Active Ingredient In Marijuana May Stop Vision Loss

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New findings suggest a chemical in marijuana can prevent some people from going blind.

Retinitis pigmentosa is a genetic eye disease that leads to severe vision loss and blindness. The disease affects 1 in 4,000 people and worsens as cells in the retina, called photoreceptors, die off.

But a study published this month in Experimental Eye Research shows chemicals in marijuana, known as cannabinoids, may be able to slow this down.

Using a synthetic form of THC, the compound responsible for marijuana’s high, researchers at the University of Alicante in Spain were able to prevent vision loss in rats with the disorder.

“These data suggest that cannabinoids are potentially useful to delay retinal degeneration in retinitis pigmentosa patients,” wrote Dr. Nicolás Cuenca, the study’s lead author.

At the end of 90 days, rats that received treatment performed better on vision tests and had 40% more photoreceptors than untreated rats. THC also seemed to protect a number of other eye structures, including inner layers of the retina.

Although encouraging, the results were not much of a surprise. As the team notes, cannabinoids have shown promise in treating a variety of degenerative disorders, ranging from Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’sto diabetes and stroke.

Marijuana has also been reported to help in other eye diseases like glaucoma.

In fact, studies show marijuana pathways exist in different parts of the eye. And as early as the 70s, scientists observed a number of interesting effects of marijuana on vision.

For example, a study published in 1978 found marijuana caused a delay in pupil adjustment, concluding that it “seems likely that marijuana or a metabolic product of marijuana acts directly on the retina to produce the delay in glare recovery.”

While the latest study did not look at the mechanisms underlying the benefits of cannabinoids in retinitis pigmentosa, the authors conclude that further research should be carried out.

Source Leaf Science

How The Cannabis Genome Got Mapped: Q&A With Dr. Jonathan Page

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With interest in marijuana research at an all time high, we spoke to the scientist who mapped the first cannabis genome.

Canadian botanist Jon Page, Ph.D, was one of the lead investigators in the first, and so far only, cannabis genome project.

Published in 2011 in the journal Genome Biology, Dr. Page’s findings unraveled the sequencing of some 30,000 genes that make up the genome of Cannabis sativa, using the popular Purple Kush strain as the source.

The genome has since been available online, and has served as a tool for other cannabis researchers around the world. Dr. Page took the time to answer some of our questions about the project and what lies ahead in the field of cannabis genomics.

Q: What inspired you to pursue the cannabis genome project?

From the time I was an undergrad, I’ve been interested in medicinal plants and plants that have beneficial effects on human health. I focus on the biochemistry of medicinal plants, and study the active chemicals and how these chemicals are produced.

When I was a postdoctoral researcher in Germany in the late 90s, I had already started doing some work on cannabis, mainly trying to figure out how the plant makes THC.

I established my own lab at the National Research Council in Saskatoon when I returned to Canada in 2003 and continued research on cannabinoid biosynthesis and things relevant to the Canadian hemp industry. Hemp is a large acreage crop, but it’s still cannabis and has a lot of similar properties to marijuana.

I was doing small scale genomic studies on cannabis when, around 2009, I was contacted by Dr. Tim Hughes, a professor at the University of Toronto who studies genomics in many different organisms including humans and yeast. Tim basically said, ‘this is a fascinating plant and nobody has even attempted to do a whole genome sequencing project on it, yet it has so many uses and so much history with humanity.’ And medical marijuana was gaining more recognition in both the US and Canada at the time.

So we decided to collaborate on the sequencing of the cannabis genome, which merged my interests in plants, enzymes and cannabis specifically and Tim’s interest in genomics. And also, with cannabis being so important culturally, we wanted to focus on a project that would have some impact for society.

Q: What did the project involve?

Our two teams got together and we were able to obtain DNA of the marijuana strain Purple Kush. The reason we picked Purple Kush was that it was a widespread medical and recreational strain being grown in Canada at the time.

I also had access to various hemp cultivars, so we did the sequencing on Purple Kush, but also some re-sequencing of the hemp genome in order to compare the two types. One of the primary goals of our study was to identify the differences between marijuana and hemp on the genomic level.

Q: What were the major findings?

