Robert Celt
New Member
This will come as a surprise to those who didn't know rodents enjoyed gambling. But scientists in Canada report in the journal Behavioural Pharmacology that they have discovered stoned rats make better choices than their sober cousins in simulated gaming situations.
Cannabis: a helping hand at the baccaRAT table?
In a complicated experiment involving reward and punishment for various choices, rats treated with synthetic cannabinoids successfully avoided punishment by consistently making better choices. They also deliberated longer before making them, suggesting that compulsive, non-deliberative, poor choice-making in human gamblers possibly could also be mitigated by cannabis. This finding coincides with the documented observation of cannabinoid-induced reduction in risk-taking behavior in humans, e.g., in driving situations.
Interestingly, the administered cannabinoids did not have any effect in the "optimal group" of experimental rats. These are subjects that were on the right track from the outset, already making proper decisions not based on compulsiveness and receiving rewards for so doing. This supports the common experience of discretionary cannabis consumers, who experience no ill effects from the same medicine that others take under a doctor's prescription to treat their PTS (post-traumatic stress), irritable bowel syndrome, or multiple sclerosis.
One of the best ways to balance the endocannabinoid system without inhaling harmful chemicals is to ingest cannabis, either as raw juice or cooked into your favorite foods. For budding chefs, the MagicalButter machine makes it easy to infuse the beneficial phytonutrients from the herb directly into butter, alcohol, or cooking oil. Treats made with these supercharged ingredients can then be discreetly consumed prior to, and even during, gaming activities to potentially help enhance your chances of winning–or at least not compulsively losing like a rat.
RELATED: For dozens of excellent cannabis recipes, how-to videos, and how to get a Botanical Extractor, check out MagicalButter.com.
Gambling addiction is as common as bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, yet it receives little attention because it occupies different neural pathways than drug addictions, pathways that are poorly understood. Of course, they will likely remain poorly understood until clinical trials are designed and conducted to replicate the rat study in humans. Complicating the issue is the tendency of the general public to assume compulsive gamblers are just fundamentally lazy people seeking to make money without working who are too mentally weak to control their behavior and stop wasting money.
Why the double standard?
Why the double standard? There is a popular belief that in drug addiction, the drug itself is wholly or partly responsible for the disorder; that once "it" takes hold of a person, they are powerless to resist the urges "it" creates in their minds. And this is understandable to many people; a third party, this evil agent called the "drug", is operating against the victim. If only we got rid of these awful drugs, then the problem of addiction would necessarily vanish. Hence the Drug War.
But what if it's really the person more than the substance that is addictive? Addicts hate this idea because it makes them, rather than the drug, responsible. Accepting personal responsibility, for their life situation in general and for their addiction in specific, occupies a spot on an addict's must-do list just below cleaning with a toothbrush under the stove. If they are made to feel responsible, then to them, that is "blaming the victim". That feels bad, so they take more of the drug to feel better and to rebel, so the self-destructive cycle continues.
Addicts are patients, not criminals
Like gambling addicts, drug addicts are patients who need help, not criminals who need incarceration. The advanced societies that recognize this fact, such as in Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland, are experiencing significantly reduced crime, incarceration rates, and social upheaval as a result.
By balancing the endocannabinoid system, which affects every cell in the body, cannabis treats the whole person. The exact biochemical mechanism by which cannabis helps people move away from addiction to heroin and other dangerous narcotics is dimly understood. It is possible that the Canadian rat study or others based on it will provide insight into that mechanism as well.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Garyn Angel is an inventor, entrepreneur, award-winning financial consultant, and CEO of MagicalButter.com, which manufactures the appliance he invented for converting cannabis to edible form. Angel is committed to cannabis law reform and was named to the CNBC NEXT List of global business leaders for his work on legal marijuana. He is also founder of the Cheers to Goodness Foundation, a charity that helps "medical refugees"–veterans and children who need cannabis therapy when traditional treatment options have failed. Angel's charity helps families relocate to states where cannabis medicine is legally accessible.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Author: Garyn Angel
Contact: Magical Butter
Photo Credit: from Magical Butter
Website: Magical Butter
Cannabis: a helping hand at the baccaRAT table?
