You might wonder what’s the point of growing marijuana that doesn’t do drugs (marijuana that “doesn’t hit”). The new product could be used in the fight against various diseases, from anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, to Alzheimer’s disease.
The new medical marijuana is already popular on the Internet. Israeli researchers have grown cannabis plants that look, smell and taste like ordinary marijuana, but lack the active ingredient responsible for various effects, such as dizziness, drowsiness or hallucinations.
The new marijuana
Tzahi Klein of the Israeli company Tikun Olam and his colleagues have created a species of marijuana that lacks THC, but is abundant in cannabidiol (), typically the second most common active compound in cannabis.
“It has the same smell, shape and taste as the original plant – everything is the same – but the numbing sensation that consumers are used to is gone,” Klein told the Israeli newspaper Maariv. He also expressed that many patients in his studies felt “deceived” because they thought they had been given a placebo when they smoked the new herb.
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Although cannabidiol (CBD) does not give rise to the “cravings”, hallucinations or other effects commonly experienced by marijuana users, it is far from inert. It has been reported in a preliminary study on CBD for the treatment of people with schizophrenia, that it is as effective as standard antipsychotic medications – but without side effects such as movement disorders, mood changes or weight gains.
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CBD also appears to protect brain cells from damage, so much so that it is currently being studied as a way to stop the progression of Huntington’s disease (psychomotor disorder), which is caused by the degeneration of nerve cells in certain parts. of the brain. The neuroprotective property of CBD has also been used to fight the progression of Alzheimer’s disease in animals – although research in humans has not yet been done – and to reduce seizures.
Additionally, the compound has anxiety-reducing effects, and this may be why certain types of marijuana seem milder than others. Stripped of THC, CBD-only marijuana could be useful as an anxiety medication or antidepressant. And because it doesn’t produce the typical effects of marijuana use (or they aren’t very pronounced), it wouldn’t carry the risks associated with anti-anxiety medications like Xanax.
All this means that the new plant could have enormous potential, as long as its development is not hindered because its ingredients cannot be patented (which means less profit for pharmacological companies) or by anti-drug policies, two big ones. conditions.
The expectation is focused on this type of marijuana being made available to researchers for further study, and then made available to countries and states where it is legal, for free access to those who need it. But the existence of these conditions means that it may be a long time before a synthetic version of CBD comes to market, however, many questions about its safety and effectiveness could be answered more quickly.
Until now, it has not been possible to obtain CBD from smoking marijuana without the simultaneous and probably counterproductive exposure to THC. Maybe the new plant can change that (it could also change the course of the medical marijuana debate).
While THC will remain essential for some patients treated with medical marijuana – to increase appetite, for example – the non-harmful version of marijuana containing only CBD could help many others, without inducing the side effects that motivate endless controversies. .
Will it be possible to advance research on the benefits of marijuana, when in many states it is considered an illegal drug? And even if the studies could be carried out, how will these countries receive marijuana products? Do you think that the fact that pharmaceutical companies cannot profit financially from CBD will make them act as pressure groups to prevent its early arrival in states where marijuana is illegal?