One major finding was that marijuana type cannabis and hemp type cannabis don’t actually differ by that much. For example, there are no extra copies of the genes for the enzymes of the cannabinoid pathway in the marijuana genome. And yet the plant makes much more THC and other cannabinoids. For example, we think Purple Kush contains around 20% THCA, the acid precursor to THC, and the hemp types contain approximately 5% CBDA.

So the differences don’t seem to be in the number of genes for these enzymes, but the fact that the expression of the cannabinoid pathway is turned up in the marijuana type. We suspect that there are specific regulatory controls, called transcription factors, that increased the expression of the genes for the cannabinoid pathways in marijuana. What this points to is that humans have probably been breeding for more potent marijuana by selecting for transcription factors that turn up the expression of these enzymes.

(Photo: Gagne et al., 2012)

The other major finding, which wasn’t new but was reinforced by our genomic analysis, is what really differentiates the cannabinoids found in marijuana versus hemp is a single enzyme at the last step of the cannabinoid pathway. In marijuana it’s the THCA synthase enzyme, and it’s the CBDA synthase enzyme in hemp.

Up to that point, the metabolic pathway is the same. But then there’s a genetically encoded switch, in which the allele that dominates differs in marijuana versus hemp. Sometimes you get both. For example, if you cross a THCA type plant and a CBDA type plant, the offspring will have each allele.

Others had described that at the genetic level, but they hadn’t really done it at the genomic level. So we proved that it was the split in the pathway at the last enzyme step that was responsible for this important chemical difference.

Q: Why map the cannabis genome as a whole?

Cannabis is an amazing plant: it produces fibre, edible seed, oil and of course cannabinoids like THC. Sequencing the cannabis genome is an important step in understanding the plant’s properties, and improving them for agriculture and medicine.

We felt making the genome itself available for researchers worldwide could really benefit research on all forms of this plant, both the hemp and marijuana types.

There are a lot of limitations on doing research on cannabis. It’s not an easy plant to have in your lab, as you need to obtain a special exemption or license to work with it. But we made the data available publicly through the web, so other researchers interested in things like cannabis evolution, sex determination, etc. could study aspects of the plant’s biology, even without having to grow the plant.

We really think it was an important step to make the genomic resources available and we hope it encourages others to do research on the plant.

The paper has been read by many people since being published, in the sense that it has been accessed more than 47,000 times through the journal website (genomebiology.com/2011/12/10/R102). It’s also been cited by a number of other papers. For example, a recent study from the UK, where they were attempting to breed hemp for different oil profiles.

Q: Is there anything particularly unique about the cannabis genome?

Cannabinoid production is unique to cannabis. No other plants that we know of have that capacity. So the genes that encode the enzymes required to produce cannabinoids are absolutely unique to the cannabis genome.

But overall, there wasn’t anything in the genome that we found exceptionally different from other plants closely related to it. For example, apples and strawberries are in a similar group as cannabis, and their genomes are known and cannabis was comparable to those.

Also, cannabis is closely related to hops. Humulus (hop) and Cannabis are the only two members of the Cannabaceae family. So those two plants are really, really close.

Q: What applications are there for cannabis genomics?

Plant breeding more and more relies on genomic tools. So as plant breeders want to develop new varieties of plants – whether they work on crop plants like wheat or medicinal plants like marijuana – the genome can be used to identify variations in the plants that are desirable. For example, you could breed for specific cannabinoid profiles if you knew the combinations of genes that are involved.

The other application is being able to sort out different strains and different variants in the hemp and marijuana areas. Marijuana in particular has thousands of strains, which have all sorts of interesting names, smells and shapes. What underlies all that variation are differences in the genome.

So applied genomics could be used to understand what makes different strains useful and interesting or also to identify them. For example, understanding the difference between Indica versus Sativa, which scientifically is not very well known at this point.

(Photo: kindgreenbuds.com)

Q: What about genetically modified cannabis?

I can say it hasn’t been achieved yet, in the sense that there is no genetically modified cannabis plants. As a scientist, I’m not opposed to genetic modification as a general concept, it just hasn’t been successfully applied in cannabis.

