WASHINGTON, (Reuters) -- Good news for aging hippies: Smoking pot may stave off Alzheimer's disease.
New research shows that the active ingredient in marijuana may prevent the progression of the disease by preserving levels of an important neurotransmitter that allows the brain to function.
Researchers at the Scripps Research Institute in California found that marijuana's active ingredient, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, can prevent the neurotransmitter acetylcholine from breaking down more effectively than commercially marketed drugs.
THC is also more effective at blocking clumps of protein that can inhibit memory and cognition in Alzheimer's patients, the researchers reported in the journal Molecular Pharmaceutics.
The researchers said their discovery could lead to more effective drug treatment for Alzheimer's, the leading cause of dementia among the elderly.
Those afflicted with Alzheimer's suffer from memory loss, impaired decision-making, and diminished language and movement skills. The ultimate cause of the disease is unknown, though it is believed to be hereditary.
Marijuana is used to relieve glaucoma and can help reduce side effects from cancer and AIDS treatment.
Possessing marijuana for recreational use is illegal in many parts of the world, including the United States, though some states allow possession for medical purposes.
Copyright 2006 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
-------------------- It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so ingenious. Posts: 3311 | From: St. Louis | Registered: Feb 2005
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Why should it be kept illegal....while I no longer use it, I believe once regulated it would be FAR less harmful than alcohol and alot of other over the counter meds
Well, until they start throwing chemicals in it
-------------------- "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication" Posts: 4005 | From: Shaolin | Registered: Oct 2005
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I wonder how many former smokers believe that mj should be legal? It would be interesting if the majority of former addicts don't believe it should be illegal - that would in fact say something about how harmful it is if in fact the people it has harmed the most (except for the children of people who have gone to jail over the matter) believe it should be legal.
Posts: 53 | From: NC, USA | Registered: Sep 2006
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I'm a former smoker. I believe it should be legal. Smoking weed can be harmful when it is not done in moderation. It boils down to personal responsibility. Anything done in over abundance can be harmful. If I ever decide to start smoking again, I will not do it to the degree I did before.
Posts: 348 | From: Amsterdam | Registered: Oct 2006
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As with alcohol, weed is adictive to some people, but the vast majority of us do not suffer from addiction to either.
Like with alcohol, those addicted seldom recognize it in themselves and can be a pain in the butt to others.
There are isolated cases where an individual has over done weed to the extent it has harmed them. There is at least one condition that (once again, in isolated individuals) weed used in excess causes irregular heart palpitations which if not tended to (by easing up on the use) can be life threatening.
I know of no other such damgers.
(Anything can be done to excess. If you doubt that, check the medical literature for the term "hydrolic", beginning in the mid-seventies when it was first described in London and then spreading over the world once the first cases were diagnosed and publication in medical journals. It is, simply, intake of water to the extent that it thins the blood excessively (and as with alcohol, thereby decreasing oxygen to the brain) and has been known top cause death. It first became known after London medics noticed frequent emergency room admissions for skid row bums that had all the normal symptoms of being terribly drunk but blood test proved that was not the case. (Drunkenness is actually just oxygen deprivation of the brain.) In studying it, they discovered that bums too broke to buy wine or gin were, in order to satisfy peer pressure, were filling old gin bottles with water and drinking it constantly.)
Posts: 11304 | From: Fort Worth, Texas | Registered: Mar 2005
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I smoke pot have off and on since I have been 16.
I should state that I have not smoked any since 12/28/06 same with alcohal and tabacco
I did this for my own reasons not moral or for health. I may change this at any time I choose.
Point is there is really nothing wrong with pot or nothing that would warrant the punishment for its posession IMHO
Posts: 6008 | From: phoenix az | Registered: Mar 2005
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