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A Marijuana Breakthrough?
The Scotsman ^ | Nov. 5, 2004 | David Kohn

Posted on 11/05/2004 1:38:10 PM PST by Ahriman

A decade ago, when Daniele Piomelli went to scientific conferences, he was often the only researcher studying cannabinoids, the class of chemicals that give marijuana users a high. His work often drew sniggers and jokes; but not any more. At the recent annual Society for Neuroscience conference in San Diego last week, scientists delivered almost 200 papers on the subject.

Why all the attention? Many scientists believe marijuana-like drugs might be able to treat a wide range of diseases, far beyond the nausea and chronic pain typically treated with medical marijuana.

Researchers presented tantalising evidence that cannabinoid drugs can help treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis - known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease - Parkinson’s disease and obesity. Other researchers are studying whether the compounds can help victims of stroke and multiple sclerosis.

Although the chemicals work on the same area of the nervous system, the new drugs are much more refined and targeted than marijuana, with few of its side effects.

"Cannabinoids have a lot of pharmaceutical potential," says Piomelli, a neuroscientist at the University of California. "A lot of people are very excited."


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: leroylovesoros; wodlist
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To: Last Visible Dog

I guess one sentence about how someone got interested in research over-rides 10 paragraphs about synthetic cannibinoid research.


221 posted on 11/09/2004 6:40:44 AM PST by WildTurkey
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To: Last Visible Dog
This article is about medical benefits of cannabinoids. Marijuana contains cannabinoids. You have claimed there are no medical uses for marijuana. You are wrong.

From the article:

----------------------------------------

They believe marijuana has too many negatives to be a truly effective drug, with side effects that include memory problems, decreased immunity and possible addiction.

Marijuana has another drawback. From a scientific standpoint, Giuffrida says, it’s "a very dirty drug".

222 posted on 11/09/2004 6:42:41 AM PST by WildTurkey
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To: Know your rights
"a miserable failure ... as is the current ban on marijuana."

Yeah, and we know your definition of "failure". To you, we haven't succeeded until those 14 million marijuana users have shrunk to 25,000.

While at the same time decriminalizing. While at the same time making marijuana the lowest arrest priority. Blah, blah, blah.

Can't have it both ways, MrLeRoy. Then again, you don't really mean to have it both ways, now do you?

223 posted on 11/09/2004 6:42:54 AM PST by robertpaulsen
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To: avenir
"The reality--"I love marijuana"--keeps bursting through the facade--"I care about cancer victims"."

Excellent observation.

224 posted on 11/09/2004 6:45:19 AM PST by robertpaulsen
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To: Sir Gawain

LOL. You power of observation is excellent!


225 posted on 11/09/2004 6:45:22 AM PST by Rebelbase (Indiscriminate reprisals strengthen the terrorists. Targeted ones weaken them. Aim is everything.)
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To: Last Visible Dog
The word "synthetic" does not appear in the article.

MARINOL. I guess you didn't know.

The active ingredient of Marinol is synthetic THC, which has been found to relieve the nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy for cancer patients and to assist with loss of appetite with AIDS patients

226 posted on 11/09/2004 6:45:58 AM PST by WildTurkey
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To: Huck

The use of Marijuana for pleasure or "recreational" use is a sin. Pain relief is ok as long as you don't enjoy it. I watched my Dad dying from Lung cancer and he didn't want to take the Morphine that could have relieved his pain because he didn't want to get "hooked" on it. People have been brainwashed into believing that dying in agony is preferable to using drugs. Pathetic.


227 posted on 11/09/2004 6:46:16 AM PST by dljordan
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To: dljordan
The use of Marijuana for pleasure or "recreational" use is a sin.

And I'm a 3 times a day sinner. Well, that's not counting...oh, nevermind.

228 posted on 11/09/2004 6:47:15 AM PST by Huck (Any man, gay or straight, can marry a woman. That's equal treatment under the law.)
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To: Fallstaff
Legalize it. Why don't conservatives want to open this market to our economy?

Someone might giggle.

