SCIENTISTS HOPE MARIJUANA-LIKE SUBSTANCE WILL LEAD TO A TREATMENT FOR OBESITY

SANTA ANA, Calif. -- University of California-Irvine scientists discovered
that a marijuana-like chemical suppresses the munchies, countering decades
of informal research into a kindred compound by undergraduate students
everywhere.

UCI's research, conducted on laboratory rats, was published Thursday in the
journal Nature, and scientists hope the findings will lead to a treatment
for obesity.

The paper's co-author, UCI pharmacology professor Daniele Piomelli, said
oleylethanolamide (OEA), a naturally occurring molecule in the same family
as marijuana's active ingredient, reduced appetite when injected into rats.