When she started using Cannabis as medicine, she was using 9 different pharmaceutical medications. Once she began Cannabis therapy, she was able to eliminate 4 of the most harmful meds and reduce her intake of all the others by as much as two thirds. I, and her doctors, believe that Cannabis saved her life.

In 1991 it was shown that the properties of the cannabinoid receptors in the brain were not irreversibly altered in monkeys given chronic doses of THC and marijuana. (2) This toxicology study shows that marijuana is not a neurotoxin.

Cannabinoids, memory and sleep
A useful tool in the study of a neuroreceptor system is some molecule that prevents the the neurotransmitter from binding to the receptor. That way you can figure out what the natural neurotranmsitter does by watching what happens when it can't do it any more. A molecule that does this is called a receptor antagonist.

For THC, the cannabinoid synthesized by cannabis sativa and indica, and andandamide, the cannabinoid synthesized in the central nervous systems of most animals on Earth, the receptor antagonist is called SR141716. (3) SR141716 is like "anti-marijuana" -- it enhances the same memory functions that the natural brain cannabinoid anandamide and THC inhibit through the cannabinoid receptor. (4)

SR141716 improves short term memory in rodents by blocking the CB1 cannabinoid receptor from binding to andandamide, not just THC. But anandamide is made by the brain naturally. Why would the brain be making a chemical -- andandamide -- that seems to inhibit short-term memory?

This question is partly answered by the effect of SR141716 on the sleep cycles of rats. (5) SR141716 administered to rats interrupts their sleep cycles, causing a deficit in both short-wave and REM sleep. This research indicates that cannabinoids are important in the brain's regulation of the sleeping process.

The cost of improving short-term memory by blocking cannabinoids from the brain is deficient and delayed slow-wave and REM sleep. In studying marijuana, we have learned something important about the brain. Inhibition of short-term memory-related processes occurring ion the hippocampus might be necessary for a healthy sleep cycle.

Cannabinoids and Alzheimer's Disease Another very intriguing link between natural cannabinoids and memory was found in the brains of people who died of Alzheimer's disease. (6) The researchers discovered that the brains of people died of Alzheimer's showed substantially less cannabinoid binding than shown by the brains of the control group. The abnormal absences of cannabinoid receptors weren't located in regions correleated with the damage done by Alzhemier's disease itself, so the researchers did not believe that the Alzheimer's disease caused the disappearance of CB1 receptors.

The difference between the Alzheimer's and control CB1 levels was the highest in the hippocampus, the same region of the brain where cannabinoids help regulate short-term memory. The Alzheimer's brains showed binding to the test cannabinoid that was reduced by 49% compared to the binding observed in the control brains.

There is not yet an explanation for this difference. Research (7,8) showed that in rats, cannabinoid receptors and the ability to respond to anandamide (and THC) develop gradually from birth until adulthood, and then remain fairly constant as the animals age.

Cannabinoids and Circulation The "endogenous" cannabinoid anandamide was shown to lower blood pressure and heart rate through the CB1 receptor. (9) The CB1 antagonist SR141716 was shown to block the blood-pressure-lowering effects of anandamide. The researchers guessed that the CB1 receptors were lowering blood pressure by vasodilation through the sympathetic nervous system. The manner in which anandamide and THC dilate small blood vessels in the brain was studied in (10,11).

Dismissing a well reasoned argument with srcasm rather than substance discredits your position.

COMFORT FOOD - YES.

Ever wondered why they call it that? Ever wondered why it might be important to stop and smell the roses?

MEDICINE - NO.PROVEN!

Cannabinoids function as neurotransmitters
The natural brain cannabinoid anandamide functions as a neurotransmitter. Neurotransmitters are chemical messenger molecules that carry signals between neurons as on:
http://www.lacbc.org/brain.html

A neuron has two ends - the axon and the dendrite. A pattern of electrical excitement travels down a neuron from the dendrite to the axon. The axon releases neurotransmitter molecules into the synapse, the space between the axon of one neuron and the dendrite of another neuron.

