Medical Marijuana And ‘The Associate Effect’

[bobandtorey]

Raphael Mechoulam has been studying a plant which most researchers will not touch with a barge pole-Marijuana!  Raphael has been studying about Marijuana for a major part of his

 

life.

 

 

Raphael as a young, Israeli, postdoctoral student stumbled onto something which puzzled him. He was surprised by the fact that morphine was isolated as the active component from

opium while cocaine was isolated from coca leaves. However the component of Marijuana was not known. The young researcher Raphael Mechoulam, is a well known and highly

decorated researcher. However the unusual subject of his research created problems 50 year ago when he started his research.

The biggest problem faced by the young scientist was to obtain Marijuana which was a restricted substance and not freely available. Looking at the red tape involved in obtaining the

plant legally, the young scientist obtained it illegally. Thankfully, the Israeli government was convinced of his endeavor and did not place any hurdles. Marijuana has more than 480

natural ingredients and these components work best when used together.

Raphael worked at breakneck speed, determining the structure of cannabidiol (CBD) in 1963; isolated delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which was a psychoactive ingredient in

marijuana the next year. He and his team continued to isolate more components from marijuana in the following years.

His works led to a better understanding of how the drug worked in the brain. His team isolated the first known endogenous cannabinoid and named it Anandamide which is derived from

the Sanskrit word Ananda which means bliss.

 

The Cannabis plant has more than 480 different natural components of which 66 have been classified as “cannabinoids.  Cannabinoids are unique chemicals and includes delta-9-

tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiols. These compounds act in unison and exert an effect together unlike other drugs that may work well as single compounds; cannabis may offer its

most profound benefit as a whole plant

 

http://www.thewestsidestory.net/2014/03/11/medical-marijuana-associate-effect/