Tag Archives: marijuana

Marijuana’s Link to Schizophrenia Debated – American News report

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“With the growing use of medical marijuana to treat chronic pain and other health problems, the debate over the medical effects of the drug on the human mind continue to make their way through the medical community.

The latest salvo comes from researchers in Australia and England.  At the center of the debate is the possible relationship between marijuana (cannabis) and mental illnesses such as schizophrenia.

Castle cites one study that indicated people with schizophrenia had a lifetime rate of cannabis exposure of 97 percent – meaning almost all of them have tried the drug.  Yet, he also notes that most people who use cannabis do not develop schizophrenia, and that many people diagnosed with schizophrenia have never used cannabis.

“Therefore, it is likely that cannabis exposure is a ‘component cause’ that interacts with other factors to ‘cause’ schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders, but is neither necessary nor sufficient to do so alone,” Castle wrote.

However, the authors of the accompanying article are not as convinced that the prevailing scientific evidence proves a relationship exists between pot use and schizophrenia.”

More: http://americannewsreport.com/marijuanas-link-to-schizophrenia-debated-8817482

A false link between marijuana and mental illness

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“The article published today in “Health News” makes the claim that smoking marijuana is “linked” to early onset of mental illness.

However, although the article implies some sort of cause and effect, that conclusion has no scientific basis. In fact, the authors of the study don’t even bother investigating whether marijuana use causes mental illness or if people with mental illness have a higher rate of smoking marijuana than the general public.

If marijuana caused mental illness, then cultures that have a higher rate of marijuana smoking than the U.S. should have a higher rate of mental illness. But in fact, the opposite is true. Cultures with higher rates of marijuana consumption have lower rates of mental illness than the United States. This would indicate that rather than marijuana causing mental illness, as your article implies, it is people with mental illness who are self medicating with marijuana in order to alleviate their symptoms.

This (more correct) reading of the data, however, does not fit the narrative being presented by the politicians who are making their careers by “getting tough” on marijuana smokers, nor does it fit the narrative of the manufacturers of the currently legal psychotropic drugs, like Prozac and Zoloft, who stand to lose billions of dollars if medical marijuana is legalized, and who funnel millions of dollars to those politicians who present their dubious science as fact.

Had your newspaper even taken the time to Google the Archive of General Psychiatry, you would have found that the “study” you cited was conducted by the “Genetic Risk and Outcome in Psychosis (GROUP) Investigators,” who publish only articles against medical marijuana. That alone should raise a red flag to anyone with a basic understanding of scientific research. When someone conducts numerous studies and publishes many articles that all draw the same conclusion, whether the evidence leads to that conclusion or not, the critical eye should suspect some ulterior motive at work. It’s not possible to keep an open mind when you have an axe to grind.”

William Smith, Baltimore

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2011-02-09/news/bs-ed-marijuana-letter-20110209_1_mental-illness-medical-marijuana-lower-rates

Cannabis/schizophrenia link questioned

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“The Swiss government is questioning the results of a study showing a link between marijuana use and schizophrenia.

The Zurich University study showed a higher incidence of schizophrenia in the 1990s in the age groups most likely to use cannabis, Swissinfo said Wednesday.

“We know from other experimental studies that cannabis can cause psychosis, but we have now established a clear link to schizophrenia for the first time,” study co-author Wulf Rossler said.

Swissinfo said the Federal Health Office is questioning the report, saying the patients’ drug histories and other medical details remained unknown.

“It does not uncover the medical history of the patients, for instance the consumption of psychotic substances or other factors that could lead to psychotic illnesses,” the health office in a statement.”

http://phys.org/news104659898.html

HIV Infection Weakened By Marijuana: Study Shows Cannabis Helps Synthetic Anti-inflammatory Substances

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“Researchers discovered that the synthetic anti-inflammatory substances distantly related to the active ingredient of marijuana may be able to weaken the most common strain of HIV while inside one of its major hideouts, the immune cells known as macrophages.”

HIV REsearch

“Despite drug therapy, HIV is notorious for hiding within certain types of cells, where it reproduces at a slower rate and eventually gives rise to chronic inflammation.

