Another week, another benefit
August 27, 2008 1:55 PM Subscribe
We all know that marijuana has some medical uses. It has been discussed on Mefi many times before. Earlier this month a group of pharmacists and chemists published a study in which they found that cannabis is a source of antibacterial chemicals for multidrug resistant bacteria. If you are a pharmacists or chemist here is the actual study. A synopsis of the study for everyone else.
You can totally make fabrics out of it too.
posted by found missing at 2:01 PM on August 27, 2008
posted by found missing at 2:01 PM on August 27, 2008
And an excellent source of rope and pulp for paper!
From the article: The scientists were able to figure out that the position of the n-pentyl chain (orange) relative to the terpenoid moiety (blue) serves to control lipid affinity.
Any grade school child knows that, duh.
posted by GuyZero at 2:01 PM on August 27, 2008
From the article: The scientists were able to figure out that the position of the n-pentyl chain (orange) relative to the terpenoid moiety (blue) serves to control lipid affinity.
Any grade school child knows that, duh.
posted by GuyZero at 2:01 PM on August 27, 2008
A friend of mine came across this study last weekend while researching possible interactions between cannabis and oral antibiotics. I hear he felt much better the day after having had his share of a half gram or so of some very kind bud. He would like to think that it was the Augmentin, but you just can't argue with Science.
posted by uncleozzy at 2:10 PM on August 27, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by uncleozzy at 2:10 PM on August 27, 2008 [1 favorite]
Ah, researchers in Italy. I was wondering how they managed to do the research in the first place. Or how they dared publish.
posted by Naberius at 2:11 PM on August 27, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by Naberius at 2:11 PM on August 27, 2008 [1 favorite]
The real suffering caused by the drug war is not the obvious story of prosecutions and prison time, but rather the incaculable losses we have incurred due to our complete rejection of what is undoubtedly the most miraculous of drugs, marijuana. Even in its raw form it is a proven and effective treatment for over 100 illnesses... who knows what it would be capable of if the full pharma R&D machine was brought to bear upon it.
posted by mek at 2:14 PM on August 27, 2008 [2 favorites]
posted by mek at 2:14 PM on August 27, 2008 [2 favorites]
Wow. If this plant can produce antibiotics and material for clothes, I wonder what else it can do.
posted by clearly at 2:15 PM on August 27, 2008 [5 favorites]
posted by clearly at 2:15 PM on August 27, 2008 [5 favorites]
That's funny because a friend of mine just told me that the reason he's never sick is because of all the pot he smokes. I suggested it's because he doesn't leave the house that much. He said: exactly, man.
posted by cell divide at 2:18 PM on August 27, 2008 [21 favorites]
posted by cell divide at 2:18 PM on August 27, 2008 [21 favorites]
It could also be a gateway to other medication.
posted by strangeleftydoublethink at 2:19 PM on August 27, 2008 [5 favorites]
posted by strangeleftydoublethink at 2:19 PM on August 27, 2008 [5 favorites]
If the pro/anti marijuana argument was a rational argument, it would've been resolved decades ago. Which brings to mind a recent comment from one of Canada's top Conservative "thinkers" (a cabinet minister, I think) on the topic of safe injection sites (for heroin users) in Vancouver's deep, dark Downtown Eastside:
"Rest assured, the final decision on this issue will not be based on science alone."
posted by philip-random at 2:33 PM on August 27, 2008 [1 favorite]
"Rest assured, the final decision on this issue will not be based on science alone."
posted by philip-random at 2:33 PM on August 27, 2008 [1 favorite]
Even in its raw form it is a proven and effective treatment for over 100 illnesses...
The real issue here is not to think of new ways to justify people's lifestyle choices, but to ask the question: what medicinal qualities do cannabinoids have and how can we harness them without incurring the various side effects associated with smoking cannabis.
Cannabinoid based tablets (eg Nabilone) are available but their efficacy in treating pain is only equivalent to other prescription only drugs with greater side effects.