Also, a lot of what we’re finding is modern techniques of breeding can achieve many of the same outcomes of genetic modification. So I’m not 100 percent convinced that we need genetic modification in cannabis. But it’s probably something that will be attempted, and we may be seeing it in the next 5 years or so.

Q: Are you pursuing more projects in this field?

Yes. Our team who did the first study are going to be continuing to refine and improve the genome. We have a newly funded CIHR grant to continue this work. My new affiliation is with the University of British Columbia’s Botany Department, where I am an Adjunct Professor.

I’m also starting a company, Anandia Laboratories, to attempt to apply some of these genomic findings towards cannabis with improved therapeutic properties. The name Anandia derives from the endocannabinoid molecule anandamide.

Q: Is there more interest in cannabis genomics now than before?

Oh yeah, it’s amazing. For a number of years, I slogged along as kind of a lone voice in the wilderness working on cannabinoid biochemistry. Everyone was always interested in that work on the scientific level, but it’s a controversial plant and you always got the pot jokes whenever I gave a seminar.

But just in the last 6 or 8 months, there’s been a lot of interest in the genomic and biochemical research that I have done. I think there are two things that are driving it: the changes in regulations in Canada, which seem to have spurred a ‘green rush’, and the changes in Colorado and Washington State.

The new U.S. farm bill also allows research on hemp in 9 or 10 states, which they never were able to do before. So everything is sort of coming together, where cannabis was hot before, but now it’s suddenly white hot in terms of a research area.

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Kentucky Moves First On Hemp Research Projects

Hemp seed plant (Photo: D-Kuru/Wikimedia Commons)

The Kentucky Department of Agriculture has announced plans to conduct some of the first U.S. hemp studies, which are now legal under the new farm bill.

The state will partner with universities to investigate different aspects of hemp cultivation, Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner James Comer said on Monday.

A provision in the farm bill that passed this month allows research on hemp in states that have legalized the crop. So far, that includes Kentucky and nine others.

Comer is investigating the legality of commercial production under the farm bill, but says the first year of the program will likely be devoted to research and development.

The Department of Agriculture and various research partners will oversee the five hemp projects.

The projects are expected to begin March 31 and will include:

University of Louisville – A study of hemp’s potential to detoxify polluted soil on former industrial land.

Kentucky State University – A study of the cultivation potential of a “Kentucky heirloom hemp seed.”

Murray State University – A study of the cultivation potential of European hemp varieties.

University of Kentucky – A study of hemp cultivation for medical applications.

University of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University – A study of the basic agricultural aspects of hemp production, including production cost and machinery requirements.

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Molecular Scientists Are Studying Cannabinoids For Treating Cancer

Breast cancer cell visualized by a scanning electron microscope. (Photo: National Cancer Institute/Wikimedia Commons)

For more than a decade, researchers in Spain have been studying compounds in marijuana as treatments for cancer.

Cristina Sánchez, PhD, is a molecular biologist at Complutense University in Madrid, Spain. Over the past twelve years, Dr. Sánchez and her team have conducted extensive research on the anti-tumor effects of cannabinoids.

Her lab is not the only one to investigate the unique potential of these cannabis-derived compounds. In fact, researchers in many parts of the world, including the U.S., have demonstrated the ability of cannabinoids to combat tumors in various models.

In a recent interview with Cannabis Planet TV, Dr. Sánchez described how her team stumbled upon this discovery, and why cannabinoids and cancer have remained her focus ever since.

A surprising effect of THC on tumor cells…

Dr. Sánchez: “We started working on this project 12-15 years ago, and it was basically by chance. We were working with astrocytes at the time, and we decided to change the model and work with astrocytoma cells; the tumoral cells.

We observed that when we treated these cells with cannabinoids, THC, the main psychoactive component of cannabis, it was killing the cells in our Petri dishes. We were killing the cells. So we said that we were facing some potential anti-tumoral responses.”

Exploring cannabinoids in the treatment of cancer…

Dr. Sánchez: “We decided to analyze these compounds in animal models of breast and brain tumors. The results we have obtained are telling us that cannabinoids may be useful for the treatment of breast cancer.

We started to do experiments in animal of models of glioblastomas – brain tumors – and we observed that cannabinoids were very potent in reducing tumoral growth.

