io9: Cannabis

This is what your brain on drugs really looks like

Robert T. Gonzalez — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:05:00 PST

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Scientists this week published a study that reveals what the human brain looks like under the influence of psilocybin, the hallucinogenic chemical found in magic mushrooms. More »

Participate in the largest drug-use survey ever conducted

Robert T. Gonzalez — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 11:30:00 PST

Drugs play a huge role in our lives, but it's hard to find in-depth research on how people take them and what effect it has on their lives. Here's your chance to help change that. More »

Should we dig up Shakespeare's body to find out if he smoked pot?

Alasdair Wilkins — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 10:41:03 PDT

That's the question currently before the Church of England, as an archaeologist has proposed examining William Shakespeare's remains. If nothing else, this is our chance to find out whether Shakespeare wrote the greatest works in the English language...on weed. More »

What cannabis actually does to your brain

Annalee Newitz — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 19:25:35 PDT

Archaeologists recently found a 2,700-year-old pot stash, so we know humans have been smoking weed for thousands of years. But it was only about 20 years ago that neuroscientists began to understand how it affects our brains. More »

The scientific breakthrough that will turn cannabis into the new aspirin

Annalee Newitz — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 08:00:00 PDT

Yesterday scientists announced that they'd discovered a way to harness the painkilling powers of the active ingredient in marijuana, THC, while eliminating the high. What this means is that a special, non-hallucinatory version of THC could become the new aspirin. More »

And now, proof that the FDA of 1932 was asleep at the wheel

Cyriaque Lamar — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 16:22:21 PDT

It may seem obvious now that your Excedrin isn't loaded with heroin, but consumers of the 1930s couldn't be too careful. This pearl of wisdom comes to you from a June 1932 issue of Modern Mechanics. [Modern Mechanix] More »

The Mysterious Chemical That Eases Pain, But Also Causes It

Annalee Newitz — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 11:00:00 PDT

Endocannabinoids are the body's natural form of THC, a chemical in marijuana that can ease pain. Now a new study shows this chemical is a double-edged sword, making people more sensitive to pain too. Could endocannabinoids be used for torture? More »

Sinus Infection? Try Marijuana!

Annalee Newitz — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 16:30:00 PDT

Good news and bad news, pot smokers. Marijuana contains highly-effective antibiotics that could be the key to stopping antibiotic-resistant bacteria. But unfortunately if you smoke the stuff, you become more vulnerable to infection — probably due to smoke damage in your lungs. Nevertheless, your prescription for medical marijuana just got a lot more useful. New research confirms that molecules found in pot called cannabanoids are powerful antibiotics. According to Environmental Graffiti:

Scientists studying cannabis related antibiotics were now able to pinpoint the basic backbone structure that is common to all cannabanoids, to be the active component in killing off bacteria. Now that the bio-active section of the cannabanoid molecules has been identified, researchers and drug makers are busy developing and testing antibiotic drugs as well as considering potential uses for cannabanoids in various soaps and cleaning products. At present they are focusing their efforts on the derivatives of the non-psychoactive cannabanoids. This is presumably because the US FDA, and other governing bodies world-wide, might have a hard time with people getting high in order to cure a bacterial infection.

But aren't people with really bad infections the ones who are most in need of a good high? I mean, think about it. When you're sick, you're usually so out of it that all you can do is sit on the couch and watch all the episodes of True Blood stored on your DVR. Wouldn't a nice buzz make that experience better in every possible way? How Cannabis Could Save Your Life [via Environmental Graffiti] More »