Whether high or not, it can be interesting to notice the many ways any situation could be interpreted.

Thank god people aren't injecting pure THC!

Oh, and as for new strains of cannabis, THC ratios haven't changed much since the '70s. Only when they take new samples of old substances where the THC has degraded do they find that it used to be less potent back in the day. More high quality stuff these days but HQ then and HQ now are about the same THC ratio. What is interesting are the ratios of the other cannabinoids which can produce different feelings and states of mind.

Reddit ripped this piece to shreds, well I mean /r/trees.

Either she is an idiot, or her editors are idiots.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabinoid

THC is a Cannabinoid. She was taking pure THC, and Cannabinoid. What the fuck does that mean?

Perhaps she meant Cannabidiol. Either way this piece is utter shit.

>> ^dannym3141:

>> ^rottenseed:
So she gets high twice, has 1 good trip and 1 bad trip, and now they're reached an ultimate conclusion. Wow...science sure is easy.

Well i don't understand exactly what's going on with the separate experiments. I assume the cannabinoid is what you typically get from weed, and the pure THC is the extracted drug from the weed without anything else.
.


Maybe you are confused because they tried to dumb down the terminology. They are testing the interaction between two cannabinoids found in Cannabis, THC and cannabidiol. The idea is that new varieties of Cannabis have been selected from higher THC content, and that this throws off the ratio between THC and other canabinoids in the plant. The question is, "does the ratio of THC to other cannabinoids affect the frequency of psychosis in Cannabis users?" They are testing this by giving people either synthetic THC alone, or synthetic THC in conjunction with synthetic cannabidiol.

Their sample size is small, but the results appear to support the prediction that the effects of THC are altered by the presence of an additional cannabinoid that naturally co-occurs in Cannabis.

This appears to be the research they are reporting on:
http://www.nature.com/npp/journal/v35/n3/full/npp2009184a.html

I don't see why the marijuana users have their hackles up about this. Wouldn't it make sense to push the breeding community to develop strains with smoother, or a wider variety, of highs, rather than constantly pushing for greater potency? Maybe they are already doing this?

>> ^rottenseed:

So she gets high twice, has 1 good trip and 1 bad trip, and now they're reached an ultimate conclusion. Wow...science sure is easy.


Well i don't understand exactly what's going on with the separate experiments. I assume the cannabinoid is what you typically get from weed, and the pure THC is the extracted drug from the weed without anything else.

And what this tells me is that weed is good fun. Also, i've only ever "tripped" on weed by having FAR FAR FAR too much (alcohol equivalent - an absolute bender, 2 litres of vodka and beers to follow in the space of a few hours). Wasn't too bad, i just stared into space and drifted off a bit, then snapped out of it and got confused as to how long had passed. And laughed so hard i nearly puked.

Cannabinoids Curb Brain Tumor Growth, First-Ever Patient Trial Shows
http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6947

Pot Compound May Offer Non-Toxic Alternative To Chemotherapy
http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7433

Tetrahydrocannabinol inhibits lung cancer as well as metastasis
http://www.nature.com/onc/journal/v27/n3/abs/1210641a.html

Inhibition of skin tumor growth by activation of cannabinoid receptors
http://www.jci.org/articles/view/16116/version/1

Cannabinoid receptors as novel targets for the treatment of melanoma research paper:

Abstract:
http://www.fasebj.org/content/20/14/2633.short

Full paper:
http://www.fasebj.org/content/early/2006/10/25/fj.06-6638fje.full.pdf

entropy,
i wish things were that simple but when i see tools such as this dickwad,who are so readily bought off to sell his fellow man into subservience..i tend to get mighty pissed off.
the number ONE abused drug in america is not weed,nor is it booze..it is prescription pain killers.study after study have shown not only the low risk weed has concerning addiction but has also revealed a rather stunning beneficial factor.
the opiate business has reached sales in the hundreds of billions but you cant grow oxycodone in your back yard but you can grow weed and opiates have shown themselves to be anything but beneficial in the long run.
its all about business and this douchebag sold his soul to obfuscate the facts in order to keep an antiquated and repressive law active by using propaganda and outright bullshit.
notice how he skirts the subject of cannabinoid pills?
yeah..thats cuz his overlords want to corner the market on????
you got it...weed..in pill form but you can only buy from them,growing it for your own use is considered "illegal".
free market..pfffft..my ass.

