[neverdem]

"The receptor molecule to which THC binds is also found on brain cells in the opioid system, Hurd adds." That's new to me. It might explain results such as these.

[BipolarBob]

the bs meter went offscale

[TheWasteLand]

Boy those Democrats really like their drugs. Oh, these are the other kind of rats...

[USNBandit]

Oh no, now you done it.

Dopers Inbound.

Duck and Cover, People!

[durasell]

Rats taking cannabis get taste for heroin



Yeah, but only those rats who screwed up in high school and spent all their free time either hanging out at the all night convenience store or watching cartoon network...

[stephenjohnbanker]

Rats= Democrats?

[keithtoo]

File this article under the "DUH" heading.

[expatpat]

Interesting.....

[streetpreacher]

Did the rats start asking for heroin?

[bigfootbob]

Sativex has a high concentrate of alcohol. Any result might be skewed by the presence of the alcohol to this study.

[Know your rights]

Over-stimulation of these receptors through exposure to cannabis may alter these cells so that the brain either feels intensely rewarded by subsequent heroin exposure, or needs an ever-increasing dose to feel the same pleasure — both of which could lead to addiction.

So any drug is a gateway to any other drug, including alcohol and tobacco.

She adds that two other drugs that also stimulate opioid cells, and could therefore also feasibly cause a gateway effect, are nicotine and alcohol. "If we turned back the clock with the knowledge we have now, these two drugs would never have been legalized," Hurd says.

"Gateway" or not, Prohibition was a ringing failure ... as is the war on drugs.

[Wolfie]

So lab rats kept in captivity will take the opportunity to get high. That's not a real surprise, ya know.

"Well, I can sit here staring at this f*****g wheel until the next time they poke me stuff, or I can sit here staring at this f*****g wheel until the next time they poke me stuff and feel really good doing it."

[Lancey Howard]

Watch out! Here come the liberaltarians!

[TheSpottedOwl]

Yeah? Give them bread on paper plates and the next thing you know, they're eating your bloody clothes! Marlon Perkins brought home kangaroo rats, and they escaped :(

Anyone got any pot or heroin I can borrow? Maybe they'll OD...

[funkywbr]

Lets see, a HUMAN gives a RAT pot!

A human then gives a RAT horse.

Hell a RAT will eat anything.

Why didnt they put CRANK in the cages instead of Horse?

Were they afraid of turning the rats into rednecks?

[Mike Darancette]

rats are more likely to get hooked on heroin if they have previously been given cannabis

How about Republicans?

[Cedar]

Poor rats, now they are following the Fried Piper.

[Ol' Dan Tucker]

By the end, rats that'd had cannabis in their 'teens' were pressing the lever that delivered heroin about 1.5 times more than the rats that had previously been drug-free.

This article is hilarious. Shades of "Reefer Madness", which has been playing on Flix channel lately, btw.

It's clear that all the rats were pressing the lever to get some smack.

But, for every 7.5 times the hippie rats pressed the lever, the ivy-league rats pressed it 5 times. ;)

[mysterio]

Pothead rats like heroin, too? Well, shucks. By all means, let's kick in every door in the country and revoke the Bill of Rights to stop them.

The failed war on some drugs proponents have had lots of "studies" over the years. The first "studies" claimed pot made daughters want to engage in intercourse with jazz musicians. Did it have that effect on the rats, too?

[The Red Zone]

However, Pubs proved to be resistant.

[oxcart]

Here is my 2 penny's worth;

The role of liver tryptophan pyrrolase in the opposite effects of chronic administration and subsequent withdrawal of drugs of dependence on rat brain tryptophan metabolism.

A A Badawy, N F Punjani, and M Evans

1. Chronic administration of morphine, nicotine or phenobarbitone has previously been shown to inhibit rat liver tryptophan pyrrolase activity by increasing hepatic [NADPH], whereas subsequent withdrawal enhances pyrrolase activity by a hormonal-type mechanism. 2. It is now shown that this enhancement is associated with an increase in the concentration of serum corticosterone. 3. Chronic administration of the above drugs enhances, whereas subsequent withdrawal inhibits, brain 5-hydroxytryptamine synthesis. Under both conditions, tryptophan availability to the brain is altered in the appropriate direction. 4. The chronic drug-induced enhancement of brain tryptophan metabolism is reversed by phenazine methosulphate, whereas the withdrawal-induced inhibition is prevented by nicotinamide. 5. The chronic morphine-induced changes in liver [NADPH], pyrrolase activity, tryptophan availability to the brain and brain 5-hydroxytryptamine synthesis are all reversed by the opiate antagonist naloxone. 6. It is suggested that the opposite effects on brain tryptophan metabolism of chronic administration and subsequent withdrawal of the above drugs of dependence are mediated by the changes in liver tryptophan pyrrolase activity. 6. Similar conclusions based on similar findings have previously been made in relation to chronic administration and subsequent withdrawal of ethanol. These findings with all four drugs are briefly discussed in relation to previous work and the mechanism(s) of drug dependence.

FULL TEXT; http://www.pubmedcentral.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pubmed&pubmedid=7197926