Sao Paulo, Brazil: The administration of cannabidiol (CBD), a nonpsychotropic cannabinoid, controls sleep disorders in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD), according to a series of case summaries published in the Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics. An international team of investigators from the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil and the University of Minnesota Medical School reported on the ingestion of CBD by four Parkinson’s disease patients with REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) – a condition characterized by nightmares and active behavior during dreaming. Daily cannabidiol treatment reduced symptoms in each of the four subjects, researchers reported. Symptoms returned with the…
Author: WebTeam
A new study e-published ahead of print by Neuropsychopharmacology, the official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, has determined that cannabinoids can help treat, or even prevent, the effects of PTSD. Scientists from the Department of Psychology of the University of Haifa in Israel examined rat models suffering from shock-induced PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). The rats were each given an injection of either a cannabinoid receptor agonist (a substance that mimics the effects of cannabis) or a control placebo 2 hours after the shock. After a week the scientists examined the rats and found that the initial shock coupled…
Maintaining “robust” encendocannabinoid signaling – which can be done through through the intake of cannabinoids – may provide protection against stress and stress-related disorders, according to a new study published in the journal Seminars in Immunology, and published online by the National Institute of Health. According to the study, “CB1 receptor-endocannabinoid signaling is activated by stress and functions to buffer or dampen the behavioral and endocrine effects of acute stress.” It continues; “Its role in regulation of neuronal responses is more complex. Chronic variable stress exposure reduces endocannabinoid-CB1 receptor signaling and it is hypothesized that the resultant deficiency in endocannabinoid…
A study published in last month’s issue of the journal Schizophrenia Research has found that cannabis use, regardless of how much and how often, does not increase an individual’s risk of psychosis. For the study, “170 people at CHR of psychosis were assessed at baseline on severity of alcohol, tobacco and cannabis using the Alcohol and Drug Use Scale. Participants were recruited across three sites over a four year period as part of the Enhancing the Prospective Prediction of Psychosis (PREDICT) study. Predictors of conversion to psychosis were examined using Cox proportional hazards models.” After conducting the study, researchers found…
A London doctor is breaking new ground in authorizing pot use by patients. Dr. Michael Hart set up his practice a year ago and has been prescribing medical marijuana for several months. Until now, the focus on London physicians giving the green light for patients to use pot has been on Dr. John Craven, the associate director of the methadone health clinic who opened the high-profile Options Health Care Clinic on Dundas St. a month ago. Hart believes he’s the first family physician in the London area to write authorizations for marijuana use, allowing patients to buy it online from…
Following Belfast’s 3rd annual 420 Cannabis Celebration at Botanic Gardens The Gown, an independent student newspaper at Queens University got in touch asking for a statement regarding the cannabis legalisation campaign in Northern Ireland. As with most publications, editorial restrictions dictate what can be printed so here is the full statement. The UK Government made a devastating admission on page 24 of its official reply (Command paper CM 6941 of October 2006) to the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee’s Fifth Report of 2005-06, “Drug Classification: making a hash of it?”; “… The distinction between legal and illegal substances…
A new study published in this month’s issue of the journal Kidney International, and published online by the U.S. National Institute of Health, has found that cannabinoid deficiency worsens diabetic nephropathy, a type of kidney disease, indicating that cannabinoid therapy may provide a treatment. “A functionally active endocannabinoid system is present within the kidney”, begins the study’s abstract. “The cannabinoid receptor type 2 (CB2) is expressed by both inflammatory cells and podocytes, and its activation has beneficial effects in experimental diabetic nephropathy.” It continues; “To further explore the role of CB2 in diabetic nephropathy, we studied renal functional and structural…
22 May 2014 | Denver, CO: Democrat Gov. John Hickenlooper on Wednesday approved legislation to fund observational and clinical research assessing the safety and therapeutic efficacy of cannabis. The measure earmarks up to $10 million within the state’s medical marijuana program fund to be utilized specifically to “gather objective scientific research regarding the efficacy of administering marijuana and its component parts as part of medical treatment.” The law also establishes a ‘scientific advisory council,’ which may include expert participants from around the nation, to evaluate research proposals and make recommendations in regards to funding requests. Despite the passage of legislation…
It is disturbing to see Court cases where there are no victims and the only losers are the defendant and the taxpayers and one should be forgiven for thinking such cases to be politically or religiously motivated. Sadly this is happening daily throughout the country in particular the likes of those prosecuted for possession or cultivation of cannabis for their own use in private. It is even more shocking when these people are sent to prison for growing plants for medicinal use whilst GW Pharmaceuticals are licensed to grow tens if not hundreds of thousands of the same plants that…
A paper published by the British Journal of Pharmacology suggests that the chemical compounds in marijuana likely prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, and age-related dementia. Chronic brain inflammation, oxidative stress, and intra-cellular dysfunction are the primary reasons why people develop these debilitating neurological diseases. The study found that both THC and CBD (the primary chemical compounds found in marijuana) positively affect nerve cell function in consumers, significantly reducing these harmful neurological conditions. THC and CBD (called cannabinoids) tap into a primal, chemical signaling system in cells called “the endocannabinoid system.” The paper shows cannabinoids dampen…
