Gone to Pot?

ScienceNOW Daily News ^ | 6 July 2006 | Mary Beckman

[neverdem]

In what could be a coup for antimarijuana forces, new research shows that rats exposed to pot's active ingredient at an early age devour more heroin as adults than rats without early exposure. Some experts, though, say the jury is still out on whether the finding is enough to officially label marijuana a "gateway" drug.

According to statistics from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, most adults who take illicit drugs start doing so in their early teens. In addition, the earlier kids start smoking dope, the more likely they are to use harder drugs later on. For example, of people who first puffed weed before age 15, 62% went on to use cocaine and 9% to use heroin. But of those who started smoking pot after age of 20, only 16% moved onto cocaine and 1% to heroin. Some researchers think this means that marijuana is a gateway drug--one that leads to harder drug use. Others point out that such a claim is hard to prove because the same factors that lead people to use marijuana in the first place might also lead them to use other drugs.

To see through the smoke, neuroscientist Yasmin Hurd, now at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and colleagues at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, gave 4-week-old rats THC, the most common psychoactive component in cannabis. The researchers injected the rats with the THC equivalent of about three-quarters of a joint (scaled down for a rat's size) every third day for 3 weeks until they reached mid-adolescence, about 7 weeks old. The dose probably created a mild buzz, but not high enough that the rats stumbled. After a week-long break, the rodents were allowed to self-administer heroin using levers that provide the substance.

Rats that had been exposed to THC as "teens" took about 25% more heroin than did their just-say-no peers. Biochemical tests of the adult animals showed that THC-doused brains had the same number of receptors that responded to THC as unexposed rat brains, but more receptors for heroin and more of a compound associated with reward behavior in their neurons, the team reports online 5 July in Neuropsychopharmacology. Whether this indicates marijuana is a "gateway" drug depends on the definition of "gateway," says Hurd. She says both groups of animals took the same amount of time to start taking heroin, suggesting THC use doesn't start them on the path to hedonism, but the THC-primed rats got more into it, suggesting it paves the way for increased use.

"The important finding is the fact that adolescence is a time of increased vulnerability to drugs," says neuropharmacologist Sari Izenwasser of the University of Miami School of Medicine in Florida, who notes that such behavior may alter fundamental brain processes. But pharmacologist Aron Lichtman at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond inserts a note of caution. "The data really are very provocative," he says, but not conclusive. He questions whether other reward-reinforcing behavior, such as eating food, would also be increased under these conditions.

[pageonetoo]

The libertarian (or however they want to categorize themselves) crowd is probably the most disappointing contingent on FR. Totally friggin' clueless as to the big picture.

Yeah. They are not as assine as the WO(some)D crowd. They actually believe it is their responsiblilty to control the behaviors with which they disagree. Show me that conservative principle outlined somewhere. In the meantime, they kick back, and bitch, bitch, bitch about the taxman and pat the prez on the back for providing "cheap labor"...!

[A CA Guy]

People pretty much had to drink alcohol if they ate back then. The Bible suggested proper diets and alcohol was what people drank to avoid food poisoning back then when they ate. There was no other way to avoid sickness from the parasites and poorly prepared foods.

If you get drunk and put yourself in certain situations, by our laws you could be criminal in your activities.

With pot, you are INSTANTLY affected since smoke goes into the body much faster than alcohol ever could.

Smoking pot gets the drugs into the system fast through the lungs at speeds that even beats an injection of drugs in how fast it goes to the brain and rest of the body.
Pot and alcohol are two different animals.

[pageonetoo]

In your previous post, you asked why? WCTU has nothing on you.

Your posit is absolute bullshiite, from the usual WODbots...

[winston2]

It says 3/4 of a joint "scaled down for a rat's size"

The equivalent dose for a 170 lb. human would be - 2,000 joints with the estimated weight of the rat at one ounce!(winston2)

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

OK Give me a hit and make it 1,500 of those "scaled down" rat joints.