Cells can die in different ways, and after cannabinoid treatment, they were dying in the ‘clean’ way. They were committing suicide (also known as apoptosis), which is something you really want when you have an anti-tumoral effect.

One of the advantages of cannabinoids and cannabinoid-based medicines would be that they target specifically the tumoral cells. They do not have any toxic effect on normal, non-tumoral cells. This is an advantage in respect of standard chemotherapy that targets basically everything.

When we started to see this anti-tumor and cell-killing effects on cancer cells, we decided to set aside our metabolic studies and to focus on cancer.”

On the verge of human studies…

Dr. Sánchez: “We are in contact with doctors in Spain, neurooncologists and breast cancer specialists, that are willing to test these compounds in human patients.

The plant, besides THC, produces cannabidiol. This compound is very special because it is not psychoactive. It has been demonstrated that this has very, very potent (antioxidant properties).

It protects the brain from stress and from damage, kills cancer cells, and when combined with THC, it produces synergistic effects, which means that the effect of THC is potentiated.

At this point, we have enough pre-clinical evidence supporting the idea that cannabinoids may have anti-tumoral properties.”

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CNN Poll: Majority Say Alcohol, Tobacco More Risky Than Marijuana

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Most Americans believe marijuana is less dangerous than alcohol and tobacco, and should be legal too.

For long, marijuana advocates have argued that other legally available substances pose more harm to one’s health.

A new poll of over 1,000 adults shows most Americans would agree.

Conducted by CNN and ORC International, the results, released on Monday, show that 73% of Americans think alcohol is more dangerous than marijuana. Only 12% say the opposite.

The poll also found 64% believe “tobacco products” pose more danger than marijuana, while 23% say the opposite.

CNN Polling Director Keating Holland said it was a “logical conclusion” to think that marijuana, if safer, should be legal too. Each year, cigarettes claim 440,000 lives in the U.S. and 88,000 die from alcohol-related causes.

Still, America’s stance on marijuana legalization remains strongly divided, with 55% in favor and 44% against.

A similar Gallup poll conducted in October found 58% in favor of legalization.

The CNN/ORC poll was conducted Jan 3-5, 2014 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3%.

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Study Confirms Marijuana Can Help In Arthritis

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New findings confirm marijuana could be helpful for patients suffering from arthritis.

Published last month in the journal Rheumatology, the study reveals more evidence of how marijuana fights inflammation of the joints.

It seems to do this by activating pathways known as CB2 receptors, which are present at abnormally high levels in the joint tissues of arthritis patients.

CB2 receptors are one of the two types of pathways activated by chemicals in marijuana. However, only CB1 receptors are responsible for the high.

“Historically, therapy with marijuana was used to ease the symptoms of a broad spectrum of diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis,” explained study co-author Dr. Sheng-Ming Dai of China’s Second Military Medical University in a recent interview with Nature.

But a major barrier to the widespread use of marijuana-based treatments is their psychoactive effect, he notes. As a result, scientists have been searching for ways to achieve the same benefits without the high.

In the new study, Dr. Dai and his team confirmed the presence of CB2 receptors in tissue samples taken from patients with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

What’s more, by using a chemical that only activates CB2 receptors, the researchers were able to suppress inflammatory molecules thought to be involved with cartilage erosion.

The team is now working on figuring out the best way to target these receptors exclusively in the treatment of arthritis.

Recent studies suggest marijuana compounds may also help manage pain from joint diseases.

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What Science Tells Us About The ‘Munchies’

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It’s a well known fact that marijuana stimulates hunger – causing an unrivaled desire for food that many like to call the ‘munchies.’

But while the munchies have proven to be useful in medical settings, scientists are still trying to understand exactly how it works. Indeed, studies on the munchies and the brain have yet to provide a clear-cut explanation of this phenomenon.

However, a growing body of evidence highlights a number of effects that, together, help provide a basic understanding of the munchies. Here are some of them:

Marijuana enhances your taste for sweets.

Marijuana’s action on the brain – which happens via pathways called cannabinoid receptors – has been found to amplify the sensation of sweetness. It seems to do this by counteracting the effects of a hormone called leptin.

On the other hand, salty, sour, bitter and umami tastes remain unaffected.