The paper about its antibacterial properties is really just one of many recent reports of chemicals showing promising results in a lab - but how many actually work on humans?
posted by healey at 2:50 PM on August 27, 2008
The real issue here is not to think of new ways to justify people's lifestyle choices, but to ask the question: what medicinal qualities do cannabinoids have and how can we harness them without incurring the various side effects associated with smoking cannabis.
Cannabinoid based tablets (eg Nabilone) are available but their efficacy in treating pain is only equivalent to other prescription only drugs with greater side effects.
The paper about its antibacterial properties is really just one of many recent reports of chemicals showing promising results in a lab - but how many actually work on humans?
posted by healey at 2:50 PM on August 27, 2008
Ditto. I never got sick or had allergies or anxiety disorders for the 15 years or so that I was smoking pot daily. Really it got down to a bowl/joint per day, I was one of the few people who wanted the Mexican swag instead of the one hit wonder. Now, years after I quit, I'm sick, prone to allergies, a drunk, and seeking medical treatment. The best day in recent memory is stopping some kid in Hawaii smoking a bowl and begging for an 'extra bud'.
Now I've been in the hospital for detox, seeking a shrink, and life has gone to HELL. I wish I could legally smoke a bowl. Instead I have to go and get on some crazy meds.
Now I'll be on Lexapro or Wellbutrin or Cimbalta or some other crap when all I need is to smoke a joint a day. I can point out the month that I stopped smoking by looking at my work record. I went to crap and never recovered. Yes I'm a bit mentally unstable but a little of the weed did the trick. And I never got sick.
posted by zengargoyle at 2:52 PM on August 27, 2008 [6 favorites]
Now I've been in the hospital for detox, seeking a shrink, and life has gone to HELL. I wish I could legally smoke a bowl. Instead I have to go and get on some crazy meds.
Now I'll be on Lexapro or Wellbutrin or Cimbalta or some other crap when all I need is to smoke a joint a day. I can point out the month that I stopped smoking by looking at my work record. I went to crap and never recovered. Yes I'm a bit mentally unstable but a little of the weed did the trick. And I never got sick.
posted by zengargoyle at 2:52 PM on August 27, 2008 [6 favorites]
Ah, weed - is there anything it can't do?
card-carrying 215 patient here
posted by porn in the woods at 3:06 PM on August 27, 2008
card-carrying 215 patient here
posted by porn in the woods at 3:06 PM on August 27, 2008
The scientists were able to figure out that the position of the n-pentyl chain (orange) relative to the terpenoid moiety (blue) serves to control lipid affinity.
It also gets you totally high.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 3:12 PM on August 27, 2008 [3 favorites]
It also gets you totally high.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 3:12 PM on August 27, 2008 [3 favorites]
Weed made me lay eggs in ponds or slow-moving streams, attached to aquatic plants.
I got better.
posted by Dumsnill at 3:27 PM on August 27, 2008
I got better.
posted by Dumsnill at 3:27 PM on August 27, 2008
The real issue here is not to think of new ways to justify people's lifestyle choices, but to ask the question: what medicinal qualities do cannabinoids have and how can we harness them without incurring the various side effects associated with smoking cannabis.
You know, when the former means "allowing people to smoke a plant now and again if they need to", and the latter means "commercializing and industrializing said plant so that anyone who wants to take it needs a prescription and insurance that covers $300-a-gram medications", I think you're presenting a bit of a false dichotomy.
For one thing, "the various side effects associated with smoking cannabis" are generally mild, at least at medicinal doses, and are comparable to those of any number of common commercial medications. Even if they weren't, most of the truly unpleasant side effects are associated with smoking cannabis, not cannabis itself. And there are alternate delivery methods which take care of that. Besides, the various side effects of some cannabinoid drugs are actually worse than those of marijuana! Marinol is downright infamous for this -- patients don't like Marinol because it tends to put them flat on their backs for hours.
