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Marijuana's Key Ingredient Might Fight Alzheimer's

livescience.com — The active ingredient of marijuana could be considerably better at suppressing the abnormal clumping of malformed proteins that is a hallmark of Alzheimer's than any currently approved drugs prescribed for the treatment of the disease.

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Alexius 2 years 57 days ago, made popular 2 years 57 days ago

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Who Dugg It?

starexplorer, on 10/12/2007, -2/+59how's that for irony
- agentofchange, on 10/12/2007, -4/+7Great, so now pot heads and Alzheimers paitents what to legalize marijuana, but neither group can remeber where they left the petitions.
- templest, on 10/12/2007, -1/+24First time I smoked the chron, I hauled 3 grams...
  sat down, and watched TV for two hours.
  
  I realized how that box is literally a vacuum,
  sucking away at my intellect, reducing my literacy,
  and filling my head with propaganda of *all* sorts...
  
  ... that sorta made me giggle.
  
  I never turned it on again.
  Thanks, Marijuana. You saved my life.
  
  Now time to get back to studying;
  I have a microeconomics midterm in two hours.
camionmorto, on 10/12/2007, -5/+31They're finding more and more medical uses every day.
- KWhat, on 10/12/2007, -50/+3I think some ones looking to hard. Marijuana has THC, its a drug.... just like Tobacco has Nicotine. Now if the same experts spent that much time trying to find an excuse for me to smoke cigarettes, can I smoke my way clear of lung cancer?
- lj535i, on 10/12/2007, -2/+28Aspirin has salicylic acid which is considered a drug, but calling it such doesn't really mean anything useful. So what is your point comparing THC and Nicotine? They are very different in some many ways- one is addictive the other isn't, one has an LD50 that is very easy to reach in humans while the LD50 of the other is virtually unattainable by humans, etc...
  
  So again- what is your point in making this comparison? Or was your point nothing more than "drugs are bad, mmmkay"?
- BrickSprickly, on 10/12/2007, -3/+14yeah, because THC and nicotine are exactly the same. one is not physically addictive at all and the other is extremely addictive.
  
  DARE!
- PowerCow, on 10/12/2007, -1/+23there are more useful drugs in cannabis than just THC
  what isnt funny is that fact that it is a schedual I drug, the us congress(whom very little have medical experience) have said that THC has no known uses and is highly addictive, despite all the evidence points otherwise,
  My dad has cancer and gets very sick from chemo and can hardly eat, he is a shell of what he used to be, but is part of the generation that thinks cannabis is demon weed, It is hard to watch someone suffer when you know you can get him something that will help. He is even scared to try marinol.
  I know some other people with cancer i am trying to get to talk to him to explain how much it has helped them, and no they did not use cannabis before getting sick.
- tituskashmarek, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5@Kwhat i would suggest just not talking
- PYREX, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7@KWhat
  
  if you actually took the time to educate yourself on cannabinoids, you would know that
  
  a.) they're completely non-toxic (unlike nicotine which is a poison)
  &
  b.) they're neither mentally OR physically addictive (which nictone is both)
  
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabinoids
  
  btw, you get high every night when you go to sleep. your brain releases natural cannibinoids which help with your long term memory retention. next time you meet a neurologist you can ask him all about it.
  
  this also isnt breaking news. it's just yet another study confirming one of the many many medical uses.
  
  cannibinoids have also been demonstrated, repeatedly, to inhibit cancer growth as well.
- KWhat, on 10/12/2007, -11/+1I love potheads.... wow.
  
  And btw pot may not be physically addictive but it is very physically addicative you ***** twit. Stop smoking so much ***** pot and read your own artical.
- omnithought, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5@KWhat
  
