Call it a buzzkill, but it’s still a breakthrough. Researchers have discovered a naturally occurring hormone in the body that can protect you from getting high when using marijuana.


In a paper recently released in the journal Science[1] , researchers at the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research found that pregnenolone, a hormone the body produces naturally, can counter the effects of THC, the component in marijuana that creates the drug's famous high.


When researchers examined the brain activity of lab rats exposed to extremely high levels of THC (well above those consumed by a marijuana user), the rats began producing high levels of pregnenolone, which blocked the effects of the drug.


Moreover, when researchers administered pregnenolone injections to the THC-induced rats, not only were the effects of THC reduced, but the rats were less inclined to self-administer[2] more THC.


Researchers found the same results when a high level of THC was later exposed to human cell lines.


The discovery of a hormone that can take the high out of cannabis might raise the question: Why would you want to do that?


Mitigating the effects of marijuana might be advantageous in a number of scenarios. Researchers noted that the hormone could be useful in helping users overcome so-called “cannabis addiction.”


Though marijuana is generally not considered physically addictive, some users have difficulty giving up the drug. Some regular users have reported mild withdrawal symptoms such as irritability, anxiety, loss of appetite, nausea and sleeplessness upon quitting, while others have noted difficulty in overcoming the behavioral or psychologically addictive aspects of the drug.


Time summed up one theory[3] on marijuana’s disputed addictiveness:


In this view, the paradigm for addiction is heroin: the shaking, puking heroin junkie who can’t quit because the withdrawal sickness is impossible to bear. Because marijuana cessation is not linked with such severe symptoms, the drug isn’t seen as physically addictive. And considering that most people view physical addiction as uncontrollable, but psychological addiction as manageable with proper willpower, marijuana tends not to be regarded as addictive in general. As it turns out, the psychological drive is much more powerful than the physical experience of withdrawal.

Researchers hope the discovery could help users overcome some of these potential obstacles when quitting.


"These researchers weren't trying to be buzzkills," read Science[4] . "Their discovery could lead to new approaches to treating marijuana intoxication and addiction -- and it may allow researchers to isolate the medicinal properties of cannabis while blocking its behavioral and somatic effects.”


Eliminating the buzz might also make medical marijuana treatments more appropriate for individuals who are seeking the benefits of the drug without its psychoactive properties.


For instance, some children who suffer from epilepsy, cerebral palsy and other disorders have experienced remarkable success[5] from taking marijuana.


In Utah, a group of Mormon mothers have launched Hope 4 Children With Epilepsy[6] , an organization that aims to bring the state safe access to cannabidiol (a marijuana derivative that’s low in THC).


"We’re not expecting this to be any kind of miracle cure," said cofounder Jennifer May[7] , whose son suffers from a debilitating form of epilepsy, to The Huffington Post. "But the results thus far with the children have been amazing with very little side effects. It’s just something that needs to be available."


While cannabidiol and marijuana strains low in THC[8] are currently being produced, pregnenolone could provide yet another way for patients to more safely use marijuana.


Lead researcher Pier Vincenzo Piazza explained to Indian newspaper The Hindu[9] that pregnenolone itself cannot be administered via injection or pill because it is badly absorbed. However, Piazza's team was able to successfully use a derivative.


"We have now developed derivatives of pregnenolone that are well absorbed and stable," he said. "They then present the characteristics of compounds that can be used as new class of therapeutic drugs."



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  • Because Most Americans Are Unenthusiastic About It


    Only 7 percent of Americans think the United States is <a href="http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/lifestyle/general_lifestyle/november_2012/7_think_u_s_is_winning_war_on_drugs">winning the war on drugs</a>, and few Americans are interested in throwing down more money to try to win, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll released in 2012.




  • Because the U.S. Won't Control The Flow Of Guns Into Latin America


    <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/01/mexico-guns-arturo-sarukhan-us-weapons-mexico-violence-gun-rights_n_1563250.html">Mexican authorities seized almost 70,000 weapons of U.S. origin</a> from 2007 to 2011. In 2004, the U.S. Congress declined to renew a 10-year ban on the sale of assault weapons. They quickly became the guns of choice for Mexican drug cartels. Some 60,000 people have died in Mexico since President Felipe Calderón launched a military assault on the cartels in 2006.




  • Because the United States Leads The Hemisphere In Drug Consumption


    Americans have the <a href="http://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/files/serve/?File_id=81b53476-64a3-4088-9bae-254a84b95ddb">highest rate of illegal drug consumption in the world</a>, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.




