“Smoking cannabis may prevent the development of diabetes, one of the most rapidly rising chronic disorders in the world.
…it could lead to the development of treatments based on the active ingredient of cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), without its intoxicating effects.
Researchers have found that regular users of the drug had lower levels of the hormone insulin after fasting – a signal that they are protected against diabetes. They also had reduced insulin resistance.”
“Individuals who either smoke or ingest marijuana on a fairly regular basis have a better blood sugar control than people who are non-users, a study recently published in The American Journal of Medicine suggests.
The findings of this study are based on data collected while looking into the medical records of 4,657 people who had completed a drug use questionnaire as part of a research carried out by the National Health and Nutrition Survey between 2005 and 2010…
“Previous epidemiologic studies have found lower prevalence rates of obesity and diabetes mellitus in marijuana users compared to people who have never used marijuana, suggesting a relationship between cannabinoids and peripheral metabolic processes, but ours is the first study to investigate the relationship between marijuana use and fasting insulin, glucose, and insulin resistance,” lead researcher Murray A. Mittleman commented on the findings of this investigation.”
“Marijuana does many magical things, not the least of which is make dubstep listenable. In Los Angeles, we use it pretty much legally for back pain, nausea and hot tubbing.
But a new study from Germany says that, in U.S. states like California where marijuana has become medically legit, rates of suicide have gone down.
The researchers note that suicide is often triggered by “stressful life events.” And you know what can take away the pain?
No. Not Enrique Iglesias. Stress! Or rather, chronic. Depending.
The academics note that “California includes anxiety as a qualifying condition” to obtain medical pot, “while Delaware and New Mexico both allow the use of medical marijuana for post traumatic stress disorder … ”
The Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in Bonn, with the help of American researchers such as Daniel I. Rees of the University of Colorado’s Department of Economics, recently published their findings in a paper called High on Life? Medical Marijuana Laws and Suicide (PDF):
Our results suggest that the passage of a medical marijuana law is associated with an almost 5 percent reduction in the total suicide rate, an 11 percent reduction in the suicide rate of 20- through 29-year-old males, and a 9 percent reduction in the suicide rate of 30- through 39-year-old males.
The study takes some wild guesses, and one of them is that maybe medical marijuana users are cutting out the alcohol, which can be depressive:
The strong association between alcohol consumption and suicide related outcomes found by previous researchers (Markowitz et al. 2003; Carpenter 2004; Sullivan et al. 2004; Rodriguez Andres 2005; Carpenter and Dobkin 2009) raises the possibility that medical marijuana laws reduce the risk of suicide by decreasing alcohol consumption.
The academics cite research on animals where there was “a potent anti-depressant effect” when they were injected with low doses of synthetic cannabinoid.
Of course this flies in the face of tons of research — not to mention what Dr. Drew Pinsky has said several times — that cannabis and depression go together like milk and cookies.
And, it seems clear to us, the only solid argument to be made here is there might be a correlation between medical marijuana states and lower rates of suicides.
Hmm. National suicide rates have been decreasing across the board.
Researchers say they focused mostly on young men because most medical marijuana patients in states like Arizona, Colorado and Montana are males, and roughly half are under 40. Data on women, apparently, was weak. (Women are four times less likely to commit successful suicide in general).
The German study’s rosy conclusion:
… The legalization of medical marijuana leads to an improvement in the psychological well being of young adult males, an improvement that is reflected in fewer suicides.
Believe that. Or not.”
http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2012/02/marijuana_suicide_medical_states_california.php
“Chemicals found in cannabis could prove an effective treatment for the inflammatory bowel diseases Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s Disease, say scientists.
Laboratory tests have shown that two compounds found in the cannabis plant – the cannabinoids THC and cannabidiol – interact with the body’s system that controls gut function.
Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis, which affect about one in every 250 people in Northern Europe, are caused by both genetic and environmental factors. The researchers believe that a genetic susceptibility coupled with other triggers, such as diet, stress or bacterial imbalance, leads to a defective immune response.
Dr Karen Wright, Peel Trust Lecturer in Biomedicine at Lancaster University, will be presenting her soon-to-be published work at The British Pharmacological Society’s Winter Meeting in London today (Thursday).
She said: “The lining of the intestines provides a barrier against the contents of the gut but in people with Crohn’s Disease this barrier leaks and bacteria can escape into the intestinal tissue leading to an inappropriate immune response.
