[Read of Interest] “The scientific leap that will turn cannabis into the new aspirin” - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Jetée · 04-20-2011, 07:30 PM

by Annalee Newitz | April 4, 2011 {io9}

selected excerpts:

Quote:

[this month] scientists announced that they’d discovered a way to harness the painkilling powers of the active ingredient in marijuana, THC, while eliminating the high. What this means is that a special, non-hallucinatory version of THC could become the new aspirin.

Physiologist Li Zhang and colleagues discovered that THC targets several parts of the nervous system, some of which are called inhibitory glycine receptors (GlyRs). These receptors, according to Zhang, help regulate “neuromotor activity, pain sensation, muscle relaxation and anxiety.” He and his fellow researchers speculate that a synthetic THC could be made that targets just GlyRs - hence, a form of cannabis that works as a painkiller but doesn’t get you high.

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Cannabis is composed of more than 400 chemical components.
A number of these components are found to provide therapeutic relief in alleviating chronic pain,
seizure, depression and muscle spasms resulting from multiple sclerosis, but the primary psychoactive
ingredient in cannabis, THC, produces some unwanted effects on human health, such as motor impairment …

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Zhang and colleagues want to eliminate these “unwanted effects” so that they can create new kinds of pain medication. Soon, people whose stomachs are too tender for aspirin or ibuprofin may be swallowing THC pills to get rid of headaches. “Non-psychotropic cannabinoids” is the technical term for the drug Zhang and colleagues are seeking.

This is great news for people who want to use medical marijuana.
But it leaves the recreational users asking just one question: Is there a way to create a synthetic form of THC that does nothing but get you high, without all those pesky “medicinal” side-effects?

READ MORE... (from the original source)

[nature.]

Hektore · 04-21-2011, 05:59 AM

Will never happen in the US, all national political discussion ends at the word 'marijuana'.

genuinegirly · 04-21-2011, 07:53 AM

I'm all for developing new pain relievers, especially if they have the potential of being non-addictive.

Baraka_Guru · 04-21-2011, 08:01 AM

Decriminalize it!

EventHorizon · 04-21-2011, 09:36 AM

you said it genuinegirly! the more options available, the wider range of people can be treated.

04-21-2011, 05:59 AM	#2 (permalink)
Hektore Junkie Location: Greater Harrisburg Area	Will never happen in the US, all national political discussion ends at the word 'marijuana'. __________________ The advantage law is the best law in rugby, because it lets you ignore all the others for the good of the game.

04-21-2011, 07:53 AM	#3 (permalink)
genuinegirly Eat your vegetables Super Moderator Location: Arabidopsis-ville	I'm all for developing new pain relievers, especially if they have the potential of being non-addictive. __________________ "Sometimes I have to remember that things are brought to me for a reason, either for my own lessons or for the benefit of others." Cynthetiq "violence is no more or less real than non-violence." roachboy

04-21-2011, 08:01 AM	#4 (permalink)
Baraka_Guru warrior bodhisattva Super Moderator Location: East-central Canada	Decriminalize it! __________________ Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing? —Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön Humankind cannot bear very much reality. —From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot