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Research

Breathe Easy: Pot Doesn’t Cause Brain Damage

November 18, 2016 by Randy Robinson Leave a Comment

You’ve probably heard the ol’ scare tactic before: Smoking cannabis causes brain damage.

That’s a complete myth. The most recent research suggests cannabis may actually regrow brain cells rather than destroy them.

How the Myth Started

All of the documentaries and websites that cater to cannabis love talking about Harry Anslinger and his Reefer Madness in the 1930s. His anti-pot campaign claimed that marijuana made people go crazy. That it turned them into axe murderers. That it made people lazy and stupid.

Of course, Americans like to think we invented everything. But even that kind of prohibitionist rhetoric didn’t start with us. It started with British imperialists in Egypt.

Yeah, Egypt.

In the 1890s, Egypt was a British colony. The British weren’t terribly popular in the Middle East at that time, and Egyptian nationalists wanted independence from their European masters. Typically, the British governors would just throw nationalist rabble-rousers in prison. But sometimes those nationalists would be dubbed “insane” and tossed in an institution.

Cue John Warnock, a British doctor chosen by the British to lead Egypt’s “Lunacy Department.” He started with the country’s only asylum, then went about affecting several national reforms.

Instead of learning the local languages and customs, as any shrink should, Warnock decided to just wing it. After a year in Egypt, he concluded the local custom of smoking, drinking, and eating hashish – a preparation made from cannabis – was to blame for Egypt’s crazies. Without question, British medical journals parroted his claims.

In 1924, the League of Nations (known today as the UN) met for the global Geneva Conference on Opium. This conference formed to combat the world’s opium epidemic, and Egypt sent delegates. One of those delegates was Dr. El Guindy, who presented Warnock’s non-peer-reviewed notes to our world leaders. El Guindy told the Geneva Conference that “about 70 percent of insane people in lunatic asylums in Egypt are hashish eaters or smokers.”

Overnight, the world associated cannabis with dangerous narcotics like opium and heroin. Things have never been the same ever since.

Ten years after El Guindy’s alarm bells, Reefer Madness swept across the US. American law enforcement and legislators jumped on the weed-causes-lunatics bandwagon. In 1937, the US government passed the Marihuana Tax Act, effectively outlawing marijuana until 1969, when the US Supreme Court overturned the law as unconstitutional.

In 1970, President Richard Nixon used his emergency powers to outlaw cannabis again. And the rest is history.

What the Science Says

Long story short, marijuana doesn’t cause brain damage or insanity. Even the US FDA, which has advised the DEA to keep marijuana illegal at the federal level, recently admitted that cannabis does not lower IQ, cause psychosis, or anything of that nature.

What we do have is ample evidence that cannabis may facilitate something called neurogenesis. Neurogenesis is a process where the body grows new brain cells. We used to think that the brain stopped regenerating after we reached our 20s, but that turned out to be a myth, too.

Although we have no clinical studies showing that smoking cannabis causes neurogenesis, we do have controlled studies that show isolated cannabinoids (like THC) can do this in animal models. The brain region that’s especially sensitive to cannabinoid-facilitated neurogenesis is the hippocampus, a region responsible for learning and memory. The hippocampus can also direct our nervous system to repair itself, so the suspicion is if we can regenerate brain cells in the hippocampus, it could cascade to regeneration in other parts of the brain and spinal cord, too.

These neurogenesis studies are so promising that the US government holds a patent on a pot-based pharmaceutical for treating neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. I’m not making this up. You can check out the patent here.

As a responsible cannabis user, I should note that some studies show cannabis can disrupt short-term memory formation. Anyone who’s ever smoked a doob can attest to this. But that disruption is temporary, and simply abstaining from smoking for a short period will restore your brain’s normal functions.

Filed Under: Cannabis Culture Tagged With: Brain Health, Cannabis, cbd, Health & Science, Legalization, Research, Science, thc

Purple Squid Google Eyes

August 18, 2016 by CCT Staff Leave a Comment

First there was the Purple Blob. Evidently the purple blob got hold of some LSD and grew tentacles. Perhaps someone evolved the Purple Orb-emon and now it has more CP. Seriously, this has to be an elaborate troll by the “researchers”the Nautilus E/V, because this crazy looking creature is too much.

The Nautilus E/V is a research vessel that provides live streaming footage from ROVs that explore the sea floor. Researchers are currently making their way up the coast of California. This time they found a stubby squid that was quite literally staring them down as the ROV moved over it.

