Marijuana Produces New Brain Cells

[420]

An oft-mentioned danger of marijuana smokingso widely believed, the smokers themselves point it out all the timeis that it supposedly kills brain cells.

Courtesy the National Drug Intelligence Center, U.S.A.

Yet a new study has found the opposite: that one of marijuanas active ingredients actually helps produce new brain cells, while apparently reducing anxiety.

Its part of a double whammy of good news for pot lovers, as another study has found that marijuana smoke is less carcinogenic than cigarette smoke.

None of this establishes that pot smoking is safe. Some past studies have found it produces notable memory impairments, although there is debate over how long these last.

Nonetheless, the new findings contain good news for the medical marijuana movement, chirped a press release from the Journal of Clinical Investigation, which is publishing the study on new brain cells.

Most drugs of abuse decrease the generation of new neurons [cells] in the brain, the statement continued.

But the study by Xia Zhang and colleagues from University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Canada, found that rats getting regular doses of an artificial version of a potent marijuana ingredient grew new brain cells faster than other rats.

The new cells grew in the hippocampus, a brain area associated with emotional expression and some aspects of memory formation.

The rats also exhibited less anxiety- and depression- like behavior after a month of the treatment, the study found. The findings are to appear in the journals November issue.

The second, separate study found marijuana smoke is less carcinogenic than tobacco smoke.

Robert J. Melamede of the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs found that although cannabis smoke and tobacco smoke are chemically very similar, evidence suggests that their effects are very different, said a statement from BioMed Central, publishers of the Harm Reduction Journal. The findings appeared Monday in the journal.

The pharmacological effects of tobacco and cannabis smoke differ in many ways, mainly because tobacco smoke contains nicotine while cannabis smoke contains tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The cancer-promoting effects of smoke are increased by nicotine, while they are reduced by THC.

Tobacco and cannabis smoke contain the same carcinogenic compounds and depending on which part of the plant is smoked, cannabis smoke can contain more of them but, whereas nicotine activates these carcinogenic compounds, THC has been shown to inhibit them in mice cells. THC is very likely to have protective effects against the carcinogens present in smoke in humans too, but cannabis smoke remains nonetheless carcinogenic.

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[teamhex]

Great article....Ive heard people tell me o you dont regrow brian cells? Were they wrong?

[Lilstinky420]

Eh, I can think of any living creature or cell that smoke is good for. Happy rats are healthy rats though lol, but ive heard that depression and anxiety are part of natural selection/survival of the fittest. The happy will thrive and breed, while the depressed or weak will weed themselves out. This day in age this theory is not really plausible cause even the very depressed get laid here and there lol.

But if herb decreases anxiety and depression, does that mean its good for humans as a species in whole(if taken properly)?? : O

[Marianne]

Originally Posted by Lilstinky420

But if herb decreases anxiety and depression, does that mean its good for humans as a species in whole(if taken properly)?? : O

I believe it is good for people, because stress causes all kinds of health and emotional problems. Without anxiety life is manageable.

[cptchaos]

wow! i usually take new scientific discovery with a kilo or so of salt, but just emagine if this is true? my entire life of debauchery will be vindicated!!!

[Pinch]

Originally Posted by teamhex

Great article....Ive heard people tell me o you dont regrow brian cells? Were they wrong?

Answer:

http://nootropics.com/regenerate/index.html
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?cha...1683414B7F0000
http://bak.spc.org/tha/NewNeurons.html


"All the cells of your body are replaced; those lining your gut are replaced every two days, and even the chemicals making up your brain cells are replaced about once a year," he said. "You're quite literally not the same person you were last year. Of course, all that material has to come from somewhere--food." 8/21/06

Source: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features...21TDY18006.htm

On the question of cancer here is a story on the Tashkin study:

http://www.420times.com/forums/canna...rijuana+cancer

And here's my 2 cents worth.. do not smoke.. VAPE!

[PhisherMan420]

God I love all the knowledge that exsists in this site it just makes me love the site so much more.

[420]

we love you too brother...

[J842P]

Originally Posted by Lilstinky420

But if herb decreases anxiety and depression, does that mean its good for humans as a species in whole(if taken properly)?? : O

Yes, I do believe we can draw this conclusion if further studies show this to be true.
But you have to remeber the "taken properly" part, which would probably mean "in moderation."

I've been searching around and I found this:

In another study, Barry Jacobs, a neuroscientist at Princeton University, gave mice the natural cannabinoid found in marijuana, THC (D9-tetrahydrocannabinol)). But he says he detected no neurogenesis, no matter what dose he gave or the length of time he gave it for. He will present his results at the Society for Neuroscience meeting in Washington DC in November.

Jacobs says it could be that HU210 and THC do not have the same effect on cell growth. It could also be the case that cannabinoids behave differently in different rodent species - which leaves open the question of how they behave in humans.

So maybe our beloved delta-9-thc isn't so good for nuerogenisis, but it could at least mean that it doesn't cause brain cell death.

Here's the link.

[One Three]

HU210 is only chemically similiar to THC. Just because it activates cannibinoid receptors does not mean that we can use it in place of THC in studies. Don't jump the gun here, as J842P has shown, THC can (and most likely will) behave differently than HU210. Whether the difference is good or bad is yet to be seen.

[closetsmoker]

wow...One Three...and thats coming from a guy that has a sword through his skull in his Avatar....lol..I don't know why they just don't burn a big fatty for them rats!...I know there going to there Union reps and complaining about getting HU210 and not the real suff....damb HMO's.

[CustomMX6]

yeaah!

[DankCloset]

hahahahaha, no opinion on this subject due to lack of knowlage in this particular field, i only know how to grow it, hahaha

[tokeabloke]

That shit is just nuts man. I can't beleive all this propoganda I have been hearing over the years. All of that has just been erased from what I have just read. I know there are a lot of fail safes but hey, I like smoking pot so I go with wtv I like to here haha. I can't wait to smoke again and gain new brain cells haha:D