Marijuana The Smart Drug

In the November 2010 Issue of High Times | Buzz Section - MARIJUANA: THE SMART DRUG | Pg. 13

Dr. Gary Wenk, Ph. D., is a professor of psychology, neuroscience, molecular virology, immunology and medical genetics at Ohio State University. We're gonna go out on a limb here and assume that Wenk is a really smart dude. In the July issue of Psychology Today, he published an article discussing his latest research. His conclusion: Pot stimulates the brain's cannabinoid receptors, which in turn may mitigate the consequences of stroke, chronic pain and neuro-inflammation.

As Wenk wrote: "Research in my laboratory has demonstrated that stimulating the brain's marijuana receptors may offer protection by reducing brain inflammation and by restoring neurogenesis. Thus, later in life, marijuana might actually help your brain, rather than harm it. It takes very little marijuana to produce benefits in the older brain: my colleague in France, Dr. Yannick Marchalant, coined the motto 'a puff is enough' because it appears as though only a single puff each day is necessary to produce significant benefit."