Marijuana
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The National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) released the results of its 2011 Monitoring the Future Survey of teen drug use, and guess what: Teens are using cigarettes and alcohol less, but they are smoking more marijuana. What's more, they're smoking more weed because they do not perceive it to be as harmful as did teens in the past.
Study: Why Teen Pot Smoking Could be a Good Thing (And What We Can Learn From Teens Who Choose Weed Over Beer)
Cannabinoid receptor
CB1 and CB2 structures. The cannabinoid receptors are a class of cell membrane receptors under the G protein-coupled receptor superfamily. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] As is typical of G protein-coupled receptors, the cannabinoid receptors contain seven transmembrane spanning domains. [ 4 ] Cannabinoid receptors are activated by three major groups of ligands , endocannabinoids (produced by the mammalian body), plant cannabinoids (such as THC , produced by the cannabis plant) and synthetic cannabinoids (such as HU-210 ). All of the endocannabinoids and plant cannabinoids are lipophilic , i.e. fat soluble, compounds. There are currently two known subtypes, termed CB 1 and CB 2 . [ 5 ] [ 6 ] The CB 1 receptor is expressed mainly in the brain ( central nervous system or "CNS"), but also in the lungs , liver and kidneys .
What cannabis actually does to your brain - io9
The portion about not remembering is always what has fascinated me. When high, you focus so much clearly on the present and find the simple pleasures in things ordinarily taken for granted. That one is unable to commit an experience to their memory at the short-term level would seem to create a perpetual newness to everything. I often think people would be a lot better off if they stopped having so much "ambition" to charge into the future and focused on enjoying the things around them. Maybe that goes against my scientific side. I guess it's why I've always found pure research so much more gratifying than "applied," commercially-compromised research.
One of the safest qualities of THC, delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, the primary psychoactive substance in marijuana, is the natural limit the body places on the drug's effects. It has long mystified scientists how most individuals can consume enormous quantities of marijuana with few or no obvious ill effects. But the explanation will not surprise regular marijuana users.
Increase THC receptor sites, get HIGHER!
Marijuana Munchies Won’t Make You Fat
Thanks to some fearless French researchers, we now know that you have nothing to fear from an attack of the munchies, reports Reuters : Anybody who’s smoked marijuana knows about “the munchies,” that desire to eat everything within reach. But a study from France has found that, surprisingly, pot smokers are actually less likely than non-smokers to pack on weight.
Selling drugs is a recession-proof business model. From MSBC: Medical marijuana is now a $1.7 billion market, according to a report released Wednesday by See Change Strategy, an independent financial analysis firm that specializes in new and unique markets.