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

[richard haase]

i dont know if it gives me insight
but i love it

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Robin McNamara" <olhippie at tampabay.rr.com>
To: <mb-hair at islandlists.com>; <mb-civic at islandemail.com>
Sent: Friday, October 14, 2005 8:35 PM
Subject: Re: [Mb-hair] weed - it's good for the brain!


> 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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