Marijuana without the "high"? Scientists are working on it already

You can obtain a preparation similar to marijuana to help the sick, but will not be attractive for drug addicts - tells the "New Scientist".

Marijuana can be used as a painkiller - for example, in cancer patients. Nevertheless has unpleasant side effects - even hallucinations and mobility problems.

Li Zhang's team from the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in Bethesda (Maryland) has shown that tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is associated with two types of receptors on living cells - one of them is responsible for pain relief, the second - as called by the psychotic effects addicted to smoking marijuana

It has long been known that a "high" corresponds to the binding of THC kannabinoidowym receptor CB-1. Zhang's team discovered and that THC relieves pain by stimulating the brain receptors for glycine. In experiments on mice had shown that when there is no glycine receptors, or they will be blocked by another drug, the mice feel pain even if you give them THC (as measured using a standard test in which a mouse tail withdrawn from the hot plate).

Lhang says, the development of drugs acting on the receptor glicynowy would replace marijuana and obtain an analgesic effect without further problems (or interest).

Stephen Wright, director of research and development pharmaceutical company GW Pharmaceuticals of Porton Down believes that there are other ways to achieve analgesic effect without side effects.

Last year the European market hit produced by this company Sativex, derived from cannabis extract in the form of an oral spray, which is to alleviate muscle spasms in patients with multiple sclerosis and cancer pain. There was no effect of psychotic, perhaps because it contains natural damping kannabidiol psychotic reactions (CBD). Furthermore, THC is released into the body from 20 to 40 times slower than when smoking marijuana.