“If we could find a way to restore barrier integrity in patients we may be able to curb the inflammatory immune response that causes these chronic conditions.”
Dr Wright, working with colleagues at the School of Graduate Entry Medicine and Health in Derby, has shown that cells that react to cannabinoid compounds play an important role in normal gut function as well as the immune system’s inflammatory response.
“The body produces its own cannabinoid molecules, called endocannabinoids, which we have shown increase the permeability of the epithelium during inflammation, implying that overproduction may be detrimental,” said Dr Wright.
“However, we were able to reverse this process using plant-derived cannabinoids, which appeared to allow the epithelial cells to form tighter bonds with each other and restore the membrane barrier.”
The research was carried out using cell cultures in a dish but, interestingly, when the team attempted to mimic the conditions of the gut by reducing the amount of oxygen in the cells’ environment, much lower concentrations of cannabinoid were needed to produce the same effect.
Dr Wright added: “What is also encouraging is that while THC has psychoactive properties and is responsible for the ‘high’ people experience when using cannabis, cannabidiol, which has also proved effective in restoring membrane integrity, does not possess such properties.”
The British Pharmacological Society (BPS) – the primary UK learned society concerned with research into drugs and the way they work – is hosting its annual Winter Meeting in London, attracting experts from across the world.
The three-day conference, running from 15 to 17 December 2009, will hear presentations on the latest pharmacological developments to tackle a range of conditions and diseases.”
“The psychoactive cannabinoids from Cannabis sativa L. and the arachidonic acid-derived endocannabinoids are nonselective natural ligands for cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB(1)) and CB(2) receptors. Although the CB(1) receptor is responsible for the psychomodulatory effects, activation of the CB(2) receptor is a potential therapeutic strategy for the treatment of inflammation, pain, atherosclerosis, and osteoporosis.
Here, we report that the widespread plant volatile (E)-beta-caryophyllene [(E)-BCP] selectively binds to the CB(2) receptor and that it is a functional CB(2) agonist.
Intriguingly, (E)-BCP is a common constituent of the essential oils of numerous spice and food plants and a major component in Cannabis.
…this natural product exerts cannabimimetic effects in vivo. These results identify (E)-BCP as a functional nonpsychoactive CB(2) receptor ligand in foodstuff and as a macrocyclic antiinflammatory cannabinoid in Cannabis…
Because (E)-BCP is a major constituent in Cannabis essential oil and shows significant cannabimimetic effects, it may also contribute to the overall effect of Cannabis preparations…”
“The endocannabinoid system is an ancient lipid signaling network which in mammals modulates neuronal functions, inflammatory processes, and is involved in the aetiology of certain human lifestyle diseases, such as Crohn’s disease, atherosclerosis and osteoarthritis.
The system is able to downregulate stress-related signals that lead to chronic inflammation and certain types of pain, but it is also involved in causing inflammation-associated symptoms, depending on the physiological context.
The cannabinoid type-2 (CB2) receptor, which unlike the CB1 receptor does not induce central side effects, has been shown to be a promising therapeutic target. While CB1 receptor antagonists/inverse agonists are of therapeutic value, also CB2 receptor ligands including agonists are of pharmacological interest.
Although the endocannabinoid system is known to be involved in the regulation of energy homoeostasis and metabolism (mainly via CB1 receptors) there was hitherto no direct link between food intake and cannabinoid receptor activation. Our recent finding that beta-caryophyllene, a ubiquitous lipohilic plant natural product, selectively binds to the CB2 receptor and acts as a full agonist is unexpected…
In the case of the dietary natural product beta-caryophyllene, a full CB2 receptor-selective agonist in vitro, potent anti-inflammatory cannabimimetic effects are observed. Intriguingly, the lowest oral dose tested (5 mg/Kg) of this widespread and apparently non-toxic compound, which is also an FDA-approve food additive, was the most effective. Maybe this strengthens the hypothesis that beta-caryophyllene is indeed a dietary cannabinoid, thus inferring that by eating this compound the endocannabinoid system may be modulated in a beneficial way…”
“Anecdotal reports suggest that marijuana- or tetrahydrocannabinol-containing products may be effective in alleviating symptoms in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD). This is supported by recent studies of our group and others suggesting that pharmacological activation of the cannabinoid 1 (CB1) receptor with selective receptor agonists decreases the inflammatory response in various murine models of colonic inflammation…
Recent evidence suggests a crucial role of the endocannabinoid system, including the cannabinoid 1 receptor (CNR1), in intestinal inflammation. We therefore investigated the influence of the CNR1 1359 G/A (p.Thr453Thr; rs1049353) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) on disease susceptibility and phenotype in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD)…
The CNR1 p.Thr453Thr polymorphism appears to modulate UC susceptibility and the CD phenotype. The endocannabinoid system may influence the manifestation of inflammatory bowel diseases, suggesting endocannabinoids as potential target for future therapies.
