In experiments with rodents, scientists have discovered that a steroid hormone blunts the effects of marijuana, virtually eliminating its high. The hormone, pregnenolone, occurs naturally in the body. In the laboratory, it worked by reducing the reaction to THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the intoxicating ingredient in marijuana, the researchers said. "When the brain is stimulated by high doses of THC, it produces pregnenolone - a 3,000 percent increase - that inhibits the effects of THC," said senior researcher Dr. Pier Vincenzo Piazza of Neurocentre Magendie in Bordeaux, France. [continues 651 words]
Marijuana Closes Smallest Airways Smoking just one marijuana joint is the same as smoking five cigarettes in terms of the damage it does to your lungs, a new study has found. Lung damage from marijuana results in chronic bronchitis and other respiratory problems. But whether marijuana causes emphysema or lung cancer isn't clear, the researchers said. "This damage is a full range from symptoms to structural lung damage and reduced lung function," said lead researcher Dr. Richard Beasley, director of the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand in Wellington. [continues 185 words]
