Friday, October 06, 2006

A Little Mary Jane Helps The Brain


Puff Puff Posted by Picasa

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) -- Good news for aging hippies: Smoking pot may stave off Alzheimer's disease.

New research shows that the active ingredient in marijuana may prevent the progression of the disease by preserving levels of an important neurotransmitter that allows the brain to function.

Researchers at the Scripps Research Institute in California found that marijuana's active ingredient, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, can prevent the neurotransmitter acetylcholine from breaking down more effectively than commercially marketed drugs.

THC is also more effective at blocking clumps of protein that can inhibit memory and cognition in Alzheimer's patients, the researchers reported in the journal Molecular Pharmaceutics.

It is funny how more reasearch into marijuana use, more beneficial properties keep being discovered. And, what is even more astounding is that such discoveries point to the fact that brain cells do not die, but, in fact, regenerate and/or help brain functioning!

Time to roll my morning doobie and get my cup of java. Puff, puff.

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