  I believe you were asked to educate yourself. Go do so. You make the whole thread stupider for having spoken.
- shinynew, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@KWhat
  you have just hurt my brain, i was reading educated comments with a working knowledge of the english lanuage, and then you came. If you dont want to learn about this stuff then don't talk like you know. I have tons of friends who have easily quite weed. It is not _physically_ addictive. Physically addictive means that you body builds up a dependency on it, and you have to have it to function correct.
- FiestyPumpkin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Look, I am 41 and have smoked pot for years. I have an IQ of 131. When I smoke I do not just sit around watching the walls; on the contrary, I feel like going out and doing something (hiking, museums, anything besides just sitting around). My friends get stupid and lethargic when they smoke and I don't get it because that doesn't happen to me. Sometimes I just sit around doing puzzles while high. I do not get forgetful. Marijuana was only outlawed in the 60's or 70's. There are 7 people in the U.S. who are allowed to legally smoke it for medicinal purposes. It really isn't as far-fetched as it seems, I mean, after all, they do prescribe "speed" in the form of Ritalin to children with hyperactivity. Do you think that makes sense? My grandmother has just been diagnosed with Alzheimer's and it's sad to watch her. She gets violent and quite agitated. Her weight has dropped to 70 pounds... she is so tiny and wasting away. She forgets who we are, where she is, etc. I told my mother and my aunts, who have Power of Attorney over my grandmother, about this study and, of course, they shot the idea down. However, they had no problem with the hospital putting her on Morphine for her pain due to a broken hip. The effects of that drug were horrendous. They also had no problem with allowing her to be put on Wellbutrin for depression which causes increased anxiety and increases the risk of suicide. When I mentioned maybe trying Marinol to halt the Alzheimer's so that she didn't get worse I was told that it was illegal. I countered by saying that all drugs are illegal without a prescription. I really can't stand the stigma associated with marijuana. I have never heard of anyone overdosing on it. Come on, why is alcohol so socially acceptable? It causes way more problems for people and society than marijuana. Just look at all the people who are killed because of drunks being behind the wheel, not to mention the bar fights and domestic violence that comes from drinking. I just don't understand the government's philosophy regarding marijuana. Just legalize it already!
johndi, on 10/12/2007, -4/+32That's Impossible! The FDA has assured us that drugs are bad.

/sarcasm
- coolspray, on 10/12/2007, -3/+21Thank god for these /sarcasm tags... If we didn't have them, I'd really have no idea!
  
  /Sarcasm.
- blackb0x, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11That's Impossible! The FDA has assured us that (unprofittable) drugs are bad.
  
  There, fixed that for ya.
- Namco, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6WTF are you guys talking about?
  
  /sarcasm
- smellinator, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5@Coolspray:
  
  "/Sarcasm" isn't XHTML compliant. You must use lowercase tags. Therefore anyone who is XHTML strict doesn't know you're kidding. Transitionals get it though. And of course, for the IE users, the behavior is unpredictable.
  
  /badtechjoke
dustedbunny, on 10/12/2007, -0/+38I just got a rather amusing mental image of a group of old men sitting in a nursing home lounge taking bong hits and munching on doritos...
- Artifez, on 10/12/2007, -0/+34it's not as far fetched as you think, my neighbor a few years back was a 70-something pothead. He said it made being old "tolerable"
- ucg1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7I second the "not too farfetched". I know or have met quite a few very old pot users.
Artifez, on 10/12/2007, -7/+23Marijuana is so good for me
I can't smoke it cause, you see
everyone wants to test my pee
and send me to the penitentiary
- Kahnza, on 10/12/2007, -6/+3Cypress Hill :D
- eug2k, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2i get a wizz test on my pee-o
  every 2 weeks yo
  starting tommarow
  i just ripped a few bowls yo
  what do i do now ... ***** ... looks like im getting kicked out of this house =(
- WiseWeasel, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@eug2k: Try urineluck.com...
sfly510, on 10/12/2007, -6/+29side effects may include alzheimer's-like symptoms
- PYREX, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5that's not even funny. if youve ever met someone who's suffered from it you'd know.
  
  when your own mother cant remember who you are, that's a very painful feeling.
  
  it's not even in the same universe as wondering where the remote is and having a craving for cherry coke.
- sfly510, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2My grandfather has Alzheimer's, so I don't need a lecture from you. I didn't say they're the same thing. It's just ironic is all.
- PYREX, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4well then you should know that the symptoms are not alike at all. alzheimers patients lose their entire identity and live in an anxious fear. pot makes you slightly forgetful for a couple hours and youre mildly hazy the next day. the longest short term memory inhibition can last is 3 months, and that's if you smoked at least an ounce daily for many years.
  
  all this is documented, but the dea is a propaganda machine. it all dates back to harry anslinger & lobbyists for the alcohol, cotton, chemical, standard oil, & pharmaceutical industries close to 70 years ago.
  
  http://www.jackherer.com/chapter04.html
illegalchuck, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6That's great news. It could help so many people that struggle with...ummm.....what was I talking about? Hold on - I have to go hit the bong.
ImTheDarkcyde, on 10/12/2007, -3/+16i didn't realize plants were made of ingredients
- Patented, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Bingo... marijuana brownies on the other hand...
- maskott, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Ha! All this time I've been manufacturing completed Marijuana. I could have just ignored the whole recipe and only used my huge vat of THC
undershirt, on 10/12/2007, -17/+3This was at the end of the article.

