>Sender: >To: >X-Original-Message-ID: <002501bf4091$fb336bf0$9acf69cf@pacbell.net> >From: "Peter McWilliams" >Subject: MORE marijuana magic >Date: Tue, 7 Dec 1999 01:03:51 -0800 >X-Mozilla-Status: 8001 >X-Mozilla-Status2: 00000000 > > >Monday December 6 7:26 PM ET >Marijuana Plugs Into Eye Cells, U.S. Study Finds >WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Marijuana and hashish may affect vision by plugging >into tailor-made receptors in the eye, researchers said on Monday. > >They said they found the receptors -- which are chemical doorways into >cells -- in animals ranging from chicks to salamanders to monkeys. > >This suggests that chemicals similar to the cannabinoids in hashish and >marijuana, known to occur naturally in the human body, are ancient and >highly important in eye function, the researchers said. > >``The fact that this system is so highly conserved in species separated by >hundreds of millions of years of evolution suggests that it's important,'' >Alex Straiker of the University of California, San Diego, who led the >research, said in a statement. > >``Nature likes to tinker, so any time you see something this consistent, it >raises eyebrows.'' > >Working with colleagues at the Neurosciences Institute in San Diego and the >University of Washington in Seattle, Straiker found cannabinoid receptors >known as CB1 receptors in the retinal cells of rhesus monkeys, chicks, >salamanders, goldfish, mice and rats. > >They also occurred in both the rods and cones, which are the eye structures >that respond to light, the researchers wrote in a report in the Proceedings >of the National Academy of Sciences. > >``We understand very little about how the retina works. By demonstrating >that this receptor system is present, we add another piece to the puzzle, >opening one more window into how the eye works,'' Straiker said. > >``It also suggests that marijuana affects vision because it plugs into an >existing signaling system that is abundant in the retina.'' > >Cannabinoids naturally occur in vertebrates. For instance, pain triggers the >release of one class of cannabinoids known as anandamides. Anandamides are >neurotransmitters, or message-carrying chemicals. > >The chemical THC found in marijuana also is a cannabinoid. > >Cannabis has been used for centuries to help relieve pain, and some research >suggests it can affect vision and also may be able to help relieve symptoms >of the eye disease glaucoma. > >Researchers think THC must plug into the body's natural system for using >anandamide and other neurotransmitters. > > > >================================================================ > >This message is sent to you because you are subscribed to > the mailing list . >To unsubscribe, E-mail to: