Canada approves marijuana-based pain spray
Health Canada has approved Sativex® (Cannabis sativa L. extract) a new drug developed as adjunctive treatment for the symptomatic relief of neuropathic pain in adults with multiple sclerosis (MS). Canada becomes the first country in the world to approve Sativex, a novel prescription pharmaceutical product derived from components of the cannabis plant shown to have therapeutic properties. Sativex...Scientists discover the body's marijuana-like compounds are crucial for stress-induced pain relief
new study shows, for the first time, that the release of the body's own marijuana-like compounds is crucial to stress-induced analgesia ?the body's way of initially shielding pain after a serious injury. The work, led by scientists at the University of Georgia and the University of California, Irvine, may yield a target for new drug therapies that will completely bypass the current argume...Good news for the medical marijuana movement: pot proliferates brain cells and boosts mood
Most drugs of abuse decrease the generation of new neurons in the brain, but the effects of marijuana on this process, called neurogenesis, had not been clear. In a paper appearing online on October 13 in advance of print publication of the November issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Xia Zhang and colleagues from University of Saskatchewan show that a potent and synthetic cann...Machinery of the 'marijuana munchies'
Marijuana--or more specifically its active ingredient, tetrahydrocannabinol--has a well-documented tendency to stimulate hunger. And while scientists have traced this property to cannabinoid receptors in the brain, they have had little understanding of the neural circuitry underlying this effect. Understanding this circuitry has important practical implications because blocking the cannabi...Marijuana-like compounds suppress the immune response
A group of Japanese scientists has discovered that cannabinoids can cause some white blood cells to lose their ability to migrate to the sites of infection and inflammation. These findings, which appear in the May 5 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, could have potential use in the development of novel anti-inflammatory drugs. The cannabinoids are a group of chemicals that incl...Marijuana 'gateway' theory strengthened by study of twins
A new study of 311 sets of same-sex twins in which only one twin had smoked marijuana before age 17 has bolstered the fiercely debated "gateway theory" that pot can lead to harder drugs. The study included 136 sets of identical twins who shared the same genetic makeup and all the participants were 30 years of age, on an average, when they were asked about their teenage drug use. The researchers f...Marijuana Use Could Result In Psychosis
Adolescents and young adults who frequently use marijuana may be increasing their risk for psychotic symptoms later in life //, say researchers based on findings of a recent study. The study involved 2,437 young people between ages 14 and 24 for four years. Participants were examined for substance use, predisposition for psychosis, and psychotic symptoms. Results showed a moderate incre...Wife May Determine Husband’s Marijuana Use
In the first year of marriage a wife may be able to control how much a husband indulge in drinking //or substance abuse like the use of marijuana. However the reverse may not always be true. Researchers said data collected showed that in the first year of marriage for 20-somethings, husbands were more likely to start or resume smoking marijuana if their wives smoked marijuana. Husbands...E-Mail Affects Brain More Than Marijuana
Today’s technology has replaced the smoking pot and cigar of the 70s. If you want to kill your brain //cells in true 21st-century style, just stay on your cell phone and check your e-mail multiple times over the course of an afternoon. A study commissioned by Hewlett-Packard shows that today's dependency on daily technology, including e-mail and cell phones, can be slightly more detrim...Marijuana-Derived Drug Promises Hope In Treating Bladder Infection
Interstitial cystitis is primarily a disease of middle-aged women and is characterized by recurring discomfort or pain in the bladder and surrounding pelvic region. Symptoms vary and can include a combination of mild to severe pain, pressure and tenderness in the bladder and pelvic area; and an urgent and/or frequent need to urinate. // Additionally, the bladder wall may become scarred or irrita...Drugs of Abuse Confirmation/Quantitation-Cannabinoids (Marijuana)-Meconium
Description:ARUP Laboratories is a national reference laboratory and a worldwide leader in innovative laboratory research and development. ARUP offers an extensive test menu of highly complex and unique medical tests in clinical and anatomic pathology. Owned by the University of Utah, ARUP Laboratories' clients include more than half of the nation's university teaching hospitals and children's hospitals, maj...Marijuana Metabolite (9-carboxy-THC) Confirmation/Quantitation, Urine
Description:ARUP Laboratories is a national reference laboratory and a worldwide leader in innovative laboratory research and development. ARUP offers an extensive test menu of highly complex and unique medical tests in clinical and anatomic pathology. Owned by the University of Utah, ARUP Laboratories' clients include more than half of the nation's university teaching hospitals and children's hospitals, maj...Marijuana Confirmation/Quantitation, Meconium
Description:ARUP Laboratories is a national reference laboratory and a worldwide leader in innovative laboratory research and development. ARUP offers an extensive test menu of highly complex and unique medical tests in clinical and anatomic pathology. Owned by the University of Utah, ARUP Laboratories' clients include more than half of the nation's university teaching hospitals and children's hospitals, maj...