CANNABIS MAY LIMIT DAMAGE FROM STROKES

Cannabis could protect brain cells against the effects of a stroke and may
help to slow the mental deterioration associated with neurological
disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.

Scientists have found that a component of marijuana acts as a powerful
antioxidant in the brain which can prevent cells being damaged when a blood
vessel in the head becomes blocked during a stroke.

Experiments revealed that cannabidiol, which is a harmless constituent of
marijuana and does not produce a ''high'', is a more powerful antioxidant
than vitamins C and D, which are known to neutralise the highly damaging
free radicals released during a stroke.

Dr Aidan Hampson, a British-born researcher at the United States National
Institute of Mental Health, near Washington DC, said the discovery could
eventually lead to a treatment for stroke based on the cannabis plant.

''We have reason to believe we are on to a good thing here. Cannabidiol was
given to humans in large doses in other clinical trials with no significant
adverse effects,'' Dr Hampson said. ''We could synthesise it and administer
it to patients as a pill, in an inhaler or even as a suppository, although
that would not be as popular. It is non-psychoactive which makes it
particularly useful."

The research, which is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy
of Science, also found that the mind-altering ingredient of cannabis -
tetrahyrocannabinol (THC) - also behaved as a potent antioxidant which
protected brain cells against the sort of oxygen starvation caused by a
stroke.

The US National Academy of Sciences, which publishes the proceedings, said:
''These findings suggest that cannabidiol may be a promising treatment for
stroke and other neurological disorders including Parkinson's and
Alzheimer's diseases, [which are] also thought to involve oxidative damage."

Dr Hampson said that when a blood vessel in the brain becomes blocked a
complex set of reactions takes place that culminates in the power houses of
the cell, called mitochondria, pumping out free radicals.

When he exposed the nerve cells of laboratory animals to cannabidiol he
found it significantly reduced the damage resulting from the release of
free radicals. The dose levels were similar to those known to be safe in
humans.

''These are the very first results and I would be surprised if we get
through all the stages of drug trials for humans in less than five or six
years,'' Dr Hampson said.

However, the research findings do not explain whether people who smoke
cannabis are less likely to suffer ill effects following a stroke. ''We
don't know whether smoking produces these levels of cannabidiol,'' he said.

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski