Effects of Marijuana :: Free Essays Online

The dominant fear about marijuana has been that its effects were somehow similar to the dangerously addictive effects of opiates such(prenominal)(prenominal) as morphine and heroin. Scientists fe ard that , like opiates, it had an extremely high potential for smear and addiction. Despite widespread decriminalization of marijuana in the United States in the 1970s, this concern has remained the basis for federal law and policies regarding the use and study of marijuana. and the discovery of THC receptor sites in the sense refutes that thinking and may force scientists to re-evaluate their positions.   The 1988 discovery of the THC receptor site in the spirit was the pivotal event which led to the legalization of marijuana. The receptor breakthrough occurred in 1988 at the St. Louis University Medical School where Allyn Howlett, William Devane, and their associates identified and characterized a cannabinoid receptor in a rat mastermind. Receptors are binding sites for chemic als in the brain, chemicals that instruct brain cells to start, stop, or otherwise regulate various brain and body functions. in front this discovery, no one knew for sure adept how the psychoactive chemical in marijuana workes on the brain. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, researchers made tremendous strides in cause how the brain works by using receptor sites as switches which do to various chemicals by regulating brain and body functions. The chemicals which trigger receptors are known as neurotransmitters. The brains neurotransmitters are known as endogenous ligands. In many instances, drugs mimic these natural chemicals working in the brain. Scientists are just now confirming their determinations as to which endogenous ligands work on the cannabinoid receptors. It is potential that the neurotransmitter which naturally triggers cannabinoid receptors is one known as anandamide.   Many important brain functions which affect human behavior involve the neurotransmitter dopam ine. Serious drugs of abuse such as heroin and cocaine, interfere   with the brains use of dopamine in tact that can seriously alter an individuals behavior. A drugs ability to affect the unquiet trunks related to dopamine production has now become the defining sign of drugs with serious abuse potential.   The discovery of a previously unknown system of cannabinoid neural transmitters is profound. While century-old questions such as why marijuana is non-poisonous are finally being answered, new fascinating questions are emerging. In the words of Israeli researcher Raphael Mechoulam, the man who first isolated the twist of THC, Why do we have cannabinoid receptors?