In short, it is both possible and desirable to have good medicine without turning it into another cash cow for pharmaceutical companies. Especially since, in this case, people aren't exactly going to forget that they can skip all the extra trouble and expense in favor of plain old pot!
posted by vorfeed at 4:13 PM on August 27, 2008 [2 favorites]
You know, when the former means "allowing people to smoke a plant now and again if they need to", and the latter means "commercializing and industrializing said plant so that anyone who wants to take it needs a prescription and insurance that covers $300-a-gram medications", I think you're presenting a bit of a false dichotomy.
For one thing, "the various side effects associated with smoking cannabis" are generally mild, at least at medicinal doses, and are comparable to those of any number of common commercial medications. Even if they weren't, most of the truly unpleasant side effects are associated with smoking cannabis, not cannabis itself. And there are alternate delivery methods which take care of that. Besides, the various side effects of some cannabinoid drugs are actually worse than those of marijuana! Marinol is downright infamous for this -- patients don't like Marinol because it tends to put them flat on their backs for hours.
In short, it is both possible and desirable to have good medicine without turning it into another cash cow for pharmaceutical companies. Especially since, in this case, people aren't exactly going to forget that they can skip all the extra trouble and expense in favor of plain old pot!
posted by vorfeed at 4:13 PM on August 27, 2008 [2 favorites]
I get the relaxed, comfortable feeling that interest and use of marijuana is on the upswing again. Or maybe I'm just projecting.
posted by Auden at 4:17 PM on August 27, 2008
posted by Auden at 4:17 PM on August 27, 2008
Ah, weed - is there anything it can't do?
Nope. Except possibly... Get More Awesome!
posted by Liquidwolf at 4:43 PM on August 27, 2008 [1 favorite]
Nope. Except possibly... Get More Awesome!
posted by Liquidwolf at 4:43 PM on August 27, 2008 [1 favorite]
I wish weed would get more awesome and make me feel good instead of wanting to jump out the window while my mind races and tremendous anxiety overtakes me.
posted by josher71 at 5:10 PM on August 27, 2008
posted by josher71 at 5:10 PM on August 27, 2008
I wish weed would get more awesome and make me feel good instead of wanting to jump out the window while my mind races and tremendous anxiety overtakes me.
What are you so afraid of?
posted by philip-random at 5:23 PM on August 27, 2008
What are you so afraid of?
posted by philip-random at 5:23 PM on August 27, 2008
The real issue here is not to think of new ways to justify people's lifestyle choices, but to ask the question: what medicinal qualities do cannabinoids have and how can we harness them without incurring the various side effects associated with smoking cannabis.
There are two falsehoods here. The first is any further justification for legalizing marijuana is necessary: it's physiologically safer and has a lower potential for abuse than alcohol and nicotine, its most serious claimed dangers have been thoroughly debunked. There is little indication that its illegality is having a significant impact on use (long term studies of decriminalization states have demonstrated insignificant impact on rates of use, for example). The negative impacts of criminalization are profound. The continued criminalization of marijuana is irrational with or without the therapeutic argument.
The second falsehood is that the criminalization of marijuana is not having a direct impact on its study as a source of medicinal agent. Its unjustifiable Schedule I classification alone is a massive impediment to its study. The study of marijuana as a medicinal agent has been profoundly interfered with by the drug enforcement bureaucracy.
posted by nanojath at 5:27 PM on August 27, 2008
There are two falsehoods here. The first is any further justification for legalizing marijuana is necessary: it's physiologically safer and has a lower potential for abuse than alcohol and nicotine, its most serious claimed dangers have been thoroughly debunked. There is little indication that its illegality is having a significant impact on use (long term studies of decriminalization states have demonstrated insignificant impact on rates of use, for example). The negative impacts of criminalization are profound. The continued criminalization of marijuana is irrational with or without the therapeutic argument.
