Silly British. Don’t they realize that marijuana has no medicinal value whatsoever?
BBC NEWS | Health | Marijuana may block Alzheimer’s
The active ingredient in marijuana may stall decline from Alzheimer’s disease, research suggests.
Scientists showed a synthetic version of the compound may reduce inflammation associated with Alzheimer’s and thus help to prevent mental decline.
…Dr Susanne Sorensen, head of research at the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “This is important research because it provides another piece of the jigsaw puzzle on the workings of the brain.
“There is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, so the identification of another target for drug development is extremely welcome.
“The Alzheimer’s Society looks forward to seeing further research being carried out on cannabinoid receptors as drug targets for Alzheimer’s disease but would warn the public against taking marijuana as a way of preventing Alzheimer’s.
“It is now generally recognised that as well as providing a ‘high’, long-term use of marijuana can also lead to depression in many individuals.”
Well, it must certainly better to avoid a ‘high’ and be all nice and happy when the Alzheimer’s comes along, eh?
Oh, wait, the “marijuana causes depression” line came from the esteemed statistical journal, “Right Out Of My Ass”. In fact, marijuana is often used as an anti-depressant. For shame, doctor, you should know better.
(While we’re looking at pot myths, let’s get the most popular ones out of the way as well.)
I’m torn about the medical marijuana issue. I’m glad that people are recognizing that marijuana has medicinal benefits, but sometimes the medi-pot issue feels like, “well, it’s a powerful drug with a huge downside, but if you’re going to die anyway (cancer, AIDS, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s) there’s no harm in using it. Healthy people should never use it!”
There’s no harm in it, period. At least as far as we define “harm” with respect to the other life-saving or comfort-producing or mood-altering drugs we allow ourselves to take. Look at the side-effect and health-safety warnings on a bottle of Viagra, ibuprofen, or a bottle of scotch, for example. You’ll find dangers much greater than “cottonmouth”, “temporary short-term memory loss”, or “munchies”. And while Viagra, ibuprofen, and scotch can kill you, marijuana cannot. Never has, never will.
I am an atheist, but sometimes I like to contemplate the universe as if it were designed by an intelligent creator. So, why would such a creator make this cannabis plant that can grow anywhere, is highly resistant to pests, provides some of the highest nutritional value of any seed, is unrivaled as a textile fiber, provides highly renewable energy as biomass and oil, and also just happens to treat so many of the ailments that afflict humans, all without a hint of toxicity, while providing a nice, temporary, harmless high to the creatures created in his image? I think that this creator probably made this plant because he gave humans the brainpower to contemplate their own death. Sentience is a most disturbing aspect of brainpower, so here you go, here’s a little something to cure what ails ya and take your mind off dying. Marijuana is the Swiss Army Knife of plants; it has so many uses that I’m certain a loving creator put it here for us to use. He even said so.
That is, if I believed in such things as intelligent creators. No intelligent creator would have ever put our testicles outside of our bodies. The means of our reproduction and the most sensitive, pain-producing organ, dangling freely below the belly within easy kicking/squeezing/punching range. Not very intelligent.