As Chong once told Cheech - "hey man, that's a tooth pick".

[A CA Guy]

In your previous post, you asked why? WCTU has nothing on you.

Your posit is absolute bullshiite, from the usual WODbots...

What part exactly do you disagree with?

My basic points were all true.
#1 Alcohol was scriptural, and the diet of that time had to use it to purify the food.
#2 Alcohol is good, but gets to be a problem in some cases when people get intoxicated and depending what they are doing, they could be criminal.
#3 Smoking is faster in getting things into your brain and system far more so than by eating or even an injection. So that makes Pot and Alcohol two totally different animals.

[pageonetoo]

What part exactly do you disagree with?

You make "basic points" are made up to seem as if you are trying to say something. the problem lies with your use of them, and the implication you try to make from them.

That is what this thread is all about. Agenda-led crap like yours.

Alcohol is a gift from God, or a bane? which is it?

Food in the old testament was rotten and nobody could eat it without drinking alcohol?

Smoking is faster getting things into your brain, so therefore it is bad?

A ca gal got her panties in a twist because another human being likes to smoke pot?

Tell somebody who cares! There are just a few of your cronies that even bother to show up... and none of you has a bit of reason to be pointing to motes...

[winston2]

I think winston2 is engaged in a little "research" of his own, if you get my drift.

Yes - I do affirm that I have often times partaken of the noble cannabis plant!

I claim that the ingestion of a naturally occurring plant is one of the "pursuits of happiness" that some overzealous individuals have by dishonorable means, influenced our federal and state governments to deprive millions of U.S. citizens of.

It is a right that I claim and wish the aid of fellow conservative patriots to defend.

[ErnBatavia]

Take your blinders off, clueless idiot. Re-read your drunken post, and chill out. You made my point, all by yourself.

[Windsong]

"new research shows that rats exposed to pot's active ingredient at an early age devour more heroin as adults than rats without early exposure."

And we needed scientific research to tell us this? That Mary Jane is a gateway drug!?

Libertarian Party: Home of the Galactically Stupid

[A CA Guy]

Water is a gift from God, but you can kill yourself easily by drinking too much of it.
Does that mean we should take the risk of making a stupid use of water? Heck no.

Alcohol is a gift/tool, and has been used as a purifier of food, blood thinner and for other good things. People don't have to overuse it to the extent of being a stuoid use or take it to a criminal use level, that is stupidity.

Facts are facts, they did not store food during Biblical times, so alcohol was a way food was purified. We know today that eating raw pork gives you worms in your body, well the Bible didn't say you'd get worms, but said beware of pork and stay away.

Facts are facts, the other part about smoking being the fastest way to get a drug through the body is true. The second fastest way is by injection and then later is through the mouth which is slower by far.

Tell somebody who cares!

People who care will at some point read this and see me make the great points I did, so it does matter and people will care. :-)

[monkeyshine]

So if you don't smoke pot until you are over the age of 20 your risk of becoming a coke or smack addict are greatly reduced.

[11B40]

So Ern, what is the 'big picture'?

[A CA Guy]

I do think that most people pick up drug habits while young and stupid. So it would think the older one gets without illegal drugs, the less likely they ever would use them .

Just common sense I think.

The older they get, the more grown up/experienced in their head they get to make wiser choices.

[A CA Guy]

So it would think = So I would think

[monkeyshine]

Mostly I was joking but yeah, I think you are right for the reason you stated and also because younger people who use drugs for "escapism" don't learn sober ways to deal with their problems, they may just turn to drugs, and so they defer their own maturation in the process. It's probably the same with alcohol, though.

[pageonetoo]

People who care will at some point read this and see me make the great points I did, so it does matter and people will care. :-)

Water is a gift from God, but you can kill yourself easily by drinking too much of it. Does that mean we should take the risk of making a stupid use of water? Heck no.