Marijuana increases the pleasure of eating.

Eating has been shown to activate the reward system of the brain, which involves the release of a chemical called dopamine. That means when you ingest food, your brain gets rewarded for it.

Compounds in marijuana are known to alter the release of dopamine in a variety of situations, one of which happens to be eating.

Marijuana increases the desire for food.

Another important effect of the munchies is an increased desire for food. Studies show that marijuana can increase the wanting of food – or appetite – in a number of ways.

One of these ways is related to dopamine levels, which regulate motivation as well as reward.

Another way marijuana increases appetite is by interacting with a hormone found in the gut called ghrelin. Ghrelin acts to increase appetite, but studies show its effect is also regulated by cannabinoid pathways. Research suggests THC can enhance ghrelin’s stimulation of appetite.

Marijuana enhances your sense of smell.

The latest discovery about the munchies involves a part of the brain responsible for smell: the olfactory bulb.

A study published this month in the journal Nature suggests THC may act on the olfactory bulb to increase the ability to smell food. The theory is that a heightened sense of smell caused by marijuana may also enhance taste.

Marijuana can suppress hunger (if you’re starving).

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the munchies is how it affects you when you’re actually in need of food. Indeed, research suggests marijuana may reduce hunger in fasting conditions.

Recent studies show animals, that are first starved and then fed, tend to eat more when marijuana pathways in a specific part of the hypothalamus are blocked. Thus, scientists believe the munchies may not occur in all situations.

In fact, these findings suggest marijuana could have the opposite effect if you’re starving – in other words, convincing your brain that you’re not as hungry as you actually are.

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Experts Want More Research On Medical Marijuana For Elderly

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More research is needed on the potential benefits of marijuana for older patients, according to a team of medical experts from Holland.

Writing this month in the journal Ageing Research Reviews, investigators at Radboud University Medical Center argue that not enough studies involving marijuana-based treatments, including a class of chemicals called cannabinoids, are focusing on seniors.

“Although trials studying medical cannabinoids included older subjects, there is a lack of evidence of its use specifically in older patients.”

But the need is strong, according to the report. In the Netherlands, one third of patients with a medical marijuana prescription are over 60. Israel’s program distributes marijuana directly to some nursing homes. Statistics from Canada and the U.S. also suggest a rise in cannabis use among the baby boomer demographic.

More importantly, marijuana-based treatments have proven to be effective at managing a variety of symptoms common in aging patients, the authors note, including neuropathic pain and nausea and loss of appetite in patients undergoing chemotherapy.

Marijuana shows promise in treating symptoms of dementia as well.

“It is highly worthwhile to conduct well designed studies on the efficacy of cannabinoids in symptom management in dementia, given the initial positive results on weight loss and agitation in this patient population, and the great lack of other effective and safe strategies in this field.”

However, elderly patients may be more vulnerable to side effects of marijuana treatment, which only large-scale studies can help reveal.

After reviewing the current body of evidence, the researchers found just five studies on marijuana-based therapies that provide results specifically on elderly patients. But the sample sizes were small, and none of the studies involved the use of medical cannabis in its herbal form.

In order for physicians to prescribe these treatments confidently, they explain, more evidence is required.

The team concludes: “Adequately powered trials are needed to assess the efficacy and safety of cannabinoids in older subjects, as the potential symptomatic benefit is especially attractive in this age group.”

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B.C. Professor Claims Marijuana Facts Skewed By Police, Media For Years

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University of Victoria professor Susan Boyd, PhD, believes Canadians have received inaccurate information on marijuana policy for many years. Her findings will be revealed in an upcoming book.

In an interview with The Canadian Press, Dr. Boyd, a professor at UVic’s Faculty of Human and Social Development, linked Canada’s harsh marijuana laws to skewed messages presented by the media and police about those who supply the underground market.

“We can see from our drug-use statistics that Canadians use marijuana and a small percentage of people use it regularly. So one way to continue with the drug enforcement law-and-order mandate is to talk about the dangerousness of the growers, and that seems to have created some headway.”

In her forthcoming book, called ‘Killer Weed: Marijuana Grow Ops, Media and Justice,’ the professor reviews 2,500 articles published by four major newspapers in British Columbia between 1995 and 2009.

