Posted by Mitchell on November 15, 2001, at 23:58:30
In reply to THC in psychiatry, posted by kitty-layne on November 13, 2001, at 21:43:01
Forgive me if I do not supply the links here (maybe later) but several scholarly papers have been offered from prestigious academies exploring the medical and psychiatric potential of one of the world's oldest psychotropic agents.
The experiences of underground pharmacology do not provide a reliable basis for a final determination of any substances' usefulness in psychiatry. We would not rule out stimulants based on the abuse potential of illegal methamphetamine.
The usefulness of THC in psychiatry will likely be learned from study of the brains' endogenous networks of cannabinoid receptors and from the study of the role of anandamide, the neurotransmitter that binds to those receptors. THC's psychotropic effects seem to result primarily from its similarities to anandamide.
Subjective experiences derived from smoking cannabis make poor material for research because most cannabis users lack either chemical tests or experiences that would allow them to discern cannabis rich in THC from cannabis more rich in CDB, cannabidiol. THC and CDB have unique tolerance profiles, with tolerances more likely to develop for CDB. Anxiety, lethargy and some of the other negative elements of cannabis intoxication are associated more with CDB than with THC.
Generally, cannabis rich in THC produces a sensation many refer to as a "high" while cannabis rich in CDB produces a sensation many refer to as being "stoned." Some cannibas connoisseurs long ago learned to differentiate, subjectively, "stony" cannabis from that which produces more euphoria and a sense of well being. Recent research that identified effects of various cannabinoids tended to validate street-level lore that described qualities of this popular and historic psychotropic medication.
Cannabis with little THC and much CDB can produce headaches and is generally considered poor quality. Some users may never have access to supplies of higher quality strains, as growers in various regions of the world have developed widely divergent genetic pools. Much of the CDB-rich genetics likely migrated to the gene pool of illegal psychotropics from strains of cannabis once widely grown for fiber.
poster:Mitchell
thread:84006
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011113/msgs/84380.html