KPBS
SAN DIEGO– “A team of San Diego scientists recently put out a study suggesting an active ingredient in marijuana may be helpful in warding off Alzheimer’s disease. But the results need to be confirmed in future research. One of the scientists worries those follow-up studies may not happen due to restrictions on research involving pot. "To work on anything related to marijuana or these psychoactive drugs in the United States is, from a scientific point of view, extremely difficult," said the study's senior author, Dave Schubert of the Salk Institute. "There are so many rules and limitations on what can be done," he said. In lab experiments, Schubert and his colleagues exposed human brain cells to THC, a chemical compound found in marijuana. They found that by stimulating cannabinoid receptors in these cells, THC reduced the inflammation and plaque build-up that precede the onset of Alzheimer's.”