 

“You lookin’ at me buddy?! I’m swimmin here!”
 

What TF is going on? The reason it’s eyes are sticking out is because of the way the stubby squid inhabits the seafloor. It has a mucous jacket that suctions it to the bottom, leaving its eyes peeled back to spot prey swimming above.

I can’t wait for the creature Nautilus Live finds next. Purple is so last week, perhaps they can start finding creatures with polka dots? Quick, someone put a wig on a starfish and toss it into the Pacific. This team is bound to come across it eventually.

Filed Under: blog, Couch Tours Tagged With: 420 Entertainement, Research, Science, Underwater

You Should Know: Eugene Monroe

May 21, 2016 by Brittany Driver Leave a Comment

You Should Know – NFL player Eugene Monroe


Eugene Monroe, former Jacksonville Jaguars football player and current Baltimore Ravens tackle – recently donated $80,000 to cannabis research.

When questioned about his personal marijuana use, Monroe upheld that he has not and does not utilize marijuana in any capacity. What he did say was that the opioid crisis, which is rampant in the United States, very seriously affects professional football players.

So conservative football enthusiasts can relax, Monroe is NOT hoping to toke up and hotbox in the locker room anytime soon.  That is simply not his intention in contributing to cannabis research.

Instead, Eugene Monroe is fighting for the least addictive, most effective pain relief medicine for pro-athletes in the NFL.  And he just so happens to believe that medicine is marijuana.

He placed an official statement on his website, saying,

“On March 9, 2016, I became the first active NFL player to openly advocate for the use of cannabinoids to treat chronic pain and sports-related injuries. It’s time for the NFL to change its archaic standards to better protect its players. … For too long, I’ve watched my teammates and good friends battle with opioid addiction and leave the game with a long road still ahead; it’s time to make a change.”

It is refreshing to see someone so detached from the personal use aspect of cannabis putting his money where his mouth is to get social (and sporting) rules to be more accepting.

Thanks for your contribution Eugene!

Filed Under: News and Events, Visit Denver Tagged With: Baltimore Ravens, Cannabis, Donations, Drug Abuse, Eugene Monroe, Football, Medical Marijuana, Opiods, Pain Relief, Research

Relationships on Weed

April 27, 2016 by Brittany Driver Leave a Comment

 

Relationships on Weed


Romantic relationships can lift you up, support you when you need it and provide a sense of deep love and understanding to each partner. Or they can royally screw you up. Honestly, it’s how I feel about certain strains of marijuana, too. But unless you commit to completely isolating yourself (and that’s no fun at all), you’re going to find yourself IN a relationship at some point in your life. And one question that begs to be answered is, “how will using pot effect that partnership in the long run.”

 

That was exactly the line of inquiry researchers at the University of Buffalo set out to answer.  In the study, which included 634 couples over the first nine years of their marriage, the cannabis using habits of husbands and wives went under the microscope. The partners were examined for frequency of marijuana use and subsequent instances of Intimate Personal Violence (or IPV). As the study progressed it became obvious that there was a correlation between how often couples used marijuana and occurrences of domestic violence. But it wasn’t what the anti-pot crowd would have expected to hear.

 

Researchers found that instead of marijuana truly being “The Devil’s Weed,” leading seemingly sensitive husbands to mercilessly attack their wives, it usually created quite the opposite situation. The study’s abstract details the findings, “that couples in which both spouses used marijuana frequently reported the least frequent IPV perpetration.” Not only are couples that use together the least likely of the pairs to be violent towards each other – the study also showed that a wife was less likely to be violent towards her husband if he had been using pot, even if he was the only one of them toking up.

This point is proven over and over again in the cannabis industry, pot power couples fill the landscape.

WRK_blackcase_font_circleJLeditsSMALL copy

 

Jenn Lauder and Chad Dean, co-founders of the cannabis centric digital media company Weekend Review Kit, have been married for 14 years. Lauder says that she has struggled with anger management issues in the past and estimates she’s done some “flailing [of] arms” a few times in their 18 years total as a couple. But she has found marijuana to be a great way to abate those tendencies saying that part of the reason she takes marijuana medically is to help counteract it. “Chad keeps it much cooler” she says, “[he] hasn’t ever been physically violent.”

And they aren’t the only ones putting the proof in the pudding.

