DrGreen
07-02-11, 03:35 PM
thaught id bring this here maybe it has been here before, but for anyone who needs this, my family runs big with alzheimers
A study conducted by scientists at Scripps Research Institute in California has found that, contrary to marijuana's reputation, the ingredients of the drug can actually fight off the memory-impairing effects of Alzheimer's disease.
The researchers found that the active ingredient in marijuana -- delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC -- is responsible for the positive effect, as it can prevent the breakdown of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine even better than commercially marketed prescription drugs.
The study also showed that THC could completely prevent the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AchE) from forming amyloid plaques, whereas twice as much donepezil and tacrine -- the two drugs approved for Alzheimer's treatment -- only reduced such clumping by 22 and 7 percent, respectively, the researchers reported in the journal Molecular Pharmaceutics. This led the scientists to conclude that a more effective Alzheimer's drug could be developed in the future.
"We're not advocating smoking dope, but if we can make analogues of THC, it could play a role in treating Alzheimer's," said researcher Kim Janda, a chemist at Scripps. "It would be nice to do more animal studies along these lines."
Past experiments of the effects of THC on human brain tissues and on rats have shown it can reduce inflammation and prevent mental decline, but other studies have shown that heavy marijuana use -- four or more cigarettes a week -- impairs memory, the ability to focus, and decision making over the years.
Currently, marijuana is illegal in most countries, including the United States, but it is legal in some countries and states for medicinal use to help relieve the side effects caused by cancer and AIDS treatments, and to treat glaucoma.
Scientists do not currently know what causes Alzheimer's -- a leading cause of dementia among the elderly marked by memory loss, impaired decision-making, reduced language skills and hampered movement -- but it is believed to be hereditary.
###
In 2008, the American College of Physicians (ACP) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, released a position paper entitled Supporting Research Into the Therapeutic Role of Marijuana that expresses the group's support for increased research and investigation into the medicinal functionality of marijuana, including one of its key elements, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC as it is commonly known. Since marijuana is federally classified as a Schedule I controlled substance, legitimate research investigating its efficacy medicinally has been limited due to its illegality and the stigma that often accompanies it. Yet, preclinical, clinical, and anecdotal reports continue to support the increasingly acknowledged fact that marijuana's key components treat a host of maladies, including cancer.
Prior to 1942, marijuana was recognized and included in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia, the official public standards-setting authority on medicine in the United States. According to Marijuana as Medicine? The Science Beyond the Controversy by Allison Mack and Janet Joy, marijuana's earliest known medicinal uses date back to twenty-seventh century B.C. China where then emperor Chen Nung discovered that it effectively treated gout, rheumatism, and malaria.
Fast forward to nineteenth-century America when research showing marijuana as an effective treatment for chronic cough, gonorrhea, cramps, headaches, fever, diabetes, impotence, and general aches and pains was becoming widely known due to research conducted by the Ohio State Medical Society. In fact, in the 1930s at least two American pharmaceutical companies were successfully marketing standardized extracts of marijuana for use as an analgesic, antispasmodic, and sedative. One company even began marketing a cigarette form for treating asthma.
Everything changed in 1937 when the U.S. Congress passed the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 which heavily restricted the sale of and prescription for medicinal marijuana which ultimately led to the end of its production by drug companies. By 1942, marijuana was removed from the U.S. Pharmacopoeia on the grounds that it was a harmful and addictive drug, thanks in part to the increased recreational use of marijuana for non-medicinal purposes by the general public and propaganda campaigns conducted against the plant around the same time period. Eventually, it became the Schedule I controlled substance that it is today, regarded in the minds of most Americans as merely a dangerous drug that deserves prohibition.
Many books, papers, articles, and studies delve much further into the history of marijuana and its gradual extinction as a generally recognized and efficacious medicinal treatment, but in recent decades, the debate over its usefulness in medicine has begun to emerge once again. As many states have begun legalizing forms of marijuana for medicinal purposes, the subject has begun to reform into one worthy of serious debate. Additionally, the demand for investigation into it has seen a gain in momentum, especially among medical professionals. Because countless reports of marijuana's amazing healing properties continue to materialize, thanks to the free flow of this information across the internet, the truth is rapidly spreading about its potential and the medical profession appears to be taking some notice.
As it pertains to cancer, for example, anecdotal reports in recent years have shown the amazing effectiveness of marijuana in treating and curing cancer with virtually no side effects. A Canadian man named Rick Simpson claims that potent extracts of hemp oil containing THC successfully cured the illnesses and cancers of many in his small Nova Scotian town. For years he produced and provided this oil to his fellow neighbors in need free of charge until the authorities clamped down on his trafficking of the illegal substance. Simpson's hemp oil was non-hallucinogenic and purely medicinal, taken both orally and topically in gel form. He has much convincing documentation supporting his claims and tours Canada holding seminars about hemp oil.
While just one example begs further review and consideration, there is escalating interest among people of all stripes into this taboo subject. Many, including professional and well-respected groups such as ACP, are calling for a revaluation of marijuana, essentially calling for an end to the negative stigma that has inhibited serious inquiry into the legitimate uses of a plant that holds seemingly nonpareil healing capabilities. Health minded individuals everywhere would do well to research the subject for themselves and support this legitimate effort in discovering the truth about marijuana.
Sources:
American College of Physicians. Supporting Research into the Therapeutic Role of Marijuana. Philadelphia: American College of Physicians; 2008: Position Paper. (Available from American College of Physicians, 190 N. Independence Mall West, Philadelphia, PA 19106.)
Mack, Allison. Marijuana As Medicine? : The Science Beyond the Controversy. 2001. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2001.
Phoenix Tears - Promoting Hemp Oil as a natural healing agent...