…our findings provide further evidence that endocannabinoids modulate intestinal inflammation, suggesting that this system could act as a target for future therapeutic interventions.”
“Delta(9)-Tetrahydrocannabinol (the active ingredient of marijuana), as well as endogenous and synthetic cannabinoids, exert many biological functions by activating two types of cannabinoid receptors, CB(1) and CB(2) receptors. CB(1) receptors have been detected on enteric nerves, and pharmacological effects of their activation include gastroprotection, reduction of gastric and intestinal motility and reduction of intestinal secretion.
The digestive tract also contains endogenous cannabinoids (i.e., the endocannabinoids anandamide and 2-aracidonylglycerol) and mechanisms for endocannabinoid inactivation (i.e., endocannabinoids uptake and enzymatic degradation). Cannabinoid receptors, endocannabinoids and the proteins involved in endocannabinoids inactivation are collectively referred as the ‘endogenous cannabinoid system’.
A pharmacological modulation of the endogenous cannabinoid system could provide new therapeutics for the treatment of a number of gastrointestinal diseases, including nausea and vomiting, gastric ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn’s disease, secretory diarrhoea, paralytic ileus and gastroesophageal reflux disease. Some cannabinoids are already in use clinically, for example, nabilone and delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol are used as antiemetics.”
“In the past centuries, different preparations of marijuana have been used for the treatment of gastrointestinal (GI) disorders, such as GI pain, gastroenteritis and diarrhea.
Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC; the active component of marijuana), as well as endogenous and synthetic cannabinoids, exert their biological functions on the gastrointestinal tract by activating two types of cannabinoid receptors, cannabinoid type 1 receptor (CB1 receptor) and cannabinoid type 2 receptor (CB2 receptor). While CB1 receptors are located in the enteric nervous system and in sensory terminals of vagal and spinal neurons and regulate neurotransmitter release, CB2 receptors are mostly distributed in the immune system, with a role presently still difficult to establish.
Under pathophysiological conditions, the endocannabinoid system conveys protection to the GI tract, eg from inflammation and abnormally high gastric and enteric secretion.
For such protective activities, the endocannabinoid system may represent a new promising therapeutic target against different GI disorders, including frankly inflammatory bowel diseases (eg, Crohn’s disease), functional bowel diseases (eg, irritable bowel syndrome), and secretion- and motility-related disorders.”
“Numerous investigations have recently demonstrated the important roles of the endocannabinoid system in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract under physiological and pathophysiological conditions.
In the GI tract, cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) receptors are present in neurons of the enteric nervous system and in sensory terminals of vagal and spinal neurons, while cannabinoid type 2 receptors are located in immune cells. Activation of CB1 receptors was shown to modulate several functions in the GI tract, including gastric secretion, gastric emptying and intestinal motility.
Under pathophysiological conditions induced experimentally in rodents, the endocannabinoid system conveys protection to the GI tract (e.g. from inflammation and abnormally high gastric and enteric secretions).
Such protective activities are largely in agreement with anecdotal reports from folk medicine on the use of Cannabis sativa extracts by subjects suffering from various GI disorders.
Thus, the endocannabinoid system may serve as a potentially promising therapeutic target against different GI disorders, including frankly inflammatory bowel diseases (e.g. Crohn’s disease), functional bowel diseases (e.g. irritable bowel syndrome) and secretion- and motility-related disorders.
As stimulation of this modulatory system by CB1 receptor agonists can lead to unwanted psychotropic side effects, an alternative and promising avenue for therapeutic applications resides in the treatment with CB1 receptor agonists that are unable to cross the blood-brain barrier, or with compounds that inhibit the degradation of endogenous ligands (endocannabinoids) of CB1 receptors, hence prolonging the activity of the endocannabinoid system.”