Cannabis is a widely misunderstood plant of great chemical diversity, pharmacological variety and cultural importance.

As a result of the prohibition of marijuana and Draconian misclassification as a U.S. Schedule I drug with 'no medicinal use', scientific and medical research on cannabinoids (active ingredients) is limited and unobjectively retarded by federal permitting. Because cannabis research is restricted to groups approved by the federal government, this biases development of the marijuana body of knowledge. Mysteriously, research applications are regularly "lost", delayed and denied. In order to ensure that cannabis science and research is accessible and objective, the cannabis plant must be at least reschueduled to Schedule III (i.e. Marinol, synthetic THC), and the permitting system deregulated and managed by a non-government, peer-reviewed panel of objective doctors and scientists.

DEA Judge Francis Young Recommends Rescheduling Cannabis Based on Safety

The Chemical Ecology of Cannabis - David Pate (pdf)
CB1 Receptor Threaten$ Alcohol Indu$try Revenue (abstract)
Cannabinoids and the Endocannabinoid System - Franjo Grotenhermen (pdf)
Oxford Study Shows Caryophyllene (terpene) as a Dietary Cannabinoid
CBD Prevents Cerebral Infarction (abstract)
Journal of Natural Products August 2008 - ANTIBACTERIAL CANNABINOIDS FROM CANNABIS SATIVA (pdf)
U.S. Patent # 6630507 - In 2003, the U.S. Government as represented by the Department of Health and Human Services filed for, and was awarded a patent on cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants.
High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) - Methods for analyzing cannabis - A Procedure in Cannabis DNA & Forensics

Study Confirms Medical Marijuana Pain Relief
University of California Clinical Trial Shows Relief of Neuropathic Pain, Mild Side Effects CONTACT: Bruce Mirken, MPP director of communications, 202-215-4205 DAVIS, CALIFORNIA -- A clinical trial conducted at the University of California at Davis and just published online by the Journal of Pain has demonstrated significant relief of neuropathic pain (pain caused by damage to nerves) stemming from a variety of causes. This is the second study in just over a year to show that marijuana relieves neuropathic pain, which is notoriously resistant to treatment with conventional pain drugs, including opioid narcotics. A UC San Francisco study published last year showed relief of HIV/AIDS-related neuropathy. In the new study, 38 patients experiencing neuropathic pain from diabetes, spinal injury, multiple sclerosis and other causes were given marijuana cigarettes of three different strengths: Zero percent THC (placebo), 3.5 percent THC or 7 percent THC. In each session, patients took the same number of puffs, following a standardized procedure to ensure uniformity of the dose received at each strength. Both doses of marijuana reduced pain significantly, producing marked declines in pain intensity that lasted over five hours. Researchers Barth Wilsey and colleagues wrote that side effects "were relatively inconsequential," and "psychoactive effects were minimal and well-tolerated." Although the scientists did express caution about the neurocognitive effects of the higher dose -- reflected in lower scores on some tests of memory and problem solving, the study was not designed to examine the potential for marijuana to allow reduced doses of narcotic painkillers that also cause cognitive impairment, a benefit widely reported by patients. For a copy of the complete study, contact MPP director of communications Bruce Mirken at 202-215-4205. "This is yet more proof that the American College of Physicians was right that U.S. government policy on medical marijuana is totally divorced from scientific reality," said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C. "Congress needs to act to end the federal war on medical marijuana, but in the meantime states should act on their own to protect medical marijuana patients from arrest, as several states are considering right now." States where legislators are presently considering medical marijuana legislation include Illinois, New York and Minnesota. A medical marijuana initiative has qualified for Michigan's November ballot. With more than 23,000 members and 180,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information,pleasevisit http://MarijuanaPolicy.org

Puff-a-Day Marijuana Dose Helped Older Rats Remember

By Rob Waters

Nov. 19, 2008 -- A daily puff of a compound like marijuana, the plant blamed for ruining potheads' recall, might help maintain memory in old age, researchers who tried it on rats reported today at a neuroscience meeting.

Elderly rats remembered their way around a swimming pool and could find hidden resting spots after Yannick Marchalant and his colleagues at Ohio State University gave them a compound that mimics the effect of marijuana on the brain's cannabis receptors. The marijuana-like drug, known as WIN-55212-2, spurred new brain cell growth and reduced inflammation, the researchers said.

Inflammation in the brain may be linked to the development or progression of Alzheimer's, a progressive disease that destroys brain cells, disrupting the memory and cognitive capacity of some 4.5 million Americans, some scientists believe. Marchalant and his colleagues have been hunting for drugs to reduce inflammation.

``We used a low dose because we didn't want to give them a drug that tried to save their memory while we're also causing psychoactive effects,'' Marchalant said in a telephone interview yesterday. ``The dosage of WIN would be like giving one puff a day and not a whole joint.''

Marchalant and his team reported their results today at the Society for Neuroscience meeting in Washington, D.C. In the study, they first caused inflammation in the brains of young rats, which they could measure by looking at the activity of anti-inflammatory cells. Then they injected rats with WIN and saw that it reduced the activity of the inflammation-fighting cells.

Old Rats Quicker

With the older rats, they didn't need to induce inflammation because it was already present. They injected some of the old rats with WIN and had them spend time in a swimming tank.

It turned out that the rats who got hits of WIN found the hidden resting places much quicker than those who didn't. Later, the researchers dissected the rats' brains and found a reduction in inflammation and evidence that new brain cells had sprouted.

While marijuana might also promote the growth of new brain cells, it doesn't have WIN's ability to block another brain receptor that appears to cause inflammation, a key difference between the two compounds, Marchalant said. Too much pot also would overstimulate the cannabis receptors, he said.

``That's what everyone is trying to avoid,'' Marchalant said. ``If you overstimulate, you'll have a detrimental effect on memory.''

Heavy Marijuana Use Hurts

The U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse says heavy marijuana smoking damages short-term recall and hastens age- related destruction of neurons in the brain's hippocampus responsible for memory, according to the agency's Web site.

WIN isn't a perfect compound, Marchalant said. Now that researchers know the effects on the brain they're trying to produce, and the receptors they're trying to influence, they can search for a better compound, he said.

Smoking pot, or taking WIN, once the memory loss of Alzheimer's had already begun, wouldn't help, Marchalant said.

``It's too late,'' he said. ``Patients who have been diagnosed have already lost neurons.''

A preventive strategy would need to start years earlier, he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rob Waters in San Francisco at rwaters5@bloomberg.net.