The second falsehood is that the criminalization of marijuana is not having a direct impact on its study as a source of medicinal agent. Its unjustifiable Schedule I classification alone is a massive impediment to its study. The study of marijuana as a medicinal agent has been profoundly interfered with by the drug enforcement bureaucracy.
posted by nanojath at 5:27 PM on August 27, 2008
I don't think I'm afraid of anything. The anxiety isn't fear necessarily. Just, well, it's hard to explain but the last time I got stoned I spent thirty minutes thinking about wheel of fortune and how the readout that Pat Sajak sees of the letters that the contestants cannot see has changed over the years the show has been on the air. The fact that I had no idea what it looked like, much less the readout's history, made me feel anxious. Why? Not sure. I think the fault obviously lies in how my body deals with THC.
posted by josher71 at 6:27 PM on August 27, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by josher71 at 6:27 PM on August 27, 2008 [1 favorite]
I don't think I'm afraid of anything. The anxiety isn't fear necessarily. Just, well, it's hard to explain but the last time I got stoned I spent thirty minutes thinking about wheel of fortune and how the readout that Pat Sajak sees of the letters that the contestants cannot see has changed over the years the show has been on the air. The fact that I had no idea what it looked like, much less the readout's history, made me feel anxious. Why? Not sure. I think the fault obviously lies in how my body deals with THC.
I can not find it right now but I was reading a study last week where they gave people only THC and only CBD? The people experienced anxiety and paranoia when only one of the drugs was given to them. However, when both drugs were given to them in the same proportion that they exist in nature. The people had a nice high.
I have known a few people like you who it seems to affect completely opposite of what most people experience. I have a hypothesis. Maybe certain people do not uptake the two drugs at the same rate. This would lead to the same experience that was shown to occur in the study.
Grant money anyone?
posted by Mr_Zero at 6:59 PM on August 27, 2008 [1 favorite]
I can not find it right now but I was reading a study last week where they gave people only THC and only CBD? The people experienced anxiety and paranoia when only one of the drugs was given to them. However, when both drugs were given to them in the same proportion that they exist in nature. The people had a nice high.
I have known a few people like you who it seems to affect completely opposite of what most people experience. I have a hypothesis. Maybe certain people do not uptake the two drugs at the same rate. This would lead to the same experience that was shown to occur in the study.
Grant money anyone?
posted by Mr_Zero at 6:59 PM on August 27, 2008 [1 favorite]
zengorgoyle stopped because dealer went to dark side and started dealing meth and accepting stolen goods as payment. Not my thing. Too much checking and finding hiim in jail. Too much anti-social behavior for me "too much a wuss to go out and find a new dealer".
posted by zengargoyle at 7:00 PM on August 27, 2008
posted by zengargoyle at 7:00 PM on August 27, 2008
I've always wanted to enjoy pot, so let those research funds flow in.
posted by josher71 at 7:11 PM on August 27, 2008
posted by josher71 at 7:11 PM on August 27, 2008
The real suffering caused by the drug war is not the obvious story of prosecutions and prison time...
Yes it is. That isn't all of the suffering, but it is definitely very real.
posted by !Jim at 7:11 PM on August 27, 2008
Yes it is. That isn't all of the suffering, but it is definitely very real.
posted by !Jim at 7:11 PM on August 27, 2008
A brownie a day keeps the doctor a way.
I amend my previous statement about icing.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 7:28 PM on August 27, 2008
I amend my previous statement about icing.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 7:28 PM on August 27, 2008
Feh, soak your weed in Acetone or Ether and then evaporate to make awesome green goo. Neebs.....
posted by zengargoyle at 8:01 PM on August 27, 2008
posted by zengargoyle at 8:01 PM on August 27, 2008
Which brings to mind a recent comment from one of Canada's top Conservative "thinkers" (a cabinet minister, I think) on the topic of safe injection sites (for heroin users) in Vancouver's deep, dark Downtown Eastside:
"Rest assured, the final decision on this issue will not be based on science alone."
AAAARRRGGGGHH! KILL KILL! Fuck, do I hate the Harper government.
posted by five fresh fish at 8:20 PM on August 27, 2008 [2 favorites]
"Rest assured, the final decision on this issue will not be based on science alone."
AAAARRRGGGGHH! KILL KILL! Fuck, do I hate the Harper government.
posted by five fresh fish at 8:20 PM on August 27, 2008 [2 favorites]
Feh, soak your weed in Acetone or Ether and then evaporate to make awesome green goo. Neebs.....
