stronger than his stuff. Where do I get HU-210?
Re:HU-210 (Score:5, Funny)
Since it's so much more powerful, kinda like crack compared to coke, how about we call it, by analogy:
Crack Pot
Parent
Laws of nature are different in the US (Score:3, Funny)
This looks like the original data (link enclosed) (Score:5, Informative)
I don't get it... (Score:5, Funny)
Easy (Score:3, Funny)
I think there must be a mistake (Score:4, Funny)
actual paper (Score:5, Informative)
Lots of Research on Cannabinoids in Cannabis (Score:5, Informative)
I operate CANNABIS.COM
Some informative pages to check out:
Lots of cannabis Research information *with sources listed*
http://www.cannabis.com/research/ [cannabis.com]
TR-446 Toxicology and Carcinogenesis Studies of 1-Trans-Delta9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (CAS No. 1972-08-3) in F344 Rats and B6C3F1 Mice (Gavage Studies)
http://www.cannabis.com/research/tr446study.shtml [cannabis.com]
(mirror of the study published by the U.S. National Toxicity Program)
Cannabis News
http://www.cannabisnews.com/ [cannabisnews.com]
And finally, Erowid's Cannabis Vault...
http://www.erowid.org/plants/cannabis/cannabis.sh
Ron Bennett
Re:Lots of Research on Cannabinoids in Cannabis (Score:3, Funny)
George Bush should think upon this.... (Score:5, Funny)
Man brewed alcohol, God created marijuana. Who're you going to trust, Mr. President?
Makes sense to me (Score:5, Funny)
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (Score:4, Insightful)
As long as their is demand, there will be a market.
The fundemental question seems to be:
Is the government trying to punish marijuana smokers or educate them?
More than 60% of all drug incarcerations are for non-violent possesion of marijuana.
As a rational individual, it seems obvioius that their current tactics only succeed in punishing marijuana smokers. Actual use of marijuana is at the same levels or higher than it has ever been so as a preventive, prohibition has most definitely failed. The supply of marijuana is greater than ever and the potency is higher too. The DEA says this to scare the uninformed. They attempt to create the analogy that stronger means greater threat. In reality, stronger means that pot heads have to consume less marijuana to get high. So in reality, higher potency means healthier pot smokers. Who do you believe the DEA with their vested interest in maintaining the status quo or an independent organization of scientists and medical researchers, the esteemed World Health Organization. http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/hemp/general/
If anything prohibition has made the problem worse. Prohibition tends to create a black market which opens the door for large scale criminal organizations. Examples of these are the Mafia ( very small organization until their massive growth thanks to alcohol prohibition), the Latin & South American drug cartels in the '80's, and of course the DEA.
http://www.prohibitioncosts.org/ [prohibitioncosts.org]
http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-157.html [cato.org]
In fact the only voices that seem to be raised against the legalization of marijuana are those of the DEA and the penal system. That's only natural, without them maintaining their lies, their free ride is over. Even the politicians are afraid of the power of the DEA. Apparently the DEA thinks they don't have to obey the Constitution.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/sun/200
http://www.leap.cc/ [www.leap.cc] is a really interesting website put together by former Law Enforcement Officers that have seen that the Drug Laws cause more harm than good.
My more people that know the truth, the better our society becomes.
Just because you like being sober doesn't mean you have to hate those that want to smoke pot.
The United States is still a free country, right?
Re:Only a pothead could mistake a human for a rat (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Good Grief (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
Re:Good Grief (Score:4, Insightful)
Fuck it all up by leaving a sig that suggests you enjoy alcohol abuse but justify it as medication. I have a lot of friends who have had marijuana problems but by the later stages of their lives they've left it behind. But anyone Ive ever known with alcohol problems struggles with it their whole lives until their liver pickles itself.
Parent
Re:Good Grief [MOD PARENT UP] (Score:4, Insightful)
Parent
Re:Good Grief (Score:5, Insightful)
(I think I can afford a few IQ points, better a little dimmer and a lot happier than a little brighter but a lot more misrable...)
And then we can in fact see the short term memory impairment,
Heyser, C.J.; Hampson, R.E.; and Deadwyler, S.A. Effects of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol on delayed match to sample performance in rats: Alterations in short-term memory associated with changes in task-specific firing of hippocampal cells. Journal of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics 264(1):294-307, 1993.
(The research is not conclusive. We are not rats.)
And let's not pretend that smoking marijuana isn't going to have a negative effects on the lungs,
Tashkin, D.P. Pulmonary complications of smoked substance abuse. West J Med 152:525-530, 1990., and
Sarafian, T.A.; Magallanes, J.A.; Shau, H.; Tashkin, D.; and Roth, M.D. Oxidative stress produced by marijuana smoke. An adverse effect enhanced by cannabinoids. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol 20(6):1286-1293, 1999.
(controlled vaporization reduces the carcinegens to nil. Smoking is bad for you, no question about that, no matter what you smoke.)
Or the immune system
Srivastava, M.D.; Srivastava, B.I.; and Brouhard, B. Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol alter cytokine production by human immune cells. Immunopharmacology 40(3):179-185, 1998.
(The research is also not conclusive. Also just about all research sponsored by the USA federal government has to be bent toward proving cannabis harmful. SO just about any research from the USA is politically tainted by its ideological war...pawn that you are you parrot it.
Marijuana capable of producing psychotic symptoms? Yes.
Fergusson, David M., John Horwood & Elizabeth M. Ridder, "Tests of Causal Linkages Between Cannabis Use and Psychotic Symptoms," Addiction, Vol. 100, No. 3, March 2005, p. 363.
(In already vulnerable persons. The threshold for 'psychosis' is very low... Evangelicals are a more psychotic sometimes...)
The original poster was talking about chronic use, implying ongoing, so let's also examine the effects of current intoxication: Learning and memory are in fact impaired by cannabis:
Grant, Igor, et al.,(2003) "Non-Acute (Residual) Neurocognitive Effects Of Cannabis Use: A Meta-Analytic Study," Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society. Cambridge University Press, 9, p. 685.
Long term permanent damage? Absolutely, but only to the lungs.
(I support legalising cannabis and even I wouldnt make that sweeping generalization. It is likely you are correct however.)
Negative impacts on the brain during ongoing use? Absolutely.
(Define negative impact? Obviously millions feel its acceptable.)
Maybe you ought to be familiar with the research yourself before attacking other people? This is just a tiny fraction of all the research conducted. A simple 5 second google search would have turned up all you needed to know to not look like the jackass you do now.
(Maybe if the state arbitrarily named you a criminal for burning some plant matter, you would be defensive when people parrot the drug war lies?)
Parent
Re:Good Grief (Score:5, Informative)
Current marijuana use had a negative effect on global IQ score only in subjects who smoked 5 or more joints per week. A negative effect was not observed among subjects who had previously been heavy users but were no longer using the substance. We conclude that marijuana does not have a long-term negative impact on global intelligence. [emphasis added]
As for the hyperbole of your other claims, let's dispose of them by referring to the most-widely used medical textbook in the world, The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy [merck.com] entry on marijuana:
Critics of marijuana cite much scientific data regarding adverse effects, but most of the claims regarding severe biologic impact are unsubstantiated, even among relatively heavy users and in areas intensively investigated, such as immunologic and reproductive function. However, high-dose smokers of marijuana develop pulmonary symptoms (episodes of acute bronchitis, wheezing, coughing, and increased phlegm), and pulmonary function may be altered. This is manifested by large airway changes of unknown significance. Even daily smokers do not develop obstructive airway disease. Pulmonary carcinoma has not been reported in persons who smoke only marijuana, possibly because less smoke is inhaled than during cigarette smoking. However, biopsies of bronchial tissue sometimes show precancerous changes, so carcinoma may occur. In a few case-control studies, some tests detected diminished cognitive function in small samples of long-term high-dose users; this finding awaits confirmation. Studies in newborns have not found evidence of fetal harm due to maternal use of cannabis. Decreased fetal weight has been reported, but when all factors (eg, maternal alcohol and tobacco use) are accounted for, the effect on fetal weight disappears. delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol is secreted in breast milk. Although no harm to breastfed babies has been shown, breastfeeding mothers, like pregnant women, are advised to avoid using cannabis. [emphasis added]
Btw, I am not sure why you have to call the poster you are responding to names. Seems like your arguments should be able to stand on their own.
Parent
Re:Now I can say... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:not grounded in any kind of reality (Score:5, Insightful)
The penalties are what create much of the problems, not cannabis itself.
Ron
Parent
Re:not grounded in any kind of reality (Score:3)
Re:Muddying the waters (Score:3, Interesting)
God forbid someone smoke a joint to take the edge off. A lot of people on Paxil and similar drugs would probably benefit from a little grass. The difference is that the long-term effects of grass are well understood. Who knows what they'll find out about other antidepressants and anxiety medications in 10 or 20 years, and take about dulling the brain.
Around my way, it seems everyone is on one of them.
Re:Muddying the waters (Score:3, Insightful)
I can honestly say that the decision making process becomes reprioritized. Many people try to make too many choices. In many ways smoking marijuana may help you decide what's really important. Some people spend their lives "drifting through life", as you put it, but that's probably what they always wanted to do anyway. Other people smoke marijuana and become enormously productive and creative.
"Dr
Re:Organization, not quantity counts (Score:4, Insightful)
Nearly every single large medical study of marijuana has had its funding denied, or its license for the controlled substance denied, or any of dozens of other reasons to keep the study mummied in red tape. If people are working so hard to hide something then the most logical answer is probably the opposite. In this case: marijuana has little or no effect on anything, all negative social perceptions are due to years of wrongful regulation, all ill effects are circumstantial correlations, and the only reason for the continued illegality is the complete inability to admit that the government has ever made a mistake. PR and ego--no different than telling your manager he's wrong.
Parent
Re:weed increases my concentration and creativity (Score:3, Insightful)
I think you can say this pretty much about anything. The person who needs their coffee because it helps them wake up, the person who needs their prozac because it helps them calm down, the kids who need their ADD medicine because it helps them concentrate.
I've estimated that at least half, if not 3/4, o