What I don't understand is why is selling seeds an offense? You can easily buy magic mushroom spores online, because the spores contain a little or no traces of psilocybin. Wouldn't marijuana seeds fall into this category? There can't be any real amount of THC or other cannabinoids in the seeds. And I have yet to find ANY pot smoker who smokes seeds intentionally.

leaving aside the retarded "war on drugs",which we know to be an utter failure.
let me just comment on the two tools for big pharma.
these two fuckwits dont care one fucking IOTA about your freedoms,nor your health.
they do,however,care VERY much to promote big pharma's cannabinoid pills.
i shall paraphrase:
"listen,you should not be smoking something in the privacy of your home,harming noone.something that you can grow in your back yard.that just wont do.you need to be buying the pill that big pharma has created for you."
chris rock puts it best:
http://www.videosift.com/video/Chris-Rock-on-the-American-Drug-Policy

Just like pipp3355, I see that there are some major problems with this "experiment."

The subject even admitted that he had a more difficult time and he had to make an effort to concentrate harder.
The host admitted that the study was in NO WAY scientific or empirical.

Even though there wasn't much of any science in the video, you can find some science below:

According to the FDA, 249 medical marijuana patients were killed between 1/1/97 - 6/30/05. Marijuana, cannibis, and other Cannabinoids are listed as the secondary cause of death. It is unclear in the study how many people were prescribed marijuana between those dates.

From Wikipedia: "...a recent study by the Canadian government found cannabis contained more toxic substances than tobacco smoke. It contained 20 times more ammonia, (a carcinogen), five times more hydrogen cyanide (which can cause heart disease) and nitrous oxides, (which can cause lung damage) than tobacco smoke.

Cannabis use has been linked to exacerbating the effects of psychosis, schizophrenia, bronchitis, and emphysema by several peer-reviewed studies for those who are vulnerable to such illnesses based on personal or family history.

In July 2007, British medical journal The Lancet published a study that indicates that cannabis users have, on average, a 41% greater risk of developing psychosis than non-users. The risk was most pronounced in cases with an existing risk of psychotic disorder, and was said to grow up to 200% for the most-frequent users.

While the long term and heavy use of cannabis is not linked to the severe or grossly debilitating cerebral effects associated with chronic heavy alcohol abuse, it has been LINKED to more subtle IMPAIRMENT associated with MEMORY, ATTENTION, AND COGNITIVE FUNCTION.

These mental impairments are likely the cause of the delusions that many marijuana users have about themselves while high. It's baffling that they can think for a minute that they have greater cognative abilities and sharper reflexes while under the influence of a drug that causes depressant and hallucinogenic side effects. The fact that cannibus use lowers blood pressure, impairs psychomotor coordination, hinders one's ability to concentrate, and negatively effects short-term memory is not up for debate. These things have been proven time and time again.


If it doesn't kill you, it will most certainly make you as dumb as a bag of nails.

I replied to the post in-thread, it's been a few days so I wasn't sure you'd still see it and thought I should let you know in case you cared.

In reply to this comment by deedub81:
According to the FDA, 249 medical marijuana patients were killed between 1/1/97 - 6/30/05. Marijuana, cannibis, and other Cannabinoids are listed as the secondary cause of death. It is unclear in the study how many people were prescribed marijuana between those dates.


If it doesn't kill you, it will most certainly make you as dumb as a bag of nails.

[snip]

>> ^deedub81:
According to the FDA, 249 medical marijuana patients were killed between 1/1/97 - 6/30/05. Marijuana, cannibis, and other Cannabinoids are listed as the secondary cause of death. It is unclear in the study how many people were prescribed marijuana between those dates.

If it doesn't kill you, it will most certainly make you as dumb as a bag of nails.
From Wikipedia: "...a recent study by the Canadian government found cannabis contained more toxic substances than tobacco smoke. It contained 20 times more ammonia, (a carcinogen), five times more hydrogen cyanide (which can cause heart disease) and nitrous oxides, (which can cause lung damage) than tobacco smoke.
Cannabis use has been linked to exacerbating the effects of psychosis, schizophrenia, bronchitis, and emphysema by several peer-reviewed studies for those who are vulnerable to such illnesses based on personal or family history.
n July 2007, British medical journal The Lancet published a study that indicates that cannabis users have, on average, a 41% greater risk of developing psychosis than non-users. The risk was most pronounced in cases with an existing risk of psychotic disorder, and was said to grow up to 200% for the most-frequent users.
While the long term and heavy use of cannabis is not linked to the severe or grossly debilitating cerebral effects associated with chronic heavy alcohol abuse, it has been LINKED to more subtle IMPAIRMENT associated with MEMORY, ATTENTION, AND COGNITIVE FUNCTION.


party pooper.

