Marijuana is medicine, Journal of the American Medical Association concludes

Posted on April 30, 2016 by David

“Marijuana is one hundred percent a form of medicine, researchers conclude in a bombshell series of reports released by the Journal of the American Medical Association. Cannabis has been used medicinally for thousands of years” http://blog.sfgate.com/smellthetruth/2015/06/23/marijuana-is-medicine-journal-of-the-american-medical-association-concludes/

Marijuana is medicine, Journal of the American Medical Association concludes

“Cannabinoids for Medical Use. A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.” http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2338251

In Vitro Propagation of Cannabis sativa L. and Evaluation of Regenerated Plants for Genetic Fidelity and Cannabinoids Content for Quality Assurance.

Posted on April 25, 2016 by David

“Cannabis sativa L. (Marijuana; Cannabaceae), one of the oldest medicinal plants in the world, has been used throughout history for fiber, food, as well as for its psychoactive properties.

The dioecious and allogamous nature of C. sativa is the major constraint to maintain the consistency in chemical profile and overall efficacy if grown from seed. Therefore, the present optimized in vitro propagation protocol of the selected elite germplasm via direct organogenesis and quality assurance protocols using genetic and chemical profiling provide an ideal pathway for ensuring the efficacy of micropropagated Cannabis sativa germplasm.

A high frequency shoot organogenesis of C. sativa was obtained from nodal segments in 0.5 μM thidiazuron medium and 95 % in vitro rhizogenesis is obtained on half-strength MS medium supplemented with 500 mg/L activated charcoal and 2.5 μM indole-3-butyric acid. Inter Simple Sequence Repeats (ISSR) and Gas Chromatography-Flame Ionization Detection (GC-FID) are successfully used to monitor the genetic stability in micropropagated plants up to 30 passages in culture and hardened in soil for 8 months.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27108324

ENDOCANNABINOID SYSTEM: A multi-facet therapeutic target.

Posted on April 19, 2016 by David

Image result for Curr Clin Pharmacol.

“Cannabis sativa is also popularly known as marijuana. It is being cultivated and used by man for recreational and medicinal purposes from many centuries.

Study of cannabinoids was at bay for very long time and its therapeutic value could not be adequately harnessed due to its legal status as proscribed drug in most of the countries.

The research of drugs acting on endocannabinoid system has seen many ups and down in recent past. Presently, it is known that endocannabinoids has role in pathology of many disorders and they also serve “protective role” in many medical conditions.

Several diseases like emesis, pain, inflammation, multiple sclerosis, anorexia, epilepsy, glaucoma, schizophrenia, cardiovascular disorders, cancer, obesity, metabolic syndrome related diseases, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and Tourette’s syndrome could possibly be treated by drugs modulating endocannabinoid system.

Presently, cannabinoid receptor agonists like nabilone and dronabinol are used for reducing the chemotherapy induced vomiting. Sativex (cannabidiol and THC combination) is approved in the UK, Spain and New Zealand to treat spasticity due to multiple sclerosis. In US it is under investigation for cancer pain, another drug Epidiolex (cannabidiol) is also under investigation in US for childhood seizures. Rimonabant, CB1 receptor antagonist appeared as a promising anti-obesity drug during clinical trials but it also exhibited remarkable psychiatric side effect profile. Due to which the US Food and Drug Administration did not approve Rimonabant in US. It sale was also suspended across the EU in 2008.

Recent discontinuation of clinical trial related to FAAH inhibitor due to occurrence of serious adverse events in the participating subjects could be discouraging for the research fraternity. Despite of some mishaps in clinical trials related to drugs acting on endocannabinoid system, still lot of research is being carried out to explore and establish the therapeutic targets for both cannabinoid receptor agonists and antagonists.

One challenge is to develop drugs that target only cannabinoid receptors in a particular tissue and another is to invent drugs that acts selectively on cannabinoid receptors located outside the blood brain barrier. Besides this, development of the suitable dosage forms with maximum efficacy and minimum adverse effects is also warranted.

Another angle to be introspected for therapeutic abilities of this group of drugs is non-CB1 and non-CB2 receptor targets for cannabinoids.

In order to successfully exploit the therapeutic potential of endocannabinoid system, it is imperative to further characterize the endocannabinoid system in terms of identification of the exact cellular location of cannabinoid receptors and their role as “protective” and “disease inducing substance”, time-dependent changes in the expression of cannabinoid receptors.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27086601

Orexin-A represses satiety-inducing POMC neurons and contributes to obesity via stimulation of endocannabinoid signaling.

Posted on April 14, 2016 by David

“In the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus (ARC), proopiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons and the POMC-derived peptide α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH) promote satiety. POMC neurons receive orexin-A (OX-A)-expressing inputs and express both OX-A receptor type 1 (OX-1R) and cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB₁R) on the plasma membrane.

OX-A is crucial for the control of wakefulness and energy homeostasis and promotes, in OX-1R-expressing cells, the biosynthesis of the endogenous counterpart of marijuana’s psychotropic and appetite-inducing component Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol, i.e., the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), which acts at CB₁R.

We report that OX-A/OX-1R signaling at POMC neurons promotes 2-AG biosynthesis, hyperphagia, and weight gain by blunting α-MSH production via CB₁R-induced and extracellular-signal-regulated kinase 1/2 activation- and STAT3 inhibition-mediated suppression ofPomcgene transcription. Because the systemic pharmacological blockade of OX-1R by SB334867 caused anorectic effects by reducing food intake and body weight, our results unravel a previously unsuspected role for OX-A in endocannabinoid-mediated promotion of appetite by combining OX-induced alertness with food seeking. Notably, increased OX-A trafficking was found in the fibers projecting to the ARC of obese mice (ob/oband high-fat diet fed) concurrently with elevation of OX-A release in the cerebrospinal fluid and blood of mice.

Furthermore, a negative correlation between OX-A and α-MSH serum levels was found in obese mice as well as in human obese subjects (body mass index > 40), in combination with elevation of alanine aminotransferase and γ-glutamyl transferase, two markers of fatty liver disease.

These alterations were counteracted by antagonism of OX-1R, thus providing the basis for a therapeutic treatment of these diseases.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27071101

No more pain upon Gq-protein-coupled receptor activation: role of endocannabinoids.

Posted on April 6, 2016 by David

“Marijuana has been used to relieve pain for centuries.

The analgesic mechanism of its constituents, the cannabinoids, was only revealed after the discovery of cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2) two decades ago.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24494686

Marijuana-derived Δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol suppresses Th1/Th17 cell-mediated delayed-type hypersensitivity through microRNA regulation.

Posted on April 3, 2016 by David

“∆⁹-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is one of the major bioactive cannabinoids derived from the Cannabis sativa plant and is known for its anti-inflammatory properties. Delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) is driven by proinflammatory T helper cells including the classic inflammatory Th1 lineage as well as the more recently discovered Th17 lineage. In the current study, we investigated whether THC can alter the induction of Th1/Th17 cells involved in mBSA-induced DTH response. THC treatment (20 mg/kg) of C57BL/6 mice with DTH caused decreased swelling and infiltration of immune cells at the site of antigen rechallenge. Additionally, THC treatment decreased lymphocyte activation as well as Th1/Th17 lineage commitment, including reduced lineage-specific transcription factors and cytokines. Interestingly, while DTH caused an overexpression of miR-21, which increases Th17 differentiation via SMAD7 inhibition, and downregulation of miR-29b, an IFN-γ inhibitor, THC treatment reversed this microRNA (miR) dysregulation. Furthermore, when we transfected primary cells from DTH mice with miR-21 inhibitor or miR-29b mimic, as seen with THC treatment, the expression of target gene message was directly impacted increasing SMAD7 and decreasing IFN-γ expression, respectively. In summary, the current study suggests that THC treatment during DTH response can simultaneously inhibit Th1/Th17 activation via regulation of microRNA (miRNA) expression.

