This link has been bookmarked by 1 people . It was first bookmarked on 11 Oct 2009, by Sigalon - The Swedish Frog.
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Sigalon - The Swedish Frog"Researchers here presented tantalizing evidence that cannabinoid drugs can help treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease, Parkinson's disease and obesity. Other researchers are studying whether the compounds can help victims of stroke and multiple sclerosis.
Although the chemicals work on the same area of the nervous system, the new drugs are much more refined and targeted than marijuana, with few of its side effects.
"Cannabinoids have a lot of pharmaceutical potential," said Piomelli, a neuroscientist at the University of California at Irvine. "A lot of people are very excited."
Although the federal government opposes the use of medical marijuana, it generally doesn't restrict cannabinoid research, most of which doesn't involve the cannabis plant itself. Scientists who use Marinol, a legal but tightly regulated marijuana-like drug, do need government permission.
Because the cannabinoid system wasn't discovered until the late 1980s - decades after serotonin, dopamine and other neurotransmitters -researchers still know relatively little about how it works. "
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