Acetone? Seriously?
posted by Mr_Zero at 8:20 PM on August 27, 2008
Acetone? Seriously?
posted by Mr_Zero at 8:20 PM on August 27, 2008
fff: you'll appreciate this anecdote.
I was at work last week, when some temporary acting managerial whatever concludes our meeting, I just having raised some serious concerns, with "We just have to trust Stephen."
I look at him nonplussed.
"Harper."
Ahaha. ahahahahahaha. I chuckle.
He doesn't crack a smile.
I leave quietly.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 8:40 PM on August 27, 2008 [1 favorite]
I was at work last week, when some temporary acting managerial whatever concludes our meeting, I just having raised some serious concerns, with "We just have to trust Stephen."
I look at him nonplussed.
"Harper."
Ahaha. ahahahahahaha. I chuckle.
He doesn't crack a smile.
I leave quietly.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 8:40 PM on August 27, 2008 [1 favorite]
Yes Acetone, just like Ether. You extract and then boil off the solvent. The same as putting your weed in butter or other oil. Your easiest source of Ether is Starter Fluid for your car. You just have to extract and extract and clean with Alcohol and extract and boil off and clean. You smoke in a pipe like crack, or put a bit on top of a normal bowl. A little bit of science is a dangerous thing.
Don't get me started on water bongs, CO2 extraction, vaporizers and other arcane things.
posted by zengargoyle at 9:32 PM on August 27, 2008
Don't get me started on water bongs, CO2 extraction, vaporizers and other arcane things.
posted by zengargoyle at 9:32 PM on August 27, 2008
Oh, and you're better off with medical grade ether, and a coffee pot in the back yard and if you can get it, 190 proof grain. And don't even ask about extracting DMT from the old cough syrups.
posted by zengargoyle at 9:40 PM on August 27, 2008
posted by zengargoyle at 9:40 PM on August 27, 2008
My process made Acetone go away. Just another petrochemical that can mostly go poof.
Maybe not the best thing, but better than friends who shot up with Mountain Dew or water from the gutter.
Chat filter maybe...
posted by zengargoyle at 9:44 PM on August 27, 2008
Maybe not the best thing, but better than friends who shot up with Mountain Dew or water from the gutter.
Chat filter maybe...
posted by zengargoyle at 9:44 PM on August 27, 2008
Why wouldn't you just use bubble bags? No contanimation.
posted by five fresh fish at 10:26 PM on August 27, 2008
posted by five fresh fish at 10:26 PM on August 27, 2008
It was geeky experimentation and 20 years ago. Your 'bubble bags' scare me. :) (actually I have no clue what you're talking about)
posted by zengargoyle at 11:20 PM on August 27, 2008
posted by zengargoyle at 11:20 PM on August 27, 2008
Mr_Zero, your wikipedia link puts acetone LD50 at 1.159 g/kg (ingestion, human). That's not trace amounts, that's a fuck load. That's drinking a cup of acetone.
posted by ryanrs at 4:53 AM on August 28, 2008
posted by ryanrs at 4:53 AM on August 28, 2008
bubblebags = micron mesh filtration, capturing trichromes. Trichromes are the THC "heads" on the leaves and bud. In ice-cold water they become brittle and snap off the plant. With correct technique, one ends up with almost pure, unaltered THC.
posted by five fresh fish at 7:08 AM on August 28, 2008
posted by five fresh fish at 7:08 AM on August 28, 2008
I have so many friends on MeFi that do not know they are my friend.
Yet.
posted by Dantien at 10:56 AM on August 28, 2008
Yet.
posted by Dantien at 10:56 AM on August 28, 2008
Todd, is that you?
"1983 Renault Iditarod steering column - Soak the swivel gasket in WD-40 an' eat the cottony stuff that floats to the top."
posted by FatherDagon at 12:35 PM on August 28, 2008
"1983 Renault Iditarod steering column - Soak the swivel gasket in WD-40 an' eat the cottony stuff that floats to the top."
posted by FatherDagon at 12:35 PM on August 28, 2008
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