"However, marijuana is not necessarily good for the mind. Prior investigations have shown that years of heavy marijuana use, consisting of four or more joints a week, can impair memory, decision making, and the ability to pay attention to more than one thing at a time"

And that's the definition of Alzheimer's.

edit: amen, sfly.
- grendelboogie, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15Sorry, not the definition of Alzheimer's.
  
  Alzheimer's may start with these symptoms, but it is a degenerative condition which leads to parts of the brain dying, loss of speech, loss of autonomic functions and death. Generally, smoking pot doesn't lead to the same type of tissue damage. The trade-off of some memory loss from pot smoking to total memory loss and brain death from untreated Alzheimer's might be worth it.
  
  Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive cognitive deterioration together with declining activities of daily living and neuropsychiatric symptoms or behavioral changes. It is the most common cause of dementia.
  The most striking early symptom is loss of short term memory (amnesia), which usually manifests as minor forgetfulness that becomes steadily more pronounced with illness progression, with relative preservation of older memories. As the disorder progresses, cognitive (intellectual) impairment extends to the domains of language (aphasia), skilled movements (apraxia), recognition (agnosia), and those functions (such as decision-making and planning) closely related to the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain as they become disconnected from the limbic system, reflecting extension of the underlying pathological process.
  This pathological process consists principally of neuronal loss or atrophy, principally in the temporoparietal cortex, but also in the frontal cortex, together with an inflammatory response to the deposition of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles.
- FrankieB078, on 10/12/2007, -5/+12"However, marijuana is not necessarily good for the mind. Prior investigations have shown that years of heavy marijuana use, consisting of four or more joints a week, can impair memory, decision making, and the ability to pay attention to more than one thing at a time"
  
  Puuuuuhhhhlllllleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeassssssseeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!! I am so sick of hearing this political garbage. It's all propoganda!!!!!
- vexter, on 10/12/2007, -4/+15My grandma has AZ. And I can tell you with tears in my eyes, that you are complete bastard. Its not even close to pot. My grandmother has NOT remembered me in 2 years. I was the hands down favorite of all the grandkids. I was the FIRST grand kid. AZ is an illness, and your light hearted attititude has created Karma that will cost you dearly...
- futureb, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9don't trivialize a very serious disease. if you've ever seen someone in advanced stages of alzheimers, you know that it's not even in the same ballpark as the vaguely funny memory loss displayed by the average stoner.
  
  http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/alzheimersdisease/alzheimersdisease.htm
  
  "Eventually AD destroys cognition, personality, and the ability to function."
- SundayTrain, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10Marijuana won't make you become:
  Violent
  Completely incontinent
  Anxiety so bad that you have to be constantly medicated
  Loss of speech and movement
  No ability to swallow
  Pressure sores because you can no longer stand or even turn over in bed. Forget your children and call out for your Mom like a toddler when your scared even though she died years before.
  No sense of night and day.
  And all within a few years in most cases...
  
  If I was given a choice between smoking ten joints a day for the rest of my life or getting Alzheimer's....That's easy!
smokinjay, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11make all drugs legal. hell anyone that wants to get high can find drugs in any community.
- shaun944, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1not such a great idea. While marijuana will not make you violent there are many drugs that can and will. Ask a cop who's had to deal with a crazy on PCP if he thinks they should just legalize "all" drugs simply because you can already find it if you go searching...
  