The book highlights the inaccuracies and exaggerations made by the media about the underground industry, grow-ops and connections to gangs.

Dr. Boyd claims that politicians and police were complicit in the misrepresentation of facts. In some cases, studies were withheld by the government, including a 2011 Justice Department study that found only 5% of grow-ops had links to organized crime.

“This study wasn’t released by our federal government, and you could see why.”

Canada, which has long been thought of as a liberal-minded country, revised its marijuana laws in 2012 to increase penalties for growers and traffickers, a move that Dr. Boyd sees as contrary to the rest of the world.

“This new law and our revived war on drugs in Canada is so contrary to what’s going on around the world. It seemed like Canada was veering towards a very punitive model while the rest of the world was taking a closer look at mandatory minimums and abandoning them.”

Under a controversial bill (Bill C-10) that came into effect November 2012, the federal government introduced mandatory minimums for those caught growing as few as six plants.

During Senate hearings, opponents argued that the sentences were unduly harsh on drug offenders. Bill C-10, they pointed out, assigns longer mandatory sentences to someone caught growing 201 marijuana plants than someone who sexually assaults a toddler.

Now, with the government retracting the right to cultivate medical marijuana at home, come April, Canadians with medical marijuana prescriptions could face mandatory jail time for continuing to produce their own plants.

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Marijuana Unlikely To Cause Violence, Study Finds

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New research out of the U.S. suggests marijuana may not provoke aggression and violence like alcohol does.

Published in the journal Addictive Behaviors, a study on the link between substance use and violence among young couples has found marijuana to be an unlikely cause.

Unsurprisingly, the results show alcohol to be a major factor instead.

“Our findings were consistent with theoretical models of alcohol use and IPV (intimate partner violence), and previous research, in that the odds of psychological, physical, and sexual aggression were all increased subsequent to alcohol use… marijuana was unrelated to IPV.”

To conduct the study, researchers from University of Tennessee and Florida State University recruited 67 college men who were in relationships at the time.

For up to 3 months, they were asked to complete daily surveys on their previous day’s substance use and interactions with their partners.

The researchers then analyzed the data, looking for time overlaps between alcohol and marijuana intoxication and acts of aggression – physical, psychological, or sexual.

The results: While alcohol increased the odds of all 3 types of aggression, marijuana did not appear to affect any.

“Marijuana use was not significantly associated with any type of aggression.”

The authors add that previous studies have also found marijuana to have little effect on aggression, but the topic remains poorly researched as a whole.

On the other hand, a study from Spain, published last year in Neuropharmacology, found THC-like chemicals “significantly decreased the aggression levels” of mice – suggesting the effect of marijuana may in fact be the exact opposite of alcohol.

The study received funding from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

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Drug Testing In Schools ‘Not Working,’ Researchers Say

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Drug testing doesn’t work to prevent high school students from experimenting with substances, according to new research from the U.S.

Approximately 20 percent of U.S. high schools subject their students to drug testing of some form.

But there is little evidence that the strategy is effective, says Daniel Romer, Ph.D. of the University of Pennsylvania Annenberg Public Policy Center in Philadelphia and co-author of the latest study.

“Even though drug testing sounds good, based on the science, it’s not working.”

Published in the January issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, Dr. Romer and his coworkers interviewed 361 high school students and found that, over the next year, those at schools with drug testing programs were no less likely to try marijuana, cigarettes or alcohol than those who weren’t.

About one third of students in the study attended schools with drug testing programs.

Dr. Romer explains that drug testing may lead students to avoid certain substances in the short-run, but doesn’t seem to impact their overall attitude towards drug use.

Instead, the findings point to school environment as a stronger indicator of underage substance use. Students that rated their school environments as more positive tended to use less marijuana and cigarettes.

However, alcohol use was not affected, which Dr. Romer attributes to widespread marketing of the substance.

“It’s a real problem,” he says of underage drinking, “and right now we’re not doing enough to address it.”

According to Scientific American, a 2009 meta-analysis of 20 previous studies also found that students enrolled in drug education programs like D.A.R.E. were just as likely to use drugs as those who received no intervention.

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