You cannot easily kill yourself with water. That is a stupid statement. People drink beer after beer and seem to get along alright. The current weekend requirement is at least a 30-pack, for each drinker. That's a lot of extra water. If you don't believe it, go to a ballgame and wait to pee...

Alcohol is a gift/tool, and has been used as a purifier of food, blood thinner and for other good things. People don't have to overuse it to the extent of being a stuoid use or take it to a criminal use level, that is stupidity.

Alcohol is a natural occurence when yeast mixes with sugar. At some point, a man drank some grape juice that had fermented naturally, and decided it was good. We now distill it and call it brandy. I have an almost-empty glass of B&B sitting beside my humidor. I have a lit Ashton cigar in the ashtray near me.

People can certainly act stupid. The Bible tells many stories about them. When Noan's ark landed after the rains, Noah celebrated and got so drunk he stripped naked and was dancing. His daughters backed up to him with a cloak, and covered his nakedness.

Facts are facts, they did not store food during Biblical times, so alcohol was a way food was purified. We know today that eating raw pork gives you worms in your body, well the Bible didn't say you'd get worms, but said beware of pork and stay away.

I eat rare pork. I am not afraid of trichynosis. It is not a problem with modern pig farms. Sanitation has always been a problem. You sure seem to seek a lot of ways to promote alcohol in a positive manner, while demonizing its use. You should learn more about the misinformation you repeat. Drinking alcohol has not been used for sterilization and sanitation. It was used for drinking. It makes you intoxicated.

Facts are indeed facts, and you have displayed few pertinent to this discussion. Why do you think anybody is listening to your drivel? I only replied to antagonize your simple mind.

You talk about not eating pork to please God. You need to read your New Testament a little more. Then, you might visit these guys. I keep some in my freezer.

No need to respond. I am going to bed. I have to go see my 83 yr old Dad tomorrow. He knows what I smoke, and hasn't seemed to care enough to say stop. He is a navy Vet, as I.

Good night, maam! go play with your sisters!

[A CA Guy]

Yes, it is possible for a person to drink too much water. It is called water intoxication. What happens is the sodium level in the blood reaches very low levels (because of dilution by excess water which can only be excreted in the urine, sweat or breath). This disturbs water balance in the brain, which can cause epileptic seizures and even death.
Research has shown that a person can safely drink up to 10 liters of water a day. That would equal 10 one-liter bottles of water.

Alcohol is natural as is most everything else on this planet.

I didn't talk about not eating pork to please God, I said the Bible says to beware of pork and that we later learned the reason for that.

I also said pot was a different animal than alcohol.
Pot goes into the body and brain the fastest way possible by smoking. That is faster than injection and more so than eating.

So, nothing I said was inaccurate.

[ARepublicanForAllReasons]

Rats have the same sorts of nerves you do ~ just fewer of them ~

This is an idiotic reductionistic argument. We humans have 'nerves' where rats don't even have lobes. They eat their own and don't mind living in filth and feces. Why aren't (most) humans prone to such behavior? Rats are not capable of considering the long-term consequences of behavior, nor of being informed of vital information, nor of making rational decisions. But let's extrapolate at will from rat behavior if it serves our agenda! -- That's what you are saying.

[pageonetoo]

Is the sky blue Does a bear shiite in the woods? Do you use half the brain gGod gave you.

I did NOT say it was NOT possible to drink too much water. Read my post again.

The Bible does not say beware of Portk.

Hemp is a natural growing substance and it is ridiculous to compare smoking to drinking, and trying to correlate them. They are both intoxicants.

You did post inaccuracies (as usual) and then tried to build some sort of argument with the inaccuracy. That is why this article was posted. It takes random samples ande tries to build a case. It fails miserable. So do you!

Gotta head to DC. Bye, maam!

[robertpaulsen]

"I claim that the ingestion of a naturally occurring plant is one of the "pursuits of happiness"

I claim that smoking it brings happiness. The constitution does not guaranteee happiness, only the pursuit of it.

You are free to pursue your goal of seeking legislation that legalizes the use of marijuana.