Cannabinoids - What Make Marijuana Work

We know that marijuana can be used to treat a number of physical symptoms of illness and can in some cases be used to treat or slow the disease itself. But what is it about cannabis that gives it these abilities?

Medical studies on marijuana have been relatively limited, and many of the over-400 compounds it contains are not yet well understood. However, science has uncovered some of the mystery regarding a few of these compounds and their effects in the brain.

Some of the most medically important compounds contained in marijuana are known as cannabinoids. Cannabinoids are produced by almost every living being on earth, including humans. While medical science has long been aware of the cannabinoid system, which has been used by organisms for 600 million years, it wasn’t until 1988 that cannabinoid receptors were discovered in the brain. Two specific cannabinoid receptors, the CB1 and CB2 receptors, have been discovered to date. The CB1 receptor has been found to be responsible for regulating functions in the brain and central nervous system, while the CB2 receptor affects the gastrointestinal tract and the immune system. Together, these receptors are responsible for the regulation of pain, memory, mood, appetite, and inflammation in the body.

When marijuana is smoked, its cannabinoids are taken in by the receptors and are used to help in the regulation of bodily functions. They are also a contributing factor in marijuana’s effectiveness as a neuroprotectant, slowing degradation of the brain and its neurons and synapses. Cannabinoids are the reason behind the effectiveness of marijuana as a medical treatment in pain management, appetite stimulation, headache relief, spasms, loss of spasticity, and in slowing the progression of neurological or immunodeficiency diseases.

Cannabinoids and their receptors are an incredibly valuable discovery for medical science. Understood properly, these compounds have a great potential in the eradication of diseases as well as in the treatment of disease symptoms. However, more research is needed on the topic. We as a society need to put more emphasis on the medical research community and push for further research into cannabinoids and their receptors in the brain. The potential of these compounds is far too great to squander on illegality and the resulting difficulties imposed on the scientific community.

Some interesting facts about cannabinoids:

• Cannabinoids kill brain cells known as glioma, or tumor cells in the brain. All other healthy cells are protected by cannabinoids. It is believed that cannabinoids can be used to treat or cure cancer for this reason.
• Rats that have had their CB1 receptors blocked die young.
• CB2 receptors are found in white blood cells and regulate the shift of the immunological system to the anti-inflammatory mode.
• Cannabinoid receptors are abundant in: the cerebellum (movement/coordination), the hippocampus (learning/memory), the cerebral cortex (higher cognitive functions), the nucleus accumbens (“reward center”), and the basal ganglia (unconscious movement control).
• Cannabinoid receptors are also found in lower density in: the hypothalamus (body regulation of temperature, water & sugars), the amygdala (emotional response/fear), the spinal cord peripheral (sensation/pain), the brain stem (sleep/arousal, motor control), the central gray area (analgesia/pain control), and the nucleus of the solitary tract (visceral sensation, nausea/vomiting).

Barrier to Legalization: Pharmaceutical Industry

While there are many barriers to the legalization of medical marijuana, some are far more influential than others. One of the largest barriers to legalization, pharmaceutical companies comprise a multi-billion dollar a year industry. Two US companies alone, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer, have combined annual revenues upwards of $100 billion. With such huge profits, these corporations have very strong incentives to work toward marijuana’s continued prohibition. Here are a few reasons the pharmaceutical companies don’t want medical marijuana as an option:

Marijuana can replace hundreds of pharmaceuticals. Pain pills, antiemetics, antidepressants, appetite stimulants, and more, all can be replaced with marijuana. The pharmaceutical companies know that if patients have legal access to marijuana to treat them for their various ailments, annual sales will plummet.

Marijuana is less harmful than many FDA-approved pharmaceuticals. Countless studies, credible medical professionals, and FDA statistics all show that marijuana has both less side effects and less harmful side effects than many current pharmaceuticals.

Patients can cultivate their own marijuana. Under most state laws, medical marijuana patients can grow their own marijuana. This violates some founding concepts of capitalism, and therefore violates the pharmaceutical companies’ credos – keep the customer coming back, and always turn a profit. A patient that buys one inexpensive seed can eventually turn that into a self-replenishing medicine cabinet, forever cutting the cord between them and the pharmaceutical industry.

The bottom line is that medical marijuana will hurt the profits of one of the largest global industries in the world. Knowing this, huge, well-funded pharmaceutical lobbies spend a great deal of time with congressmen on Capitol Hill, making “campaign contributions” and ensuring their interests remain protected. And, so far, the interests of this enormously powerful industry do remain protected by their friends (supposedly our representatives) in Washington.

The fact that an industry based around providing medication to sick individuals would work to prevent an effective medication from becoming available is truly appalling. Of course, those jaded by the sad realities of our society would accept this as “just the way things are”, just as the fact that those same pharmaceutical companies add a significant markup on many medications sold in the United States.

But, the truth is, this isn’t the way things have to be. We all must forever strive to improve our society, and never accept the status quo. If a corrupt money-fed system has become the norm, we must all work to see honesty, transparency, and the well-being of average Americans restored as the top priorities of our policymakers.

Chemotherapy and Marijuana

Chemotherapy, a treatment of drugs used to kill cancer cells, essentially involves pumping poison through the veins of cancer patients. The drugs target cells that divide rapidly, which is one of the main properties of cancerous cells. Though chemotherapy is one of the most effective treatments in expelling cancerous cells from the body, it does result in a variety of adverse side effects for patients. These side effects can include nausea, vomiting, anorexia, and cachexia, all which can be treated with marijuana.

According to the National Cancer Institute, chemotherapy can cause nausea and vomiting because the drugs “affect parts of the brain that control vomiting and/or irritate the stomach lining”. These symptoms are treated with antiemetic drugs which help to curtail nausea and vomiting. There are a number of antiemetic drugs in existence, but some drugs don’t work for certain patients. In these cases, doctors turn to marijuana as a last resort. Marijuana has been shown to be an effective antiemetic in many of these cases, and research has been performed both on synthetic THC pills and smoked marijuana. Smoked marijuana is found to be more effective than synthetic pills as THC is absorbed more quickly into the body when smoked.

Anorexia is a condition in which a patient loses appetite or the desire to eat. The most common symptom in cancer patients, it is often accompanied by cachexia, a condition characterized by weakness and the loss of body weight, fat, and muscle. Marijuana and synthetic THC pills have both been found to be effective appetite stimulants for patients suffering from these conditions. Studies performed on the drugs found “significant improvement” in patients’ appetites and body weights as a direct result of being treated with marijuana.

Chemotherapy takes a huge toll on a patient’s body. It entails months of fatigue, hair loss, pain, nausea, vomiting, anorexia, and weight loss associated with it. If marijuana can ease these patients’ ailments, shouldn’t it be a legal option for them?