The neurotransmitter molecules travel across the synapse to the receptor molecules on the dendrite of the other neuron.

If the transmitter molecules don't fit the receptors on the dendrite...(snip)

...then nothing happens. But if the neurotransmitter molecules fit or "bind to" the receptor molecules, as shown by the blue molecules above, then that dendrite is excited.

A pattern of electrical excitement propagates down that neuron to its axon, where the process of transmitter release and receptor capture repeats itself.

The neurotransmitter serotonin is believed to regulate mood, sleep and learning, and abnormalities in the production of serotonin are believed to be at the root of serious depressive disorders. Prozac works to relieve severe depression by blocking the natural removal of excess serotonin from the spaces between neurons in the brain.

Norepinephine and epinephrine regulate how the heart and vital functions respond to stress. The powerful neurotranmistter dopamine regulates the "reward system" of well being, among other things, and abnormalities in dopamine production in the brain are believed to lie behind Parkinson's disease (not enough dopamine) and schizophrenia (far too much of it)

Another class of neurotransmitters includes GABA, glutamate, glycine and aspartate. Opiates act both as hormones in the endocrine sysyem and as neurotransmitters in the central nervous system. Heroin addiction is believed to happen because the opiate system is very strongly tied to the powerful dopamine system, and heroin binds quite effectively to the natural opiate receptor system.

Cannabinoid receptor locations in the brain
The brain cannabinoid receptors are called the CB1 receptors. The relative binding density for cannabinoids in the brain has been measured (1) and is shown in the two pictures below. The darkest colored areas are the regions where cannabinoids to receptors bind in the greatest density.

The primary regions where cannabinoids bind in the human brain are known as the basal ganglia. The basal ganglia are believed to control unconscious muscle movements. The basal ganglia consist of:

• SN Substantia Nigra -- the cannabinoid binding is highest here
• GP Globus Pallidus -- second-highest region of binding
• Caud Caudate Nucleus -- believed to control repetitive movement
• Pu Putamen

The next region where cannabinoids bind is known as the limbic system. The limbic system believed to be involved in integrating memories and strong emotions such as rage, lust and fear.. The limbic system consists of:

• Hip Hippocampus -- where short term memory is processed into long term memory
• Am Amygdala -- the part of the brain controlling rage, lust, fear and other strong emotions
• Hy Hypothalmus -- where vital endocrine hormones are released

Cannabinoids also bind in the Cer cerebellum, the part of the brain that controls balance and the planning of motion. Finally, there is weak cannabinoid binding throughout the cerebral cortex, shown in light green above and above.

Cannabinoids act in general as inhibitory neurotransmitters, meaning that they inhibit processes that other neurotransmitters can stimulate. This is probably why cannabinoids are such effective anti-spasmodic agents. Cannabinoid receptors are very rich in the areas of the brain that control muscle spasms.

COMFORT FOOD - YES.

See: http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread10075.shtml

Well, I've done some research, and it turns out that nicotine does indeed have natural functions in the body, as do the essential oils that are released as a component of both tobacco and cannabis smoke.

One such substance is known as caryophyllene oxide which is a sequiterpene. Terpenes are precursors to steroids and hormones, and I have developed a non-combustive device to deliver this substance. Asthma inhalers often contain steroids. One of the reasons cigarettes are dangerous has to do with the combustion phase, in which tars, benzene, benzopyrene, toluene and carbon monoxide are created.

This is why vaporizers and brownies completely eliminate your only valid arguments against cannabis use. The "high" is NOT dangerous, no one has EVER died from the psychoactive effects of cannabis.

If you would like samples of my 100% cannabis based replacement therapy, mail $10.00 to:

Jose Melendez
founder, Narcosoft.com
1600 Flightline Blvd.
DeLand, FL 32724

You're telling them that the law should be up to the task of dealing with real humans not the ideal ones they teach us about in Sunday school when we are little simple minded children without the capacity for complex adult thinking.