cannabisnews.com: Marijuana 'Munchies' Lead To Possible Diet Drug





Marijuana 'Munchies' Lead To Possible Diet Drug
Posted by CN Staff on February 02, 2004 at 11:20:38 PT
By Linda Marsa, Special to The Times
Source: Los Angeles Times 
Marijuana users call them "the munchies," those intense food cravings sparked by inhaling the illicit weed's smoke. Normally blamed for weight gain, these urges to wolf down everything in sight now have led to the development of a drug that may help millions slim down. Called Rimonabant, the experimental pill appears to stop the flow of "feed me" signals to the brain.
"This drug makes people feel satiated so they eat less," says Dr. Louis J. Aronne, an obesity specialist at the Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York who has tested Rimonabant. "If it proves effective, it may become a potent weapon in our fight against obesity, which is difficult to treat."Exercise and willpower go only so far in helping us to lose weight and keep it off. Scientists now know that it's tough to shed those extra pounds because, in essence, our bodies become addicted to food."As we become overweight, a cascade of physiological changes occur in the body that interferes with our normal weight-controlling mechanisms, and overrides the messages to the brain that tell us we are full," says Aronne, director of the center's Comprehensive Weight Control Program. A pill that makes people feel full may help them reduce the amount of food they consume.Scientists developed Rimonabant after the discovery of a pleasure circuit in the brain activated by cannabinoids. The compounds, which our bodies produce, are chemical cousins of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the active ingredient in marijuana.Like a key in a lock, these chemicals latch on to the cannabinoid receptors that cover the brain, which sparks the sensations associated with a marijuana high: the calm euphoria, fuzzy memory and that voracious hunger. Snipped:Complete Article: http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/munchies.htmSource: Los Angeles Times (CA)Author: Linda Marsa, Special to The TimesPublished: February 2, 2004 Copyright: 2004 Los Angeles TimesContact: letters latimes.comWebsite: http://www.latimes.com/Related Articles & Web Site:GW Pharmaceuticalshttp://www.gwpharm.com/The Cannabis Conundrumhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18285.shtmlCould Anti-Marijuana Compound Hold Key?http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15001.shtmlMarijuana Munchies May Hold a Key To Obesity http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9340.shtmlStraight Dope on the Munchies http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9338.shtml
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Comment #3 posted by ekim on February 02, 2004 at 19:08:11 PT
how would Hemp compare to Cotton 
 now on NPR Connection show they are talking about cotton is subsidized by 1.5 billion dollars here in USA and the World Trade A. is making rules on subsidy.then its shipped all over the globe.the discussion is centered on how the crop is priced cheap and the the cheaper it is the more the subsidys are.
what has happen to free trade. just think of all the chemicals it takes to grow this plant. a lot of ground water is hurt by the application of these chemicals from spraying for bugs in the soil to bugs on the plants and dropping the leaves off at a certain time before its picked. I have heard it said that cotton is the cause of 50 % of the stuff being used on just this one plant. there is a Brazilian farmer on the show. I wonder why that country stopped making ethanol from sugar cane. Most of the country there was running on it.
I would like to see figures on how Hemp would compete with cotton around the globe.
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Comment #2 posted by Max Flowers on February 02, 2004 at 15:08:36 PT
facts
So let's see then. Cannabis has now led to a drug discovery which helps people avoid death by obesity. We already knew that it helps people avoid death by wasting. We know that it helps people avoid blindness by glaucoma.We know it relieves menstrual discomfort for a large percentage of women.We are rapidly learning that it helps people deal with the pain of Multiple Sclerosis.We know it has neuroprotective benefits.We know it helps with depression.We know it has significant antibacterial and viricidal properties.I could go on...SCHEDULE ONE IS A LIECANNABIS IS AN HERB WITH TANGIBLE MEDICINAL PROPERTIESFREE THE HERB!
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on February 02, 2004 at 11:21:56 PT
So Cannabis Does Have Medical Value
They need to remove it from Schedule I.
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