In a complicated experiment involving reward and punishment for various choices, rats treated with synthetic cannabinoids successfully avoided punishment by consistently making better choices. They also deliberated longer before making them, suggesting that compulsive, non-deliberative, poor choice-making in human gamblers possibly could also be mitigated by cannabis. This finding coincides with the documented observation of cannabinoid-induced reduction in risk-taking behavior in humans, e.g., in driving situations.
Interestingly, the administered cannabinoids did not have any effect in the "optimal group" of experimental rats. These are subjects that were on the right track from the outset, already making proper decisions not based on compulsiveness and receiving rewards for so doing. This supports the common experience of discretionary cannabis consumers, who experience no ill effects from the same medicine that others take under a doctor's prescription to treat their PTS (post-traumatic stress), irritable bowel syndrome, or multiple sclerosis.
One of the best ways to balance the endocannabinoid system without inhaling harmful chemicals is to ingest cannabis, either as raw juice or cooked into your favorite foods. For budding chefs, the MagicalButter machine makes it easy to infuse the beneficial phytonutrients from the herb directly into butter, alcohol, or cooking oil. Treats made with these supercharged ingredients can then be discreetly consumed prior to, and even during, gaming activities to potentially help enhance your chances of winning–or at least not compulsively losing like a rat.
RELATED: For dozens of excellent cannabis recipes, how-to videos, and how to get a Botanical Extractor, check out MagicalButter.com.
Gambling addiction is as common as bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, yet it receives little attention because it occupies different neural pathways than drug addictions, pathways that are poorly understood. Of course, they will likely remain poorly understood until clinical trials are designed and conducted to replicate the rat study in humans. Complicating the issue is the tendency of the general public to assume compulsive gamblers are just fundamentally lazy people seeking to make money without working who are too mentally weak to control their behavior and stop wasting money.
Why the double standard?
Why the double standard? There is a popular belief that in drug addiction, the drug itself is wholly or partly responsible for the disorder; that once "it" takes hold of a person, they are powerless to resist the urges "it" creates in their minds. And this is understandable to many people; a third party, this evil agent called the "drug", is operating against the victim. If only we got rid of these awful drugs, then the problem of addiction would necessarily vanish. Hence the Drug War.
But what if it's really the person more than the substance that is addictive? Addicts hate this idea because it makes them, rather than the drug, responsible. Accepting personal responsibility, for their life situation in general and for their addiction in specific, occupies a spot on an addict's must-do list just below cleaning with a toothbrush under the stove. If they are made to feel responsible, then to them, that is "blaming the victim". That feels bad, so they take more of the drug to feel better and to rebel, so the self-destructive cycle continues.
Addicts are patients, not criminals
Like gambling addicts, drug addicts are patients who need help, not criminals who need incarceration. The advanced societies that recognize this fact, such as in Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland, are experiencing significantly reduced crime, incarceration rates, and social upheaval as a result.
By balancing the endocannabinoid system, which affects every cell in the body, cannabis treats the whole person. The exact biochemical mechanism by which cannabis helps people move away from addiction to heroin and other dangerous narcotics is dimly understood. It is possible that the Canadian rat study or others based on it will provide insight into that mechanism as well.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Garyn Angel is an inventor, entrepreneur, award-winning financial consultant, and CEO of MagicalButter.com, which manufactures the appliance he invented for converting cannabis to edible form. Angel is committed to cannabis law reform and was named to the CNBC NEXT List of global business leaders for his work on legal marijuana. He is also founder of the Cheers to Goodness Foundation, a charity that helps "medical refugees"–veterans and children who need cannabis therapy when traditional treatment options have failed. Angel's charity helps families relocate to states where cannabis medicine is legally accessible.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Author: Garyn Angel
Contact: Magical Butter
Photo Credit: from Magical Butter
Website: Magical Butter