  MJ clearly affects cognitive abilities, so does alcohol. Abuse of either can cause long term damage. And the "pot isn't addictive" argument is *****. It may not completely F u over on a physical level like heroin or coke, but the mental addiction is plainly obvious, but of course even food can be addictive too, so its not like pot has the market cornered on mental addictions...gambling, Everquest, etc...
  
  should it be vilified and illegal, IMO, no, but at the same time, people need to stop pretending that there are no dangers and side-effects either. Legalization, if it ever happens, is going to take a rational discussion from both sides, and I think the best leverage pro- is the comparable effects of alcohol and that for people suffering disease or injury who can benefit from the effects, without question it should be a viable option.
bhigh24, on 10/12/2007, -5/+5I forgot what I was going to say.......?
CanceledCzech, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2I think the key word here is "might" or "could" or "may".
- jizzimmy, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Um, that's exactly why.
toasty168, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11moderation is the key then. legalize!!
Atom, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11Put that in your pipe and smoke it!
- Dested, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10kbrb.
PumpkinEscobar, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6"So Grandma, are you holdin'?"
- Dested, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6"What are you talking about grandma, you already took a hit! Yes im sure!"
- wheaty, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I'd rather buy my dope off someone knitting doilies any day. Sure beats driving down to the track to get it.
merdiesel, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3"Frankenstien!"-Grandma's Boy
cpuenvy, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9FREE THE WEED, PLANT THE SEED
FrankieB078, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9I love how everytime someone finds out that THC actually does something good for someones health rather than destroy it as the media and government want us to think, it's always followed with a line such as this, found in the article:

"We're not advocating smoking dope, but if we can make analogues of THC, it could play a role in treating Alzheimer's,"

Ok so let me get this straight. We can't smoke pot because the THC gets you high...yet, its ok to use the THC...as long as you don't smoke "dope?" ***** the analogues we don't want any damn analogues, give me a joint and call it a day.
- FrankieB078, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7You're absolutely right. Drug companies need money.
- shaun944, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1dude just because something is natural doesn't mean it doesn't have negative effects too. You ever chew poison ivy? Inject snake venom? u remind me of the charcoal guy on that episode of Dirtiest Jobs who said "ehh, the ash and charcoal is natural, it can't hurt my lungs." OK Einstein.
- JeffD, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2They can make more money selling pills (which could be patented by the drug company) vs selling a plant that anyone can grow.
- shaun944, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@JeffD
  
  and guess what, patents for medicine are only good for a few years and then drugs become 'generic' and any company can MFG them. By your line of logic, I'm sure cancer is a big conspiracy to sell pills to the public as well, there must be some plant out there that can stop tumors, and they're just hiding it to sell chemo treatments....
  
  god damn the medical industry may have a lot of problems, but you're in trouble if you think doctors and scientists are out to "get" you by developing treatments.
LittleJohnny, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1"Hey grandma, don't forget to take your medicine today! Now where do you keep your zags....?"
noseeme, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3None of these are as effective as some of the Alzheimer's specific monoclonal antibodies currently being developed by Wyeth and Elan Pharmaceuticals, but those have not come out yet, so they were obviously not included in this.

I also don't think THC is an effective treatment, as the side effects may be too reminiscent of the disease. :)
- Coffeedemon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2How much are they going to cost and what are the predicted side effects?
bmforbes, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Next headline... Alzheimer epidemic across America
- OwdenBowden, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Next Headline after that:
  
  War on Alzheimer declared.
mutatron, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7"We're not advocating smoking dope, but if we can make analogues of THC, it could play a role in treating Alzheimer's," researcher Kim Janda, a chemist at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif., told LiveScience.

Translation: "If we can make analogues of THC, we can charge people up to $10 a pill and get their doctors to prescribe a pill each day, and then we're talking early retirement, WOOHOO!" researcher Kim Janda, a chemist at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif., told LiveScience.
izzie2, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3I just hope if I ever do get Alzheimer's that I won't forget what the cure is.
OwdenBowden, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Next Headline: War on Alzheimer declared.
kd1s, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7The supressed research about pot has shown that:

a) There are components that actually lower the risk of lung cancer
b) Memory loss is temporary, not permanent
c) THC has some interesting effects on processes in the body of which we know very little.

But it was demonized in part because of rampant xenophobia from the 1900's to the 1960's.
- Vision77, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3http://torrentspy.com/torrent/534889/Magic_Weed_History_Of_Marijuana
  
  Do your homework bitches!
LordCrom, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Government should take a long hard look at the current Drug policy in the US.

1) Legalization of up to 1/2 ounce of Marijuana for personal use and the freedom to plant and grow marijuana plants on your property should be legal.

2) Tobacco companies should be granted the license to grow Marijuana and sell pre-packaged marijuana cigarettes. These sales would be subject to Local, state, and fed taxes similiar to cigarettes. Thus providing a new stream of income for goverment.

