'Cannabis' acts as antidepressant

A chemical found in cannabis can act like an antidepressant, researchers have found.

A team from Canada's University of Sasketchewan suggest the compound causes nerve cells to regenerate.

The Journal of Clinical Investigation study showed rats given a cannabinoid were less anxious and less depressed.

But UK experts warned other conflicting research had linked cannabis, and other cannabinoids, to an increased risk of depression and anxiety.

They suggested this could be because different cannabinoids acting at different levels have contradictory effects.

Cannabinoids have been shown to relieve the symptoms of multiple sclerosis and pain relief in humans.

The Canadian researchers gave rats injections of high levels of one artificial cannabinoid, HU210, for a month.

The animals were seen to have nerve cell regeneration in the hippocampus, which is linked to memory and emotions.

The hippocampus has been shown to generate new nerve cells throughout a person's or an animal's life, but this ability is reduced if cells are engineered to lack a cannabinoid receptor protein called CB-1.

In the Canadian study, rats given the cannabinoid were also found to be less anxious, and more willing to eat food in new environments - a change which would normally frighten them.

However, research has previously linked use of the drug cannabis to long-term damage to mental health, and to increase the risk of mental illness in those who are already genetically susceptible.

In addition, short-term high doses of cannabinoids had also been shown to produce anxiety-like effects in rats and depression-like effects in mice.

But other studies had found that low-doses of cannabinoids helped to reduce anxiety in rodents.

The Canadian team said: "These complicated effects of high and low doses of acute and chronic exposure to cannabinoids may explain the seemingly conflicting results observed in clinical studies regarding the effects of cannabinoid on anxiety and depression."

Professor Robin Murray, of the Institute of Psychiatry, questioned whether the anti-anxiety and antidepressant effects seen in the animals would be replicated in humans.

He said: "This is a very big leap of faith as they have no data on humans, and the supposed animals' models of anxiety and depression that they use don't have much in common with the human conditions."

Paul Corry, Director of campaigns and communication at Rethink said: "Cannabinoids are an exciting new area for medical research, but it is important to recognise that there are over 60 active ingredients in cannabis - synthetic cannabinoid may be showing evidence of nerve regeneration.

"But as also pointed out in this study, the effects of cannabis on the brain are complex and produce conflicting evidence.

"For most people with severe mental illness, raw cannabis remains a risky substance.

"All medical research needs to be checked before it would make a difference to the hundreds of thousands of people living with severe mental illness in the UK."

When making a quote within a quote, I believe iot is appropriate to use "single" quotation marks. If you will look back at my post, you will see that is exactly what I did.

Why do you insist on nitpicking so much? You just can't stand the fact that the DEA is posting false information on their website so you keep trying to find any silly thing you can think of to attack me with. And by the way, this wasn't some "ad" in the traditional sense of the word posted on the DEA website. This wasn't some business paying the DEA to hawk their wares. The was "educational material" incorporated into their little propaganda "magazine." If it was some kind of paid for promotion, like an ad for vitamin supplements or something, it would be different. This is part of their message though, not some random ad. This is a big banner with a false statement on it taking up about a quarter of a page. It has a small button on it to click through to "read more." That button will take you to the other site by the Tennessee District attorneys and sheriffs. The meth statistics on the other site are not DEA statistics, but obviously they approve of these statistics being put out there or they wouldn't have this big banner with a link to them on their page, which happens to be an anti-meth page entitled "the first high." Then you have this big statement spread across the page that says, "ONE TIME. YOU'RE HOOKED" and, "95% of those who try Meth 'just one time' get hooked for life." They may not have made this crap up themselves, but they are incorporating it into their anti-meth message aimed at teens. And it looks to me like they are really incorporating all the crap on the Meth is Death site in their message because that's where they are sending kids for more information.

Look, I don't know why we keep arguing about this. I'm not pro-meth, not by a long shot. I hate that stuff. I'm not anti-police either. I'm just opposed to using dishonest scare tactics. That's all I'm objecting to here. If kids catch us not being honest when we talk to them about a dangerous drug like meth, they aren't going to believe another word we say. The government goes to a great deal of effort and expense to put out these anti-drug messages, but if they aren't honest these kids they are trying to reach aren't going to believe what they have to say about drugs. Dishonest scare tactics are counterproductive and wholly unnecessary because the truth about drugs like meth is bad enough. There is no need to exaggerate the perils of something so inherently perilous.

Now, I'm tired of arguing with you. If you want to come back with another insulting, nitpicking post where you question my integrity again, I'm just not going to respond to it. I'm getting bored with this.

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