Cannabis Fun Club in Russia

WASHINGTON — After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week that federal authorities have the power to prosecute medical marijuana users, even in the 11 states where it is legal, long-standing questions are back in the news: What science is there to determine how beneficial or harmful marijuana really is? And why does the Drug Enforcement Administration list marijuana in the same class of controlled substances as heroin and LSD?

As director of a National Institutes of Health-funded laboratory,   To study the drug's effects on the brain, I must answer the first question, which may in turn help answer the second. When my colleagues and I look coolly at the available data on marijuana, we see a two-faced drug, with many negative or even dangerous characteristics, even if it has interesting and largely untapped medicinal potential. But science's ability to exploit marijuana's potential is hampered by its misplaced place in the classification of illegal substances.

Marijuana and its active ingredient, a chemical in the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) group, can indeed have adverse effects on both animals and humans. One joint has been shown to impair a professional pilot's judgment in a flight simulator, and one injection of THC significantly reduces the ability of rats to navigate a maze. Long-term use of these drugs can also have negative effects.

More important, and perhaps different from the usual misconceptions, is a growing body of research showing that long-term use of marijuana or THC can lead to addiction. This is best demonstrated by experiments with monkeys that learned to       self-administered THC by pressing a lever that released the drug directly into the vein. The animals worked hard to get it – though not as hard as they did for cocaine or other stronger drugs. Moreover, animals that took marijuana frequently and over long periods of time showed withdrawal symptoms: mild but distinct symptoms including loss of appetite, irritability, and depression.

Despite these negatives, marijuana and THC also have important medicinal properties. THC is a safe substance: It takes 70 grams of pure substance - about the weight of a chocolate bar - to cause serious harm to a 150-pound adult. Of course, this meets the Food and Drug Administration's strict requirements ( D.E.A. ) and can be recognized as a full-fledged medicine for human use. It is currently used in the USA under the brand name "Marinol" (manufactured by the company " Unimed ") to treat nausea and stimulate appetite in patients suffering from HIV/AIDS or undergoing chemotherapy for cancer treatment. The man-made derivative of THC is called " Cesamet " (produced by the company " Eli Lilly ") are prescribed in Europe to treat the same diseases.

Recent tests suggest that these drugs may have broader medical applications. For example, clinical trials have shown that Marinol can reduce the physical and vocal tics associated with Tourette syndrome, a neurological disorder for which no effective treatment has yet been found. Another report, published in 2004, suggests that marijuana-based sprays sold under the brand name Sativex may reduce muscle spasms in patients with multiple sclerosis, although more research is needed to confirm the efficacy and safety of this approach. Various animal studies have confirmed the therapeutic value of THC and its derivatives, revealing novel potential applications for the treatment of neuropathic pain, cancer, glaucoma, and atherosclerosis.

No matter what since Controlled Substances Act ( CSA ) came into force in 1970, marijuana and THC were on the List I ( Schedule I ) – on the list of substances “with a high potential for addiction” and “not accepted for treatment at the moment”.

Obviously, the data contradicts this definition. This error led to the decision D.E.A. "Marinol" -- not THC -- was moved to the List in 1999. III , which includes much less dangerous substances such as the antihyperactivity drug Ritalin ( Ritalin ). As a result of this confusing move, the same substance THC is now listed on two different schedules. CSA This is obvious absurdity.

Marijuana, the leaves of which are smoked, may be on the List I - I am a neurologist and pharmacologist, not a doctor or sociologist, and I am not going to solve this problem. But chemical substance THC Not must V German be .

The problem is greater when marijuana and THC are lumped together with far more dangerous drugs: if we fail to distinguish between the varying degrees of danger of certain substances, we undermine the authority of our laws and their effectiveness in protecting against addiction. Any young person who has tried marijuana or seen a friend on heroin knows the difference between these drugs. Why don't we?

Actually, we can – at least on a scientific level. Over the past 10 years, marijuana has been studied extensively and its effects are now clear. When marijuana smoke enters the lungs, its active ingredient THC dissolves in the blood and is quickly distributed throughout the body. THC then binds to protein molecules found on the surface of many brain cells. These molecules selectively recognize THC, similar to how we pick keys to fit a keyhole. They are called cannabinoid receptors (the word comes from the Latin word for marijuana, cannabis).

Heroin binds to different classes of protein molecules called opiate receptors – the same special defence system as cannabinoids, but the effects are different. The two receptors are not interchangeable.

Consider, for example, the question of addiction. Research shows that when the chemical THC stimulates cannabinoid receptors in the brain, it engages a complex of circuits of nerve cells and transmitters that are normally involved in responding to rewarding stimuli, such as tasty food. A brief burst of activity in this circuit produces only pleasant feelings, but if the stimulus continues over a long period of time (as with frequent and prolonged marijuana use), it can eventually lead to changes in the circuitry that lead to tolerance -- the need to take more of the drug to achieve the same effect -- and dependence -- a feeling of restlessness and lack of something when long-term use is abruptly stopped.

Heroin's interaction with opiate receptors produces a more intense pleasurable feeling than marijuana—so intense, in fact, that heroin addicts can't even put it into words. But heroin withdrawal is far more emotionally brutal than marijuana withdrawal. And unlike marijuana, heroin produces an endless array of physical symptoms, including chills and pain. And it's not a higher degree of the same response—it's a different response to a completely different chemical reaction.

All of marijuana's potential benefits, including its ability to increase appetite and treat nausea, also depend directly on THC attaching to its receptors in the brain. This is one of the main sources of trouble associated with the evolving use of marijuana in medicine: if one receptor is responsible for all the actions of the drug, then how do you separate the good from the bad? It's possible to stop smoking marijuana and find better ways to take THC -- such as through metered-dose aerosols, such as those used for asthma -- allowing patients to take just enough of the drug to treat their symptoms while minimizing unwanted side effects. This approach will also help you avoid inhaling the dangerous mixture of toxic and cancer-causing chemicals that enter your lungs when you smoke marijuana.

Another way to avoid the risks associated with smoking marijuana is to take advantage of cannabinoid receptors, which have not evolved in the human brain to give us a high. Rather, their original role is to bind to a set of THC-like chemicals produced by brain cells whose functions include relieving pain and fear. If we could invent chemicals that reached the levels of these transmitting substances in the brain, we would be able to stimulate their normal effect. Ours, as well as other laboratories around the world, are now working in this direction, with the goal of creating new classes of pain medications, antidepressants and drugs that suppress anxiety.

Due to THC's Schedule I status I , these studies sometimes face super-bureaucratic obstacles. But prohibiting months of paperwork review for a research project is not the main reason that a drug and its derivatives should be reclassified and listed according to their medical benefits. It is far more important to aim to develop real drug laws in this country than to punish drug addiction, and to promote medical progress.

Since the Controlled Substances Act was passed ( CSA ), advocates are demanding that THC be reclassified. These requests have remained unnoticed until now . Perhaps the Supreme Court’s decision will inspire citizens and health organizations to look at scientific evidence anew, without being blinded by prejudice. It suggests that as long as marijuana is classified as an addictive drug that requires careful scrutiny, its active ingredient may be useful for medicinal purposes when used correctly. But it’s hard to communicate this point clearly: Too often, the voice of science and intelligence is lost in the shouting equivalent.

Washington Post

08/29/2006
SaneK
Well, there's no point in reading it, I'd rather go smoke a joint