3) Immediate Pardon of all incarcerated, non-violent inmates that have been convicted of posession for anything under 1/2 oz of marijuana. Freeing close to 45,000 inmates. The state and fed see an immediate solution to prison overcrowding, and a savings of $45,000 per year per inmate that they no longer need to support.

Do not be afraid to contact your congressman and speak up about the legalization of marijuana.
- FiestyPumpkin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I believe that it should be legalized, but I don't want the damn government interfering. I would rather grow my own that have to pay a high tax on it. I also don't want marijuana companies pre-packaging my joints as all they would do is mess it up by putting all their additives in it. I do not believe that marijuana is addictive. I have easily quit many times with no problems at all. However, you can bet your bottom dollar that if "marijuana companies" started pre-packing joints they would definitely make sure that there was some sort of chemical that would get you hooked. Just look at the tobacco companies and their 600 or so chemicals that are in cigarettes. I just want the natural stuff!
wilsonics, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Marijuana = Dugg = Frontpage! BAM!
Supertrout, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1 I am going to start on my cure immediately. Might need to order a pizza tonight....
chubbymidget, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1You may remember stuff but you'll be too stoned to remember stuff.
mr.hostility, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3Marijuana is immorale. Unless you smoke it while you IM underage boys, then it's cool.
pgup, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I smoke marijuana for the same reasons I drink alcohol, it's fun socially and I enjoy it.

I'm not a cigarette smoker at all but when I was heavily under the influence of Sam Adams I smoked one cigarette because at the time I didn't care what I was doing.

For the next week all I could think about or taste in my mouth was a cigarette, NEVER EVER before have I had that expereince with marijuana.
shmooz, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0and look at the related link underneath from the same site saying "It will TOAST your brain"

http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060313_pot_brain.html

I love how people grab 50 people here and there and do these silly experiments and think they've proven some fact.
- shaun944, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1did you read that article? It says that they had 3 groups and that the data was clear across all groups, with the middle of usage being in the middle of test scores. Obviously the scientists felt that their sample group was large enough to counteract statistical anomalies.
  
  I love how people denigrate simple controlled experiments that present facts they don't like.
reb42, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I'm skeptical (based on other studies and such) that marijuana use causes ANY sort of long-term effect (a joint a day for 10 years should have no measurable effect on cognitive function 10 years after cessation, or even a year for that matter).
smokinjay, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3its great so many diggers are pot heads, wonder if kevin rose smokes?, he implies it with the bag of weed on the new episode of The Broken.
habubu, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1This really is old news. I read an article on this subject about 5 years ago, I think it was just a study though and didn't analyze how it affected the brain. How many positive effects have to be found before lawmakers come to the conclusion that marijuana should be legalized? Not just for existing conditions but for prevention as well. Maybe if people STOP CALLING IT DOPE and if "potheads" would stop acting stupid it would get more recognition.
- habubu, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Before I get dugg down for calling potheads stupid, that's not what I meant. I'm referring to the stereotype people may have , you know, the guys who smoke to "get ***** up".
fallenone05, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I knew Mary Jane could cure it all!! But it could never cure the pain inside...why don't you love me daddy??!!
omnithought, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I know a man in his late 60's who has been smoking medical marijuana daily for several years. He's one of the sharpest and most intelligent people I know. Then again, he doesn't sit in his mom's basement seeing how big of a bong rip he can do.

I think that people who are already stupid get stupider on pot, and the rest of the folks just get happy and hungry.

I think the people who think that medical marijuana is just an excuse to do drugs are those stupid people who are terrified of how stupid they might look if they got high.
volcompimp, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1My grandfather died of Alzheimers... More reason to toke up...
Maku, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1A mild form of acid is the answer! Wait... So just get the old people completely baked out of their minds so they don't know whats going on... Wait, isn't that what we're trying to defeat? Nevermind.
kimberlyjc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0How sad it is that this country limits treatment based on what a bunch of idiots think is right.
todcreative, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0the drug that causes memory loss helps cure memory loss, huh? dare i say, DOPE!
Gemini25RB, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I read the headline and thought: "Cellulose fights Alzheimer's? Why don't they just say tree bark instead?" doh!
qwertydvorak, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I have a feeling that i will never get Alzheimer's Disease. ;) dudes
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Marijuana's Key Ingredient Might Fight Alzheimer's

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