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/026846_Marijuana_medicinal_research.html#ixzz1DHg0 bDoW
A study conducted by scientists at Scripps Research Institute in California has found that, contrary to marijuana's reputation, the ingredients of the drug can actually fight off the memory-impairing effects of Alzheimer's disease.
The researchers found that the active ingredient in marijuana -- delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC -- is responsible for the positive effect, as it can prevent the breakdown of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine even better than commercially marketed prescription drugs.
The study also showed that THC could completely prevent the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AchE) from forming amyloid plaques, whereas twice as much donepezil and tacrine -- the two drugs approved for Alzheimer's treatment -- only reduced such clumping by 22 and 7 percent, respectively, the researchers reported in the journal Molecular Pharmaceutics. This led the scientists to conclude that a more effective Alzheimer's drug could be developed in the future.
"We're not advocating smoking dope, but if we can make analogues of THC, it could play a role in treating Alzheimer's," said researcher Kim Janda, a chemist at Scripps. "It would be nice to do more animal studies along these lines."
Past experiments of the effects of THC on human brain tissues and on rats have shown it can reduce inflammation and prevent mental decline, but other studies have shown that heavy marijuana use -- four or more cigarettes a week -- impairs memory, the ability to focus, and decision making over the years.
Currently, marijuana is illegal in most countries, including the United States, but it is legal in some countries and states for medicinal use to help relieve the side effects caused by cancer and AIDS treatments, and to treat glaucoma.
Scientists do not currently know what causes Alzheimer's -- a leading cause of dementia among the elderly marked by memory loss, impaired decision-making, reduced language skills and hampered movement -- but it is believed to be hereditary.
###
In 2008, the American College of Physicians (ACP) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, released a position paper entitled Supporting Research Into the Therapeutic Role of Marijuana that expresses the group's support for increased research and investigation into the medicinal functionality of marijuana, including one of its key elements, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC as it is commonly known. Since marijuana is federally classified as a Schedule I controlled substance, legitimate research investigating its efficacy medicinally has been limited due to its illegality and the stigma that often accompanies it. Yet, preclinical, clinical, and anecdotal reports continue to support the increasingly acknowledged fact that marijuana's key components treat a host of maladies, including cancer.
Prior to 1942, marijuana was recognized and included in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia, the official public standards-setting authority on medicine in the United States. According to Marijuana as Medicine? The Science Beyond the Controversy by Allison Mack and Janet Joy, marijuana's earliest known medicinal uses date back to twenty-seventh century B.C. China where then emperor Chen Nung discovered that it effectively treated gout, rheumatism, and malaria.
Fast forward to nineteenth-century America when research showing marijuana as an effective treatment for chronic cough, gonorrhea, cramps, headaches, fever, diabetes, impotence, and general aches and pains was becoming widely known due to research conducted by the Ohio State Medical Society. In fact, in the 1930s at least two American pharmaceutical companies were successfully marketing standardized extracts of marijuana for use as an analgesic, antispasmodic, and sedative. One company even began marketing a cigarette form for treating asthma.
Everything changed in 1937 when the U.S. Congress passed the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 which heavily restricted the sale of and prescription for medicinal marijuana which ultimately led to the end of its production by drug companies. By 1942, marijuana was removed from the U.S. Pharmacopoeia on the grounds that it was a harmful and addictive drug, thanks in part to the increased recreational use of marijuana for non-medicinal purposes by the general public and propaganda campaigns conducted against the plant around the same time period. Eventually, it became the Schedule I controlled substance that it is today, regarded in the minds of most Americans as merely a dangerous drug that deserves prohibition.
Many books, papers, articles, and studies delve much further into the history of marijuana and its gradual extinction as a generally recognized and efficacious medicinal treatment, but in recent decades, the debate over its usefulness in medicine has begun to emerge once again. As many states have begun legalizing forms of marijuana for medicinal purposes, the subject has begun to reform into one worthy of serious debate. Additionally, the demand for investigation into it has seen a gain in momentum, especially among medical professionals. Because countless reports of marijuana's amazing healing properties continue to materialize, thanks to the free flow of this information across the internet, the truth is rapidly spreading about its potential and the medical profession appears to be taking some notice.
As it pertains to cancer, for example, anecdotal reports in recent years have shown the amazing effectiveness of marijuana in treating and curing cancer with virtually no side effects. A Canadian man named Rick Simpson claims that potent extracts of hemp oil containing THC successfully cured the illnesses and cancers of many in his small Nova Scotian town. For years he produced and provided this oil to his fellow neighbors in need free of charge until the authorities clamped down on his trafficking of the illegal substance. Simpson's hemp oil was non-hallucinogenic and purely medicinal, taken both orally and topically in gel form. He has much convincing documentation supporting his claims and tours Canada holding seminars about hemp oil.
While just one example begs further review and consideration, there is escalating interest among people of all stripes into this taboo subject. Many, including professional and well-respected groups such as ACP, are calling for a revaluation of marijuana, essentially calling for an end to the negative stigma that has inhibited serious inquiry into the legitimate uses of a plant that holds seemingly nonpareil healing capabilities. Health minded individuals everywhere would do well to research the subject for themselves and support this legitimate effort in discovering the truth about marijuana.
Sources:
American College of Physicians. Supporting Research into the Therapeutic Role of Marijuana. Philadelphia: American College of Physicians; 2008: Position Paper. (Available from American College of Physicians, 190 N. Independence Mall West, Philadelphia, PA 19106.)
Mack, Allison. Marijuana As Medicine? : The Science Beyond the Controversy. 2001. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2001.
Phoenix Tears - Promoting Hemp Oil as a natural healing agent...
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/026846_Marijuana_medicinal_research.html#ixzz1DHg0 bDoW