229 posted on 11/09/2004 6:48:13 AM PST by Protagoras (.Abolishing government schools is the first step in stopping the madness.)
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To: WildTurkey
"I guess that is why those multi-million dollar racing yachts use hemp rigging ..."

Yeah, and why the crews wear hemp all-weather gear. And the maps are drawn on hemp paper.

What a joke.

230 posted on 11/09/2004 6:48:24 AM PST by robertpaulsen
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To: Caesar Soze
So should we also legalize heroin because there are opiod analgesics?

We should get the government out of it. That's why.

If it was found to cure cancer, would you still be opposed?

231 posted on 11/09/2004 6:49:55 AM PST by Protagoras (.Abolishing government schools is the first step in stopping the madness.)
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To: Fallstaff
Exactly... I dont see how the current laws are anything different than a period in our history called prohibition.

The reason you don't see it is because there is no difference.

232 posted on 11/09/2004 6:52:08 AM PST by Protagoras (.Abolishing government schools is the first step in stopping the madness.)
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To: CurlyDave
This is just plain wrong. Marinol is not the same as Marijuana. Marinol is only one of the many chemicals which are the active ingredients (yes, plural) in Marijuana. But you knew that already and ignored it in order to justify a very silly prohibition.

Addressed in the article.

----------------------------

They believe marijuana has too many negatives to be a truly effective drug, with side effects that include memory problems, decreased immunity and possible addiction.

Marijuana has another drawback. From a scientific standpoint, Giuffrida says, it’s "a very dirty drug".

233 posted on 11/09/2004 6:52:23 AM PST by WildTurkey
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To: robertpaulsen

I think these guys have been smoking something to take an article that is critical of smoking marijuana and portray it (the article) as supporting legalized marijuana.


234 posted on 11/09/2004 6:54:08 AM PST by WildTurkey
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To: SteveMcKing

So we should keep it illegal because it makes it easier to arrest people...

What police state were you raised in?


235 posted on 11/09/2004 7:05:54 AM PST by Durus
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To: CurlyDave
Marinol is only one of the many chemicals which are the active ingredients (yes, plural) in Marijuana.

No. Marinol is the brand name of synthetic THC.

236 posted on 11/09/2004 7:07:21 AM PST by WildTurkey
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To: WildTurkey

It is legalized. It's called Marinol.

and it sucks, ask any cancer patient.


237 posted on 11/09/2004 7:20:33 AM PST by t_skoz ("let me be who I am - let me kick out the jams!")
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To: Know your rights; finnigan2
"Marijuana is not different in any relevant respect from alcohol."

Baloney! You brought up Prohibition -- when Prohibition ended it ended on all forms of alcohol, thereby putting organized crime out of business.

You're proposing ending the prohibition on just marijuana, leaving the gangs in place to sell all the remaining illegal drugs. Would the result of this action be relevant to the results obtained from ending Prohibition?

"Not different", he says.

"Alcohol use dropped substantially during the same period ..."

Wrong again, buffalo breath. In the period 1979-1994, marijuana use decreased 63%. Alcohol? Down 15%. That is not what a reasonable person would call "substantial" when comparing that figure to marijuana.

Oh, by the way. In the period 1970-2001, milk consumption fell by 30% with no preceding significant change in its legal status either. I suppose this is also significant to your argument? Maybe you can work it into a future post.

238 posted on 11/09/2004 7:24:13 AM PST by robertpaulsen
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To: WildTurkey
Well, yeah, other than that, sure.

Plus the court's definition of liability has been expanded in civil suits to include anyone and everyone who had any contact whatsoever with the drinker. Plus the penalties have increased.

Legal status aside, there are many other reasons (price, taxes, social stigma, etc.). Don't let Know your rights (aka MrLeRoy) define and limit the scope of the argument -- a favorite tactic of his.

239 posted on 11/09/2004 7:44:05 AM PST by robertpaulsen
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To: robertpaulsen
(aka MrLeRoy)

?

240 posted on 11/09/2004 7:46:08 AM PST by WildTurkey
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