EVERYBODY'S HIGH

[Ferre]

There's interesting news on the Medical front, I'll post the whole article, it seems we are getting a little step further again :

 

http://www.boulderweekly.com/images/cover013003.jpg

 

EVERYBODY'S HIGH

 

Getting Stoned Is Just A Matter Of Degree. Our Brains Give Us All A

Marijuana-Like High Every Day, Like It Or Not

 

You've heard of a "natural high?" Well, it turns out we're all a little bit

high all the time-whether or not we smoke dope. In fact, the pleasures

derived from marijuana, sex and chocolate are all tied together. by similar

chemical reactions in our brains.

 

Right now, there's a naturally occurring molecule in your brain and body

that's chemically similar to THC, or delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, the

stuff in marijuana that gets users high. The scientists who discovered this

natural THC-like body chemical in 1992, most notably Raphael Mechoulam of

the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, named it "anandamide" after the

Sanskrit word for ecstasy, "ananda." THC molecules can plug into the

brain's receptors for anandamides quite easily, he found, but THC lasts

longer than anandamides, overwhelming the brain's pleasure sites and

causing-at least in novice users-feelings of giddiness and ecstasy.

 

For almost 30 years, Jewish researchers have dominated the world's research

into marijuana and why it produces a "high" when smoked. Recently, Dr.

Mechoulam and his counterpart at the University of Buffalo, Herbert Schuel,

explained to Boulder Weekly how and why most people are high most of the time.

 

Mechoulam's and Schuel's ongoing research shows that anandamides appear to

be involved in regulating and balancing the body's biochemical systems,

influencing or controlling the reproductive, sleep, fight-or-flight and

appetite cycles.

 

"It's a quirk of nature that THC works on our receptors," Mechoulam

remarked. "We were lucky to be the only group in the world working on this

chemical."

 

All mammals, fish, birds and reptiles seem to have anandamide-based

regulatory systems; it's even found in cacao nuts, from which chocolate is

made.

 

"It is found in substantial quantities in chocolate, and may account for

the feelings of pleasure that come from chocolate," Schuel said. Other

researchers have found that chocolate seems to prolong the marijuana

high-as pot users have long claimed.

 

Street mythology about marijuana has always held that the drug makes girls

easier to seduce, that it makes guys impotent or sterile, that it induces

drowsiness, and that it prolongs life by easing cumulative stress. Turns

out that these two specialized geniuses, Mechoulam and Schuel, no longer

view the above as mythology.

 

Experiments with rats, Schuel explains, show that marijuana causes some

"enhancement of sexual activities," at least for the female rats "who

appear much more eager than the males." Tests of heavy pot-smoking human

males show lowered sperm counts to the point that marijuana could be

considered an effective contraceptive, Schuel said, although "it's not a

cut-and-dried thing. Sometimes when both smoke, they have babies."

 

One of Schuel's studies with sea urchins reveals that anandamides inhibit

the process of sperm penetrating and entering the egg cell. When

anandamides or THC are present, the sea urchin sperm-which actually has

anandamide receptor sites on its surface-cannot break through the egg's

tough protein coat.

 

Many people consider marijuana to be a virtual panacea, good for the

prevention and treatment of glaucoma and as a digestive aid, or as a

treatment for asthma, nausea, insomnia, constipation, menstrual pain,

headaches, hangovers, hiccups, eating disorders and lack of appetite.

 

Schuel agrees that, with the discovery of anandamides, "there's an enormous

potential for new medicines and home remedies. There are medicinal aspects

plus the psychogenic effects." Cannabis-based medicines were common in the

19th century and may become so again in the 21st century, the two

scientists speculate.

 

Already, European researchers are testing an anandamide-based stroke

treatment that, if used quickly enough, seems to protect and cushion the

brain from the worst effects of stroke, Mechoulam said.

Date: Sun, 02 Feb 2003 20:07:43 -0800

From: "D. Paul Stanford" <stanford@crrh.org>

Subject: 002 Everybody's High

 

Pubdate: Sat, 1 Feb 2003

Source: Boulder Weekly (CO)

Copyright: 2003 Boulder Weekly

Contact: letters@boulderweekly.com

Website: http://www.boulderweekly.com/

Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/57

Author: Ron Bain

Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)