Posted on 08/02/2002 1:19:14 PM PDT by bat-boy
PHILADELPHIA — Scientists have known for years that the brain makes substances almost identical to the active ingredient in marijuana, but the function of these "cannabinoids" remained mysterious. Researchers now say they help to extinguish traumatic memories.
"In certain situations, being able to forget is very important for emotional survival," said George Kunos, a neurobiologist at the National Institutes of Health.
The research, published today in the journal Nature, is not an endorsement for pot smoking, scientists said. Instead, the findings may help scientists develop new drugs to treat anxiety, post-traumatic-stress disorder and phobias.
"This paper is not saying you should go ahead and smoke marijuana," said Pankaj Sah, a neuroscientist at the Australian National University in Canberra who wrote an accompanying editorial in the journal. "It's saying that it's worth thinking about these specific actions of these compounds."
In the 1980s, scientists were surprised to find the brain has special receptors for the psychoactive elements in cannabis, Kunos said. An Israeli scientist named Rafael Mechoulam then found that the brain made its own versions of these cannabinoids.
To figure out why, authors of this latest study, from the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich, Germany, decided to examine mice that had been engineered genetically so that they lacked cannabinoid receptors.
Neuroscientist Beat Lutz said he and his colleagues conditioned the mice to associate a mild shock with the sound of a bell. Normal mice eventually lost the association between the bell and the shock. "They figure out that the tone is not dangerous anymore and say, 'I don't have to freeze,' " Lutz said.
But the mice lacking the cannabinoid system never readjust, always freezing in terror at the sound.
Researchers also found that normal mice produce the natural cannabinoids when they are extinguishing their traumatic association with the bell.
It's not clear whether the cannabinoid system helps the mice to forget the traumatic association of the bell and the shock, or just gives them enough mental flexibility to adjust to a new situation, Lutz said. It's possible that the cannabinoids are important for the ability to relearn and readjust in a number of situations.
Kunos, from the National Institutes of Health, said that the cannabinoids probably play other roles. Using similar methods to Lutz, he found that they help regulate appetite.
Sah, of the Australian National University, said the latest findings may explain why some people with psychiatric problems try to find relief with marijuana. Although experts often have labeled marijuana use as a contributor to these people's mental illness, he suggested that people with certain psychiatric problems perhaps are self-medicating in an attempt to help their brains extinguish some painful or traumatic memory or thought.
Lester Grinspoon, a pro-marijuana psychiatrist at Harvard University and author of the 1971 book "Marijuana Reconsidered," said he would like to see cannabis made into pills that could be prescribed, but said the drug is not patentable and therefore would be unattractive for drug companies to manufacture and market.
Lutz suggested that, instead of supplying extra cannabinoids, a drug might enhance the effects of natural ones.
He also suggested such a drug might need to be taken in conjunction with psychotherapy, during which patients would work on getting rid of fearful associations.
"Just smoking marijuana all day won't help," he said.
Copyright © 2002 The Seattle Times Company
Perhaps you should let society run itself. It's been chuggin' along for thousands of years before you came along.
Yes, you have yet another advantage over more traditional small businesses - you're clientele has no interest in whether or not you are legit, because they know you are running an illegal business from the get-go, that's why they're there AFAICT.
And you think those who do, are going to put me out of business.
Damn right they won't - they're the ones spending money on insurance, salaries, and all that other happy stuff that keep businesses running. Criminals don't have such expenses, that's why no one likes them
Who needs lessons in logic?
I'll bet you will get ticked off if I answer that with : "you?", so how could I resist?
I don't know how we get pro-illegal-drug crowds here at FR.
Who is the "we" you speak of if not your collectivist fabrication. And you speak of "here at FR" (FreeRepublic), when Jim Robison owns the forum and he is against the WOD. So the valid question is: how are you allowed on this forum? I suspect Jim thought opposition would make for balanced discussion/debate. Anytime you want to partake in an honest debate without using ad hominems, without using rhetoric and without using hyperbole just let the people on the thread know that and I'm sure a good discussion/debate will follow.
I don't know how we get pro-illegal-drug crowds here at FR.
Who is the "we" you speak of if not your collectivist fabrication. And you speak of "here at FR" (FreeRepublic), when Jim Robison owns the forum and he is against the WOD. So the valid question is: how are you allowed on this forum? I suspect Jim thought opposition would make for balanced discussion/debate. Anytime you want to partake in an honest debate without using ad hominems, without using rhetoric and without using hyperbole just let the people on the thread know that and I'm sure a good discussion/debate will follow.
From the web page, The White House, President George W. Bush:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/firstladies/nr40.html
Now living in retirement with her husband in California, [Nancy Reagan] continues to work on her campaign to teach children to "just say no" to drugs, though her husband and her home remain her first priority. In her book My Turn, published in 1989, she gives her own account of her life in the White House. Through the joys and sorrows of those days, including the assassination attempt on her husband, Nancy Reagan held fast to her belief in love, honesty, and selflessness. "The ideals have endured because they are right and are no less right today than yesterday."
God bless the Reagans, and God bless America.
LOL. Wouldn't want folks medicating themselves without the bennifit of the omnipotent STATE would we. No no no. We must assure that drugs are not of the natural variety and certainly not taken in the absense of state liscensed and state funded psychotherapists.
One wonders how those canniboid receptors ever developed in the brain without the help and guidance of the state and her demon-psychologist-minions.
EBUCK
Ah yes, another New Dealer in our midst.
And you're right, control is the ultimate motivator.
EBUCK
That's the real ironic part. The weed is so despicable that they won't even consider using it in it's natural state. They are going to spend millions/billions coming up with a synthetic form of the canniboids that will never be as clean or effictive as the original. And of course the research will be funded by the tax-payers and subscriptions will be subsidized by taxpayers. Ringling Bro's here we come.
EBUCK
That Nixon: Answering the question while asking it, I see.
As for the WOD: Wouldn't the "proper" conservative response be aimed at getting the federal government out of this business, and letting states decide their own drug policies? I know it's a novel thought to the anti-cannabis crowd, but perhaps it's worth pondering ...
Absolutely!!!! And a lot of them are not opposed to such ideas, well, at least the reasonable ones aren't. The basis of conservatism is , IMO, seperation of powers and a de-centralized gubment along with a heavy reliance on fiscal responsibility. All the things the WOD tramples under cloven hoof.
EBUCK
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