A study done by researchers at Temple University School of Medicine’s Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine(TUSM) and Center for Substance Abuse Research discovered that the synthetic anti-inflammatory substances distantly related to the active ingredient of marijuana may be able to weaken the most common strain of HIV while inside one of its major hideouts, the immune cells known as macrophages.”

More: http://www.beautyworldnews.com/articles/3589/20130502/hiv-infection-weakened-marijuana-study-shows-cannabis-helps-synthetic-anti.htm

Foot Pain Associated With HIV Reduced By Smoked Cannabis In Placebo Trial

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“In a randomized placebo-controlled trial, patients smoking cannabis experienced a 34 percent reduction in intense foot pain associated with HIV- twice the rate experienced by patients who smoked placebo.

“This placebo-controlled clinical trial showed that people with HIV who smoked cannabis had substantially greater pain reduction than those who did not smoke the cannabis,” said study lead author Donald I. Abrams, MD, UCSF professor of clinical medicine.

 “These results provide evidence that there is a measurable medical benefit to smoking cannabis for these patients.”

The results of this first study indicate that cannabis may indeed be useful in the amelioration of a very distressing, disabling, and difficult to treat complication of HIV…”

More: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/62917.php

Cannabis in painful HIV-associated sensory neuropathy: a randomized placebo-controlled trial.

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“To determine the effect of smoked cannabis on the neuropathic pain of HIV-associated sensory neuropathy and an experimental pain model…  randomized placebo-controlled trial… involving adults with painful HIV-associated sensory neuropathy.

Patients were randomly assigned to smoke either cannabis (3.56% tetrahydrocannabinol) or identical placebo cigarettes with the cannabinoids extracted three times daily for 5 days. Primary outcome measures included ratings of chronic pain and the percentage achieving >30% reduction in pain intensity.

Acute analgesic and anti-hyperalgesic effects of smoked cannabis were assessed using a cutaneous heat stimulation procedure and the heat/capsaicin sensitization model.

RESULTS:

Fifty patients completed the entire trial. Smoked cannabis reduced daily pain by 34% (median reduction; IQR = -71, -16) vs 17% (IQR = -29, 8) with placebo (p = 0.03). Greater than 30% reduction in pain was reported by 52% in the cannabis group and by 24% in the placebo group (p = 0.04).

The first cannabis cigarette reduced chronic pain by a median of 72% vs 15% with placebo (p < 0.001).

Cannabis reduced experimentally induced hyperalgesia to both brush and von Frey hair stimuli (p < or = 0.05) but appeared to have little effect on the painfulness of noxious heat stimulation.

No serious adverse events were reported.

CONCLUSION:

Smoked cannabis was well tolerated and effectively relieved chronic neuropathic pain from HIV-associated sensory neuropathy. The findings are comparable to oral drugs used for chronic neuropathic pain.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17296917

Researchers Have Discovered Synthetic Agents Used To Treat HIV Inflammation – Medical News Today

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“HIV can cause serious inflammation, regardless of drug therapy, as it develops slowly in immune cells called macrophages. However, new research conducted at the Temple University School of Medicine’s Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Center for Substance Abuse Research (CSAR) has just found that there are synthetic agents with anti-inflammatory properties, related to the active ingredient in cannabis, THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) which could limit and treat the chronic inflammation.

These findings suggest that CB2 agonists could be used along with antiretroviral drugs which could lead to a new form of therapy for HIV/AIDS.

It also suggests that the human immune system itself could be used to fight off the HIV infection.

According to Persidsky: “Our study suggests that the body’s own natural defenses can be made more powerful to fight some of the worst symptoms of HIV.”

Stimulating CB2 receptors could also be applied for treating other infections.”

More: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/260152.php

TEMPLE SCIENTISTS WEAKEN HIV INFECTION IN IMMUNE CELLS USING SYNTHETIC AGENTS RELATED TO ACTIVE INGREDIENT IN MARIJUANA

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“HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is notorious for hiding within certain types of cells, where it reproduces at a slowed rate and eventually gives rise to chronic inflammation, despite drug therapy. But researchers at Temple University School of Medicine’s Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Center for Substance Abuse Research (CSAR) recently discovered that synthetic anti-inflammatory substances distantly related to the active ingredient of marijuana may be able to take the punch out of HIV while inside one of its major hideouts – immune cells known as macrophages. 

The breakthrough comes at a crucial time in the HIV/AIDS pandemic…

To better understand the connection between inflammation and neurocognitive conditions linked to long-term exposure to HIV, Ramirez and colleagues looked specifically at the CB2 receptor, a protein located on the surface of macrophages. CB2 is a binding site for substances called cannabinoids, the primary active compounds of cannabis (marijuana), and it may play a role in blocking inflammation in the CNS. Unlike its counterpart, the CB1 receptor, which is found primarily on neurons in the brain, CB2 does not mediate the psychoactive effects for which cannabis is popularly known.

Ramirez explained that there has been much pharmacological interest in developing agents that selectively target CB2. Ideally, these compounds would help limit chronic inflammatory responses and would not bind to CB1. The most promising compounds are those derived from THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the main active substance in cannabis. 

The scientists landed on their discovery by conducting a series of experiments in a well-established, non-clinical HIV macrophage cell model. They began by treating the HIV-infected cells with one of three different synthetic CB2-activating compounds. The cells were then sampled periodically to measure the activity of an enzyme called reverse transcriptase, which is essential for HIV replication. After seven days, the team found that all three compounds had successfully attenuated HIV replication. The experiments and findings are detailed in the May issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology. 

The results suggest that selective CB2 agonists could potentially be used in tandem with existing antiretroviral drugs, opening the door to the generation of new drug therapies for HIV/AIDS. The data also support the idea that the human immune system could be leveraged to fight HIV infection. 

“Our study suggests that the body’s own natural defenses can be made more powerful to fight some of the worst symptoms of HIV,” Persidsky explained. He also noted that stimulating CB2 receptors in white blood cells could produce similar benefits against other viral infections.”

More: http://www.temple.edu/medicine/hiv_immune_cells.htm

Cannabis Compounds Reduce Multi-Drug Resistant Infections

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“Cannabis Science, Inc. Dr. Robert Melamede, PhD., Director and Chief Science Officer, reported to the Board on the current state of research into the use of natural plant cannabinoids to reduce the spread of drug-resistant bacteria, including methicillin-resistant Staphyloccus aureus (MRSA), and the prospects for development of topical whole-cannabis treatments.

According to studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and by the Center for Disease Control in 2007, MRSA is responsible for more than 18,500 hospital-stay related deaths each year, and increased direct healthcare costs of as much as $9.7 billion.

Dr. Melamede stated, “Research into use of whole cannabis extracts and multi-cannabinoid compounds has provided the scientific rationale for medical marijuana’s efficacy in treating some of the most troubling diseases mankind now faces, including infectious diseases such as the flu and HIV, autoimmune diseases such as ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease), multiple sclerosis, arthritis, and diabetes, neurological conditions such as Alzheimer’s, stroke and brain injury, as well as numerous forms of cancer. One common element of these diseases is that patients often suffer extended hospital stays, risking development of various Staphyloccus infections including MRSA. A topical, whole-cannabis treatment for these infections is a functional complement to our cannabis extract-based lozenge.””

More: http://www.drugs.com/clinical_trials/cannabis-compounds-reduce-multi-resistant-infections-7080.html

Marijuana Ingredients Show Promise In Battling Superbugs

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“Substances in marijuana show promise for fighting deadly drug-resistant bacterial infections, including so-called “superbugs,” without causing the drug’s mood-altering effects, scientists in Italy and the United Kingdom are reporting.

Besides serving as infection-fighting drugs, the substances also could provide a more environmentally-friendly alternative to synthetic antibacterial substances now widely used in personal care items, including soaps and cosmetics, they say.

In the new study, Giovanni Appendino and colleagues point out that scientists have known for years that marijuana contains antibacterial substances. However, little research has been done on those ingredients, including studies on their ability to fight antibiotic resistant infections, the scientists say.

To close that gap, researchers tested five major marijuana ingredients termed cannabinoids on different strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a “superbug” increasingly resistant to antibiotics.

All five substances showed potent germ-killing activity against these drug-resistant strains, as did some synthetic non-natural cannabinoids, they say. The scientists also showed that these substances appear to kill bacteria by different mechanisms than conventional antibiotics, making them more likely to avoid bacterial resistance, the scientists note. At least two of the substances have no known mood-altering effects, suggesting that they could be developed into marijuana-based drugs without causing a “high.””

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080908103045.htm