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Newsbrief:
Study
Finds
THC-like
Chemicals
Useful
for
Certain
Disorders
8/9/02
A new study has found that
THC-like chemicals known as endocannabinoids, naturally produced by the
brain, may play a role in combating anxiety and panic attacks and phobias,
according to the British journal Nature. The study showed that rodents
without the capacity to utilize these natural analogues of THC, the active
ingredient in marijuana, had trouble getting over bad memories.
The mice were subjected to
electric shock while a tone was sounded. The tone was repeated without
the shock over the next few days. The normal mice quickly learned
that the shock would no longer accompany the tone. Those mice who
could not properly use their endocannabinoids would still become paralyzed
with fear when the tone sounded. These results led researchers to
suggest that THC-like chemicals help to erase particular memories of terror.
Anxiety disorders are the
most common mental disorder in the United States and cost $46 billion a
year in medical expenses. New drugs based on these findings could
be useful in treating anxiety disorders such as phobias, panic attacks,
social anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, perhaps replacing such
drugs like Paxil and Valium. Researchers also suggested that these
chemicals would be useful in fighting some types of chronic pain.
A United Press International
(UPI) article quoted researcher Pankaj Sah as saying that "it's worth considering
that people (who) constantly use cannabis may be doing it for other reasons
than just to 'get high' -- perhaps they are experiencing some emotional
problems which taking cannabis alleviates... This, I suppose, fits
with the very long history of cannabis in human society."
-- END --
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Issue #249, 8/9/02
Nevada Marijuana Initiative Endorsed by State's Largest Police Group | DC Board of Elections Rejects Medical Marijuana Petitions -- Admits One of Seven Valid Signatures Ignored but Refuses to Correct Error | Democratic Governor Candidate Calls for Repeal of NY Rockefeller Laws | Switzerland Defends Cannabis Decrim, Tells UN Narcocrats to Buzz Off | Which War Am I In? DEA Meth Offensive Continues as US Pilots in Afghanistan Gobble Speed | Libertarian Party Launches TV Ad Campaign Targeting Rep. Bob Barr on Medical Marijuana
| Drug Czar Picks Beer-Promoting NASCAR Hot Rodder to Carry Anti-Drug Message | School Anti-Drug Programs Get Failing Grade, Study Says | Drug Dog Terrorizes Native American Kindergartners in South Dakota, Lawsuit Filed | Newsbrief: South Dakota Lakota Successfully Harvest Hemp Crop | Newsbrief: Peru Backs Off on Coca Eradication, Again | Newsbrief: Radical Party Moscow Activists Go to Trial for Marijuana Legalization Rally -- Free Speech at Heart of Case | Newsbrief: Federal Judge Deems Utah Asset Forfeiture Initiative Constitutional | Newsbrief: Canadian NAFTA Suit Over Hemp Restrictions Enters Arbitration | Newsbrief: More than One Million in Drug Treatment in US, SAMHSA Says | Newsbrief: Budget Woes Close Detox, Treatment Facilities in NC, Iowa | Newsbrief: Stiffer Ecstasy Penalties Would Hit Penn State University | Newsbrief: Study Finds THC-like Chemicals Useful for Certain Disorders | Newsbrief: Archeological Evidence of Bronze Age Drug Trade | Web Scan: Narco News, Nature, Cato | Legislative Alerts: Rave Bill, Medical Marijuana, Higher Education Act Drug Provision | The Reformer's Calendar
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