CANNABIS MAY HELP COMBAT SCHIZOPHRENIA

IRVINE -- A unique study of 10 mentally ill patients suggests that
marijuana may help researchers treat yet another disease --
schizophrenia.

Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, found high levels
of a cannabis-like chemical in the cerebrospinal fluid of
schizophrenic patients, meaning the body may be producing the chemical
to fight the disease.

Previous research in animals has shown that the marijuana-like
chemical, anandamide, puts the brakes on dopamine, long suspected as a
cause of schizophrenia.

This does not mean schizophrenics should smoke marijuana -- even though
many say it eases their symptoms, said Daniele Piomelli, one of the
UCI researchers.

"The idea is to develop novel medicines that use marijuana as a model
- -- without the side effects," he said. "We want to activate some of the
cannabinoid receptors in the brain without producing the high, the
loss of memory and the lack of motor coordination."

Current medications for schizophrenia -- which affects 1 percent of the
population -- block dopamine production, but are not always effective
and have side effects.

Piomelli's group, whose results will be published next month in the
journal Neuroreport, will expand its study to 200 patients. But he
said it's possible that rather than relieve symptoms of schizophrenia,
anandamide might play a role in the disease.

A National Institute of Medicine study in March concluded that
marijuana smoke is harmful but that it is as effective as codeine in
reducing pain in cancer patients, reduces nausea and vomiting
associated with chemotherapy, and may increase appetite in AIDS and
Alzheimer's patients.