Liz Blaz Fitch and Will Fitch of Green Delta Consulting also work within the cannabis industry together. They manage to stay even keeled with each other throughout the long days and laborious tasks required to insure their client’s applications are approved. They spend most of the day together, and when it’s quitting time, they use marijuana to help relieve the stress that comes with running your own business. “Our strategy and joint approach to all stresses related to our work and marriage is the same – hit it head on, EARLY, or let it explode later” says Liz, “cannabis plays a large role in our stress relief as well.”  They have been together for 8 years, having married last year in August and “we’ve never had a violent incident in that time” they say. And the chance that they’d be involved in any kind of domestic violence doesn’t really cross their minds.

So does this mean everyone should smoke weed? No, of course not.  It’s not for everyone and it’s likely not going to be the answer to an ongoing problem a couple has with domestic violence. But it can lead a person to some real introspection. Unlike other intoxicants people use to relieve stress.

People are always comparing cannabis and alcohol, saying, “smoking a joint is just like drinking a glass of wine.” But it’s not the same.

According to the Tennessee Association and Alcohol, Drug & other Addiction Services, research shows that  “drinking proceeds acts of family violence in 25 to 50% of all cases of domestic violence,” adding that the “highest rates of abuse are found in moderate to heavy drinkers.” And if 25-50% seems like a high number, consider that many women don’t ever officially report their abuse making the actual number inevitably higher.

Cannabis is a cure all, an equalizer, some even call it the great connector. It brings together people of all educational backgrounds, income levels, career paths and political views. You’ll rarely see a physical brawl within a group of pot smokers, I can’t recall one to date that I’ve seen personally. Perhaps, unlike alcohol, marijuana allows the user the time needed to take a step back and consider how to avoid a serious argument in the first place.

When it comes to arguments, a little perspective (something marijuana does not lack in producing) can mean the difference between agreeing to disagree and a knock down drag out, call the cops because one or the both of you are bleeding, type of incident. So medicate or recreate responsibly, as always, and remember – it might just be saving your relationship.

 

Reprinted with permission from the author.

Filed Under: News and Events Tagged With: Cannabis, Couples, Love, Pot, Relationships, Research, Weed

Cannabis – Lost in Translation

April 26, 2016 by Brittany Driver Leave a Comment

Cannabis – Lost in Translation

Reporters were getting it all wrong on January 15th, when stories began to flood the internet about the “cannabis drug” research trial. 6 people in the study had been hospitalized. As of this writing 1 research volunteer has died and 4 remaining 5 being hospitalized currently suffer from “deep necrotic and hemorrhagic lesions in the brain.”

The entire first day of reporting, headlines were filled with claims that the drug being tested was a cannabis based painkiller. But it wasn’t true. At all.

The drug being tested was called BIA 10 – 2474. The company sponsoring the research trial, Bial, released an official statement on January 15.

“The development of this new molecule, in the area of pain (a FAAH enzyme inhibitor), has been conducted since the beginning in accordance with all the good international practices guidelines, with the completion of tests and preclinical trials, particularly in the area of toxicology. The results obtained in accordance with international guidelines have permitted the start of the clinical trials in humans. Throughout this trial, the new drug had already been administered to 108 patients without any moderate or serious adverse reaction.”

Effective FAAH enzyme inhibitors are needed. Unlike the often prescribed painkiller oxycodone, which interacts with the human body’s opioid receptors,  FAAH enzyme inhibitors are non addictive and don’t interact with opioid receptors.

So how did cannabis get mixed up in this story?

Pontchaillou medical centre in Rennes, the scene of a ‘serious accident’ during a trial of a reportedly cannabis-based painkiller in France
The Pontchaillou medical centre in Rennes, France

 

It has to do with how this FAAH enzyme inhibitor interacts with the human body. Forbes explains,

“What’s so important about FAAH? Our bodies make several fatty acid amides that include anandamide, a natural stimulator of the cannabinoid receptors upon which chemicals in the marijuana plant act. Anandamide is referred to as an endocannabinoid. The rationale is that a drug blocking FAAH will allow naturally-occurring anandamide to accumulate and act on cannabinoid receptors in a manner that won’t produce the psychoactive effects of cannabis.”

To this writer, it would appear as though the goal of this particular trial was to effectively create a modified, synthetic version of cannabis to negate the need to use it as medicinally as it naturally occurs.

Bial contends that the drug trial had been approved by all the necessary regulatory agencies, authorities and committees. Several news sources have since edited their original stories and/or published retractions stating that the offending drug was not cannabis based.

Filed Under: News and Events Tagged With: Cannabis, Concentrates, Pharma, Pharmaceuticals, Research

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