KEY MESSAGES:

• THC treatment inhibits simultaneous Th1/Th17 driven inflammation. • THC treatment corrects DTH-mediated microRNA dysregulation. • THC treatment regulates proinflammatory cytokines and transcription factors.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27038180

Medical marijuana laws and adolescent marijuana use in the USA from 1991 to 2014: results from annual, repeated cross-sectional surveys.

Posted on February 21, 2016 by David

“Our findings, consistent with previous evidence, suggest that passage of state medical marijuana laws does not increase adolescent use of marijuana.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26303557

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(15)00217-5/fulltext

Prevalence of marijuana use does not differentially increase among youth after states pass medical marijuana laws: Commentary on and reanalysis of US National Survey on Drug Use in Households data 2002-2011.

Posted on February 21, 2016 by David

“There is considerable interest in the effects of medical marijuana laws (MML) on marijuana use in the USA, particularly among youth. The article by Stolzenberg et al. (2015) “The effect of medical cannabis laws on juvenile cannabis use” concludes that “implementation of medical cannabis laws increase juvenile cannabis use”. This result is opposite to the findings of other studies that analysed the same US National Survey on Drug Use in Households data as well as opposite to studies analysing other national data which show no increase or even a decrease in youth marijuana use after the passage of MML. We provide a replication of the Stolzenberg et al. results and demonstrate how the comparison they are making is actually driven by differences between states with and without MML rather than being driven by pre and post-MML changes within states. We show that Stolzenberg et al. do not properly control for the fact that states that pass MML during 2002-2011 tend to already have higher past-month marijuana use before passing the MML in the first place. We further show that when within-state changes are properly considered and pre-MML prevalence is properly controlled, there is no evidence of a differential increase in past-month marijuana use in youth that can be attributed to state MML.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26895950

Smoking marijuana reduces cancer risk

Posted on February 16, 2016 by David

“Marijuana reduces cancer risk and kills existing tumors”

“This may be hard to believe — as we’re fairly accustomed to the notion that inhaling smoke is always bad for your health — but research shows smoking marijuana actually decreases the risk for developing lung cancer.

According to multiple study findings published on Cancer.gov, “Cannabinoids appear to kill tumor cells but do not affect their nontransformed counterparts and may even protect them from cell death.”

Dr. Donald Tashkin, professor emeritus of medicine at UCLA, also recently revealed to LA Weekly that after 30 years of studying the effects of marijuana smoke on lung function, he did not find any association between lung cancer and smoking weed.

Smoking marijuana doesn’t lead to impaired lung function either

Tashkin also found smoking marijuana does not lead to impaired lung function even after years of habitual use.”

More: http://extract.suntimes.com/information-resources/10/153/892/smoking-marijuana-reduces-cancer-risk

“Cannabis has been shown to kill cancer cells in the laboratory. Cannabinoids appear to kill tumor cells but do not affect their nontransformed counterparts and may even protect them from cell death.” http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/cam/patient/cannabis-pdq#section/all

http://www.thctotalhealthcare.com/category/cancer/

Cannabidiol Oil for Decreasing Addictive Use of Marijuana: A Case Report.

Posted on February 11, 2016 by David

“This case study illustrates the use of cannabidiol (CBD) oil to decrease the addictive use of marijuana and provide anxiolytic and sleep benefits.

The second most abundant component-CBD-has been suggested to have the medicinal effects of decreasing anxiety, improving sleep, and other neuro-protective effects.

The mechanism of action for CBD has been suggested to be antagonistic to the psychoactive properties of THC in many locations within the central nervous system. Such action raises the issue of whether it might be beneficial to use CBD in isolation to facilitate withdrawal of marijuana use.

With use of the CBD oil, the patient reported being less anxious, as well as settling into a regular pattern of sleep. He also indicated that he had not used any marijuana since starting the CBD oil. With the decrease in the dosage to 18 mg, the patient was able to maintain his nonuse of marijuana.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26807069