Pubdate: Tue, 07 Dec 1999
Source: National Post (Canada)
Copyright: 1999 Southam Inc.
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Author: Roger Highfield

YES, CANNABIS DOES HELP YOU SEE IN THE DARK

Caribbean fisherman's claims that a punch made of cannabis extract and rum
helps them see in the dark may have some basis in science.

Scientists have found a family of chemicals that includes the
"psychoactive" ingredients of marijuana plays a role in vision. For the
first time, "receptor"proteins activated by these compounds - cannabinoids
- - have been reported in the eye, providing a missing link in the
understanding of the retina.

The work also provides greater understanding of the effects on vision of
marijuana and hashish, suggesting reports of of the perception of a "snowy"
visual field, increased light intensity and altered vision may be due to
effects in the retina, rather than the brain.

"the scientific literature on marijuana, the known effects of cannabinoids
in other parts of the brain and the places we find the receptor in the
retina all make plausible the notion that cannabinoids may well have an
effect on light sensitivity or light-dark adaptation," said Alex Straiker
of the University of California, San Diego.

However the retina is "incredibly complex", so this remains only a
possibility, said Straiker, principal author of the report on the
prevalence of receptors - docking points for cannabinoids - in the retina.

The paper appears today in the "Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences". It is co-authored by scientists from the Neurosciences Institute
in San Diego and the University of Washington in Seattle.
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