At Colorado State University, the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences is conducting two clinical trials with Cannabis CBD – one involving treatment of arthritis, and the other epilepsy in dogs.
For now, CBD advocates for dogs are spreading the word at ground level. Cannabis at human strengths can be toxic for dogs, so firms are making dog chews, oils and topical creams using cannabis extract.
Alison is the CEO of TreatWell Health, a Californian firm making medical marijuana products for people and their dogs. TreatWell’s cannabis tincture can be dropped straight into an animal’s mouth or on to food
Similar companies include Treatibles, which sells a hemp oil “for animals of all kinds”, and Pet Releaf, whose hemp dog treats look like fancy vegan snack-food.
The compound Cannabidiol (CBD) was discovered by studies to reduce inflammation and combat seizures. Veterinary groups are cautious but a mounting number of dog owners say the Cannabis is easing their animals’ anxiety and chronic pain.
Cinnamon, a portly Beagle cross from Kansas City, Missouri, takes PetReleaf’s hemp oil daily for her bad hips. Her owner Joyce Lattimer claims that after one dose:
She hopped right down from her chair when I called her to go outside. usually I have to call several times and start pushing her off.
She came over just to say hi and lick me on the leg. I almost cried, it’s been so long since she’s done that.
Using the above video as a quick reference to how cannabis may affect the brain let us move now to the present study at hand. Researchers state that they find a decrease in gray brain matter in the orbitofrontal cortex in chronic cannabis users, users who medicate at least 3 times a day, versus non cannabis users.
These same cannabis users also show more connections in the same region of the brain. What does this mean really? The results are basically (SPOILER ALERT) inconclusive in the way they describe it’s affect on the test subjects.
Although the above is true, neither the users or non users show a decreased quality of life or an inability to perform daily functions. Francesca Filbey, the author of this study, speculates that the increased connections may be the way cannabis users adapt to having less gray brain matter so that they may function with no issues in their daily lives.
I’m happy to find that we are diving deeper into how marijuana affects the human body. Some of the other findings, such as lower IQs for the marijuana users is also inconclusive because there is no correlation between IQ and the function of the orbitofrontal cortex.
This study was funded by Parternship for a Drug Free America. Even with their hopes to find a way to bury cannabis through science, no conclusive negatives were found through this study.
Regardless of the motive, I hope studies like this continue to pop up for cannabis and psychedelics so that we may learn more about how these substances affect us and how we may use them to our advantage.
Check out the source article below, the article contains plenty of sources to feed your need for scientifically generated cannabis info.
How chemicals in cannabis interacts with the brain
Cannabis and the Entourage Effect
Raphael Mechoulam, a heavily decorated scientist determined the structure of cannabidiol (CBD) in 1963, an important component of cannabis. A year later, he became the first person to isolate delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. Over the ensuing decades, Mechoulam and his team continued to isolate numerous compounds from the cannabis plant.
In 1999, Mechoulam wrote a paper describing something known as “the entourage effect.”
Think of it like this: There are more than 480 natural components found within the cannabis plant, of which 66 have been classified as “cannabinoids.” Those are chemicals unique to the plant, including delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiols. There are, however, many more, including: Cannabis Chemicals
— Cannabigerols (CBG)
— Cannabichromenes (CBC)
— other Cannabidiols (CBD)
— other Tetrahydrocannabinols (THC)
— Cannabinol (CBN) and cannabinodiol (CBDL)
— other cannabinoids (such as cannabicyclol (CBL), cannabielsoin (CBE), cannabitriol (CBT) and other miscellaneous types).
Other constituents of the cannabis plant are: nitrogenous compounds (27 known), amino acids (18), proteins (3), glycoproteins (6), enzymes (2), sugars and related compounds (34), hydrocarbons (50), simple alcohols (7), aldehydes (13), ketones (13), simple acids (21), fatty acids (22), simple esters (12), lactones (1), steroids (11), terpenes (120), non-cannabinoid phenols (25), flavonoids (21), vitamins (1), pigments (2), and other elements (9).
Mechoulam, along with many others, said he believes all these components of the cannabis plant likely exert some therapeutic effect, more than any single compound alone.
While science has not yet shown the exact role or mechanism for all these various compounds, evidence is mounting that these compounds work better together than in isolation: That is the “entourage effect.”
Isolating Compounds of Medical Cannabis
To better understand the concept of the entourage effect, Dr. Sanjay Gupta traveled to the secret labs of GW Pharmaceuticals, outside London. In developing Sativex, a cannabis-based drug to treat multiple sclerosis, the company’s chairman, Dr. Geoffrey Guy, told Gupta that the company ran into some obstacles.
More than a decade of experiments revealed that a whole plant extract, bred to contain roughly the same amounts of THC and CBD in addition to the other components in the plant, was more effective in reducing the pain and spasms of MS than a medication made of a single compound.
It could be that multiple individual compounds play a role, or it could be due to their interaction in the body; it could also be combination of both, Guy said.
Now, maybe this all sounds obvious. After all, eating real fruits, vegetables and other plants provides better nutrition than just taking vitamin pills with one nutrient or mineral in each. Science is showing us that we can likely say the same about cannabis.
Unlike other drugs that may work well as single compounds, synthesized in a lab, cannabis may offer its most profound benefit as a whole plant, if we let the entourage effect flower, as Mechoulam suggested more than a decade ago.
Recent studies indicate that compounds found in marijuana may be used to successfully treat autism.
Researchers at Stanford University say that the debilitating effects of autism are primarily caused by a gene mutation that blocks the body’s natural production of cannabinoids, called endocannabinoids, and hinders the way those molecules communicate with the brain.
In the study, researchers found that the mutation of the neurologin-3 gene, which is responsible for creating and sustaining normal communication between brain cells, appears to have a direct correlation to autism – introducing derivatives of cannabis to the brain could ease symptoms associated with the disease.
Although the exact science revolving around how a disturbance in endocannabinoid signaling contributes to autism symptoms, researchers say there is significant evidence that suggest medical marijuana may be a viable treatment option for this condition.
Researchers from the University of Irvine in California believe the folks at Stanford may be on to something: because they, too, have discovered a link between endocannabinoids and autism.
In a study of mice with fragile X syndrome, it “showed dramatic behavioral improvements in maze tests measuring anxiety and open-space acceptance.” And because THC, the active compound in marijuana, stimulates the same receptors as the endocannabinoids, researchers concluded, “increasing natural marijuana-like chemicals in the brain can help correct behavioral issues related to fragile X syndrome, the most common known genetic cause of autism.”
A recent article published in the Autism Daily Newscast indicates that many families are already experimenting with marijuana as a treatment for their children’s autism – as an alternative to other drugs with major side effects and questionable results.
Researchers add that while they do not advocate giving medical marijuana to children with autism, they believe their findings will lead to the development of important treatments for this devastating disease.
Pot Brownies Save Autistic Boy’s Life
A mother discusses how marijuana saved her autistic son’s life.
