MARIJUANA INGREDIENT MAY FIGHT BACTERIA

Marijuana may be something of a wonder drug -- though perhaps not in
the way you might think.

Researchers in Italy and Britain have found that the main active
ingredient in marijuana -- tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC -- and related
compounds show promise as antibacterial agents, particularly against
microbial strains that are already resistant to several classes of
drugs.

It has been known for decades that Cannabis sativa has antibacterial
properties. Experiments in the 1950s tested various marijuana
preparations against skin and other infections, but researchers at the
time had little understanding of marijuana's chemical makeup.

The current research, by Giovanni Appendino of the University of the
Eastern Piedmont and colleagues and published in The Journal of
Natural Products, looked at the antibacterial activity of the five
most common cannabinoids. All were found effective against several
common multi-resistant bacterial strains, although, perhaps
understandably, the researchers suggested that the nonpsychotropic
cannabinoids might prove more promising for eventual use.

The researchers say they don't know how the cannabinoids work, and
whether they would be effective as systemic antibiotics would require
much more research and trials. But the compounds may prove useful
sooner as a topical agent against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus
aureus, or MRSA, to prevent the microbes from colonizing on the skin.