cannabisnews.com: Professor To Lead National Institute On Drug Abuse Professor To Lead National Institute On Drug Abuse Posted by FoM on December 09, 2001 at 19:44:24 PT By Lee Davidson Source: Deseret News University of Utah professor Glen R. Hanson has been named the acting director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, one of the National Institutes of Health. His appointment follows the resignation of Dr. Alan I. Leshner, who served as director since 1994. He is leaving to become the chief executive officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Hanson is a professor in the University of Utah's department of pharmacology and toxicology and is recognized as an expert on psychostimulants. He is particularly known for his work on the neurotoxic properties of Ecstasy (MDMA) and amphetamines, as well as the role of brain peptides in psychiatric and neurological functions. As a researcher, he has been supported by grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute of Mental Health since the early 1980s and in 1998 received a Senior Scientist Award from the drug abuse institute. Hanson has served on several grant review committees for the National Institutes of Health and on the editorial board of the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. He is a frequent reviewer for most of the major pharmacology and neuroscience journals. Hanson joined the drug abuse institute in September 2000 as the director of its Division of Neuroscience and Behavioral Research. He holds a doctor of dental science degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Ph.D. from the University of Utah. From 1978 to 1980, Hanson was a fellow in the National Institutes of Health Pharmacology Research Associates Training Program. The drug abuse institute supports more than 85 percent of the world's research on the health aspects of drug abuse and addiction. Complete Title: U Professor To Lead National Institute On Drug AbuseNewshawk: donaySource: Deseret News (UT)Author: Lee DavidsonPublished: December 5, 2001Copyright: 2001 Deseret News Publishing Corp.Contact: letters desnews.comWebsite: http://www.desnews.com/Related Articles:CannabisNews Articles - NIDAhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/NIDA.shtmlDEA Approves UC San Diego Marijuana Study http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11450.shtmlLooking for Ways To Keep Pot Smokers Drug Free http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11212.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #9 posted by goneposthole on December 11, 2001 at 08:42:39 PT I agree with 4q too Sometimes I'm just like a redneck, I don't know my ass from a hole in the ground. It doesn't look as bad if my head is in the hole instead of the alternative. [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by qqqq on December 11, 2001 at 08:34:29 PT Kaptinemo ....I sincerely appreciate the supportive comment...I sometimes get the feeling that my brash, unorthodox,and wrecklessly presented ramblings,tend to diminish,and obscure the integrity of my comments......your offbeat use of the word " bureaucratized",is delightfully commendable. ..the scourge of bureaucratizement,is like a wound that will not heal!..... [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by kaptinemo on December 11, 2001 at 07:47:25 PT: I'm afraid I shall have to agree with 4Q As much as I'd like to give him the benefit of the doubt, I am afraid that that Dr. Hanson will be found to be cut from the same cloth as Leshner. He's been bureaucratized, having suckled from the Federal teat too long to give it up and do real science...which would probably find his methodology lacking in academic vigor.In short, he's another cipher, another normally (and deservedly!) anonymous hack who's sold his academic credentials for a mess of government pottage. I have more respect for hookers; at least they are less pretentious. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by goneposthole on December 10, 2001 at 06:45:39 PT Dr. Hanson I would hope that his impeccable qualifications would compel him to re-evaluate the adminstering of Ritalin to millions of school children is the US and Canada. 85% of the Ritalin is dispensed in the United States and the remaining 15% in Canada. European nations do not allow Ritalin to be used on school children for behavioral modification Strike the 'a' after 'that' in the quote by Aldous Huxley. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by goneposthole on December 10, 2001 at 06:27:54 PT Glen Hansen "He is a frequent reviewer for most of the major pharmacology and neuroscience journals.""The propagandist's purpose is to make one set of people forget that a certain other sets of people are human."- Aldous HuxleyTo berate and belittle is very unsportsmanlike conduct and I do not condone it. Prohibitionists do it constantly, and are good at it They have honed the skill. Demonizing and calling people 'drug abusers' are all in their repetoire of an argot they so enjoy to use. They make every person who enjoys what ever gets them through this life long journey like they have become less than worthwhile. They have no shame. http://users.erols.com/murple/propaganda.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by Jose Melendez on December 10, 2001 at 06:18:15 PT: Let's keep him from being another McCaffrey Here is some info on Hanson. Let's challenge him to make NIDA tell the truth about cannabis. I'm not sure if MDMA really makes your brain overheat, but if it has as big of a crash as I've seen in my friends the day after partying, I want nothing to do with MDMA. If I wanted a depressing hangover, I can just drink alcohol... From from: http://www.nida.nih.gov/Meetings/MDMA/MDMAAbs1.html Overview of MDMA-Induced Persistent Neurotoxicity: Preclinical Perspective Glen R. Hanson, D.D.S., Ph.D. Advances The potential neurotoxic properties of amphetamine-related drugs were suggested by observations in the rat of Gibb and Koda (JPET 185 [1973] 42) and Seiden et al. (Drug Alcoh Depend 1 [1976] 215) that high-dose methamphetamine (METH) treatment causes persistent deficits in the dopamine (DA) system associated with the basal ganglia. Gibb and Hotchkiss (JPET 214 [1980] 257) later reported that similar METH administrations also cause similar long-term declines in the serotonin (5HT) systems associated with the frontal cortex, striatum, and hippocampus. These findings suggested that heavy METH use can be neurotoxic to critical systems in the brain associated with memory, information processing, and motor functions. Because MDMA is a METH analogue, its effects on DA and 5HT systems have also been studied. Moderate-to-high doses of MDMA cause METH-like long-term deficits in brain 5HT, but not DA systems. These persistent serotonergic effects appear to be (1) at least partially mediated by MDMA-related stimulation of DA systems, (2) linked to production of free radicals, (3) dependent on the serotonin transporters, and (4) facilitated by hyperthermia. However, reactive MDMA metabolites do not appear to be necessary for this neurotoxic effect of MDMA. These preclinical findings in rat predict that, in humans, MDMA substantially enhances the activity of DA systems and is a potential neurotoxin to some 5HT systems. Challenges As with many animal models, the relevance of these findings to humans and real-life circumstances has been questioned. With new and more sophisticated methodologies, we are now able to determine whether our findings in the laboratory are predictive of the human experience. Future Direction If we are to effectively deal with persons who have experienced long-term brain consequences from using MDMA, we must identify more precisely how and why this drug damages the central nervous system. With such knowledge, we should be able to develop better strategies to prevent and treat MDMA-induced functional deficits. References Che S, Johnson M, Hanson GR, Gibb JW. (1995) Body temperature effect on MDMA-induced acute decrease in tryptophan hydroxylase activity. Eur J Pharmacol 293:447-453. Sandoval V, Riddle E, Ugarte Y, Hanson GR, Fleckenstein AE. (2001) Methamphetamine-induced rapid and reversible changes in dopamine transporter function: An in vitro model. J Neurosci 21:1413-1419. Stone DM, Stahl DC, Hanson GR, Gibb JW. (1986) The effects of MDMA and MDA on monoaminergic systems in the rat brain. Eur J Pharmacol 128:41-48. Biography Dr. Hanson was appointed Director of the Division of Neuroscience and Behavioral Research at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) in September 2000. This Division administers extramural research programs in basic neurobiological and behavioral sciences related to issues of drug abuse and addiction. Dr. Hanson is also a tenured full professor in pharmacology at the University of Utah. He is actively involved in research that until now has resulted in (1) approximately 150 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals and (2) approximately 200 abstracts presented at scientific meetings around the world. Dr. Hanson is recognized as an expert on the psychostimulants and is particularly known for his work on the neurotoxic properties of ecstasy and the amphetamines and the role of brain peptides (small proteins) in psychiatric and neurological functions. Dr. Hanson has been supported by grants from NIDA and the National Institute of Mental Health since the early 1980s and in 1998 received a Senior Scientist Award from NIDA. He has served on several grant review committees for NIH and on the editorial board of the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics and is a frequent reviewer for most of the major pharmacology and neuroscience journals. http://www.nida.nih.gov/Meetings/MDMA/MDMAAbs1.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by qqqq on December 09, 2001 at 21:07:21 PT ventriloquest dummie ..another sock puppet with the federal hand up its ass,,to further the grotesque Punch and Judy production of federal anti-drug natzi propagation.....this 'wanted to go into dentistry',scholastic wanderer,,finally found his niche,,,following in the footsteps of the great Alan Leshner,who french kissed enough asses to get himself promoted to a higher level of federal puppet........disgusting,,,to say the least. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by john wayne on December 09, 2001 at 20:33:36 PT Wow, Glen. Your career is in the crapper to such an extent that you'll take the lowest prestige job in all the scientific world as director of nida?Sorry to hear that, duuuuuuuude! [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by p4me on December 09, 2001 at 20:04:27 PT none I wonder if he thinks MJ has medicinal qualities that should exclude it from the phony Schedule 1 Narcotic classification that our prohibitionist politicians insist on. We need some new politicians as I have said before. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment