2008 Woodie Awards
Newsflash: Pot May Be Good For You!
Researchers look deeper into the disease fighting power of marijuana.
Vanessa Eves
Issue date: 4/29/05 Section: Life & Times
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The type of artery and where the plaque develops varies with each person. Atherosclerosis is a slow, progressive disease that may start in childhood. In some people this disease progresses rapidly in their third decade. In others it doesn't become threatening until they're in their 50s or 60s. Can marijuana really fight this life threatening disease?
Don't get that pot out too quickly now kids! According to recent studies, just THC, the main chemical in marijuana that produces the intoxicating effect, is what helps fight arteriosclerosis in the body's arteries. The recent study was conducted on mice, not people. First, mice went on an eleven week fatty diet designed to clog their arteries.
For the last six weeks of the diet, some mice also got an orally administered low dose of THC along with the high-fat food. Afterward, the mice who had received THC had fewer signs of atherosclerosis. None of those mice died during treatment or showed unhealthy behavior, says the study.
The results may be due to THC's anti-inflammatory properties, write the researchers, who included François Mach, MD, of the cardiology division at University Hospital in Geneva, Switzerland. Inflammation has been shown to be associated with the development of atherosclerosis.
Puffing pot probably won't help fight this disease. It takes a very specific amount of THC, marijuana's key chemical,to help the arteries. That dose is too low to produce mood-altering effects in the brain, according to recent studies.
Michael Roth, MD, a professor of medicine at UCLA medical school explains, "It would be difficult to achieve such specific concentrations in the blood by smoking marijuana."
Researchers cautioned, however, that smoking pot would not produce the same effect. The relaxation of arteries was found only at a very low dose, much lower than what would be produced in someone actively smoking marijuana. Researchers recommend that drugs be developed with a low THC content instead of recommending pot as treatment for this disease.