According to the FDA, 249 medical marijuana patients were killed between 1/1/97 - 6/30/05. Marijuana, cannibis, and other Cannabinoids are listed as the secondary cause of death. It is unclear in the study how many people were prescribed marijuana between those dates.


If it doesn't kill you, it will most certainly make you as dumb as a bag of nails.

From Wikipedia: "...a recent study by the Canadian government found cannabis contained more toxic substances than tobacco smoke. It contained 20 times more ammonia, (a carcinogen), five times more hydrogen cyanide (which can cause heart disease) and nitrous oxides, (which can cause lung damage) than tobacco smoke.

Cannabis use has been linked to exacerbating the effects of psychosis, schizophrenia, bronchitis, and emphysema by several peer-reviewed studies for those who are vulnerable to such illnesses based on personal or family history.

n July 2007, British medical journal The Lancet published a study that indicates that cannabis users have, on average, a 41% greater risk of developing psychosis than non-users. The risk was most pronounced in cases with an existing risk of psychotic disorder, and was said to grow up to 200% for the most-frequent users.

While the long term and heavy use of cannabis is not linked to the severe or grossly debilitating cerebral effects associated with chronic heavy alcohol abuse, it has been LINKED to more subtle IMPAIRMENT associated with MEMORY, ATTENTION, AND COGNITIVE FUNCTION.

Ah, I see. Yeah, when cannabinoid receptors are stimulated you can say quite interesting non sequiturs regarding the "earf"

Talk out your arse much cobalt?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_issues_and_the_effects_of_cannabis

[edit] Toxicity
According to the Merck Index,[2] the LD50 (dosage lethal to 50% of rats tested) of Δ9-THC by inhalation is 42 mg/kg of body weight. That is the equivalent of a man weighing 75 kg (165 lb) inhaling the THC found in 21 grams of extremely high-potency (15% THC) marijuana all in one sitting, assuming no THC is lost through smoke loss or absorption by the lungs. For oral consumption, the LD50 for male rats is 1270 mg/kg, and 730 mg/kg for females—equivalent to the THC in about a pound of 15% THC marijuana.[3] The ratio of cannabis material required to saturate cannabinoid receptors to the amount required for a fatal overdose is 1:40,000.[4] There have been no reported deaths or permanent injuries sustained as a result of a marijuana overdose. It is practically impossible to overdose on marijuana, as the user would certainly either fall asleep or otherwise become incapacitated from the effects of the drug before being able to consume enough THC to be mortally toxic. According to a United Kingdom government report, using cannabis is less dangerous than tobacco, prescription drugs, and alcohol in social harms, physical harm and addiction.[5]





[edit] Confounding combination
The most obvious confounding factor in cannabis research is the prevalent usage of other recreational drugs, including alcohol and tobacco.[6] One paper claims marijuana use can increase risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. [7] Such complications demonstrate the need for studies on cannabis that have stronger controls, and investigations into the symptoms of cannabis use that may also be caused by tobacco. Some people question whether the agencies that do the research try to make an honest effort to present an accurate, unbiased summary of the evidence, or whether they "cherry-pick" their data, and others caution that the raw data, and not the final conclusions, are what should be examined.[8]

However, contrasting studies have linked the smoking of cannabis to lung cancer and the growth of cancerous tumors.[9][10][11][12] A 2002 report by the British Lung Foundation estimated that three to four cannabis cigarettes a day were associated with the same amount of damage to the lungs as 20 or more tobacco cigarettes a day.[13] Some of these finding may be attributed to the well-known custom that many British citizens often mix tobacco with marijuana. It should also be noted that a recent study conducted at a lab in UCLA has found no link between marijuana usage and lung cancer.[citation needed]

Cannabis also has a synergistic toxic effect with the food additive Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and possibly the related compound butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT). The study concluded, "Exposure to marijuana smoke in conjunction with BHA, a common food additive, may promote deleterious health effects in the lung." BHA & BHT are man-made fat preservatives, and are found in many packaged foods including: plastics in boxed Cereal, Jello, Slim Jims, and more. [14]


[edit] Memory
Cannabis is known to act on the hippocampus (an area of the brain associated with memory and learning), and impair short term memory and attention for the duration of its effects and in some cases for the next day[15]. In the long term, some studies point to enhancement of particular types of memory.[16] Cannabis was found to be neuroprotective against excitotoxicity and is therefore beneficial for the prevention of progressive degenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease.[17] A 1998 report commissioned in France by Health Secretary of State Bernard Condevaux and directed by Dr. Pierre-Bernard Roques determined that, "former results suggesting anatomic changes in the brain of chronic cannabis users, measured by tomography, were not confirmed by the accurate modern neuro-imaging techniques," (like MRI). "Moreover, morphological impairment of the hippocampus [which plays a part in memory and navigation] of rat after administration of very high doses of THC (Langfield et al., 1988) was not shown (Slikker et al., 1992)" (translated). He concluded that cannabis does not have any neurotoxicity as defined in the report, unlike alcohol and cocaine.[18][19][20]


[edit] Adulterated cannabis
Contaminants may be found in hashish when consumed from soap bar-type sources[21]. The dried flowers of the plant may be contaminated by the plant taking up heavy metals and other toxins from its growing environment[22]. Recently, there have been reports of herbal cannabis being adulterated with minute (silica [usually glass or sand], or sugar} crystals in the UK and Ireland. These crystals resemble THC in appearance, yet are much heavier, and so serve again to increase the weight, and hence street value of the cannabis[23].


[edit] Pregnancy
Studies have found that children of marijuana-smoking mothers more frequently suffer from permanent cognitive deficits, concentration disorders, hyperactivity, and impaired social interactions than non-exposed children of the same age and social background.[24][25] A recent study with participation of scientists from Europe and the United States, have now identified that endogenous cannabinoids, molecules naturally produced by our brains and functionally similar to THC from cannabis, play unexpectedly significant roles in establishing how certain nerve cells connect to each other. The formation of connections among nerve cells occurs during a relatively short period in the fetal brain. The study tries to give a closer understanding of if and when cannabis damages the fetal brain[26][27].[28]

Other studies on Jamaica have suggested that cannabis use by expectant mothers does not appear to cause birth defects or developmental delays in their newborn children.[29][30] In a study in 1994 of Twenty-four Jamaican neonates exposed to marijuana prenatally and 20 non exposed neonates comparisons were made at 3 days and 1 month old, using the Brazelton Neonatal Assessment Scale, including supplementary items to capture possible subtle effects. Results showed there were no significant differences between exposed and nonexposed neonates on day 3. At 1 month, the exposed neonates showed better physiological stability and required less examiner facilitation to reach organized states. The neonates of heavy-marijuana-using mothers had better scores on autonomic stability, quality of alertness, irritability, and self-regulation and were judged to be more rewarding for caregivers. This work was supported by the March of Dimes Foundation.[31]


[edit] Cancer
On 23 May 2006, Donald Tashkin, M.D., Professor of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA in Los Angeles announced that the use of cannabis does not appear to increase the risk of developing lung cancer, or increase the risk of head and neck cancers, such as cancer of the tongue, mouth, throat, or esophagus.[32]The study involved 2252 participants, with some of the most chronic marijuana smokers having smoked over 22,000 marijuana cigarettes.[32][33][34][35] The finding of Donald Tashkin, M.D., and his team of researchers in 2006 refines their earlier studies published in a Dec. 17th 2000 edition of the peer-reviewed journal Cancer Epidemiology Biomarker and Prevention.[12] Many opponents of marijuana incorrectly cite the original finding of UCLA Medical Center from 2000 as "proof" that marijuana leaves the users at higher risk for cancer of the lung, and cancerous tumors,[9] even though the researchers at the UCLA Medical Center have revised their finding with a more in-depth study on the effects of the use of marijuana. This seemed to contradict assumptions made after some studies, like those from Dale Geirringer et al., which found that 118 carcinogens were produced when marijuana underwent combustion, and two carcinogens {2-Methyl-2, 4(2H-1-benzopyran-5-ol) & 5-[Acetyl benz[e]azulene-3,8-dione} formed when marijuana underwent vaporization with the Volcano Vaporizer.[36] To help explain this seemingly chemical proof of carcinogenity inherent in the process of combustion, Tashkin noted that "one possible explanation for the new findings, he said, is that THC, a chemical in marijuana smoke, may encourage aging cells to die earlier and therefore be less likely to undergo cancerous transformation."[32]