  • Because The U.S. Ignores Latin American Calls For A Rethinking Of Drug Policy


    Several current and former Latin American presidents, like Fernando Henrique Cardoso, have <a href="http://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/">urged the United States to rethink its failed war on drugs</a>, to no avail.




  • Because Of The Fast And Furious Scandal


    In an attempt to track guns as they moved across the U.S.-Mexico border, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/atf-fast-furious-sg,0,3828090.storygallery">allowed smugglers to purchase weapons</a>. The ATF lost track of the guns and they wound up in the hands of drug cartels -- even as <a href="http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2012/09/11/atf-fast-and-furious-guns-appear-in-colombia/">far south as Colombia</a>.




  • Because American Politicians Refuse To Candidly Lead A Debate On Reforming Our Laws


    Though the subject of marijuana legalization regularly ranks among the most popular at the digital town halls President Obama takes part in, he <a href="http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/07/06/askobama-twitter-town-hall-ignores-flood-of-marijuana-legalization-questions/">declines to address the issue</a> or give it a <a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2009/03/obama-addresses.html">thoughtful answer</a>. Incidentally, a younger Obama <a href="http://www.wusa9.com/news/article/229756/82/We-Need-To-Decriminalize-Our-Marijuana-Laws----Barack-Obama">supported marijuana decriminalization and a rethinking of the drug war</a>.




  • Because The U.S. Tortures Detainees In Cuba


    Almost 800 prisoners accused of terrorism have have been held at the <a href="http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/01/06/guantanamo-ten-years">U.S. military prison of Guantánamo</a>, Cuba, where they are detained indefinitely without facing trial. The United States has drawn international criticism from human rights defenders for subjecting the detainees there to torture and other cruel treatment. The Cuban government opposes hosting the U.S. naval base on its soil.




  • Because The U.S. Has The World's Largest Prison Population


    The United States has <a href="http://www.prb.org/Articles/2012/us-incarceration.aspx">the world's largest prison population</a> by far -- largely fed by the war on drugs -- at 500 per 100,000 people.




  • Because The U.S. Jails Undocumented Immigrants Guilty Of Civil Violations


    Because the United States <a href="http://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/ExposeAndClose">imprisons roughly 400,000 immigrants</a> each year on civil violations.




  • Because The Border Patrol Kills Kids Who Throw Rocks


    The U.S. Border Patrol has come under fire for <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/26/border-patrol-killing-un_n_2018731.html">killing minors who were throwing rocks</a>.




  • Because The U.S. Recognized An Illegal Government In Venezuela


    When opponents of leftwing Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez briefly ousted him in 2002, the United States not only failed to condemn the coup, it <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/16/world/bush-officials-met-with-venezuelans-who-ousted-leader.html">praised the coup leaders</a>.




  • Because U.S. Extradition Undermines Justice In Colombia


    When Colombia demobilized the largest rightwing paramilitary organization in 2006, if offered lenient sentences to those who would offer details on the atrocities the AUC committed. But rather than facing justice in their home country, <a href="http://www.propublica.org/article/colombian-paramilitaries-extradited-to-u.s.-where-cases-are-sealed">Colombia has extradited several paramilitary leaders to the United States</a> to face drug trafficking charges -- marking it harder for people like Bela Henríquez to find out the details surrounding the murders of their loved ones. "More than anger, I feel powerless," Henriquez, whose father, Julio, was kidnapped and killed on the orders of one defendant, told ProPublica. "We don't know what they are negotiating, what conditions they are living under. What guarantee of justice do we have?"




  • Because The U.S. Helped Create Today's Cartels


    The U.S funded the Guatemalan military during the 1960s and 1970s anti-insurgency war, despite awareness of widespread human rights violations. Among the recipients of U.S military funding and training were the Kaibiles, a special force unit responsible for several massacres. Former <a href="http://ghrc-usa.org/Publications/factsheet_kaibiles.pdf" target="_hplink">Kaibiles have joined the ranks of the Zetas drug cartel</a>.




  • Because The U.S. Backed An Argentine Military Dictatorship That Killed 30,000 People


    The rightwing military dictatorship that took over Argentina in 1976 "disappeared" some 30,000 people, according to estimates by several human rights organizations. They subjected countless others to sadistic forms of torture and stole dozens of babies from mothers they jailed and murdered. The military junta carried out the so-called "Dirty War" with the <a href="http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB104/index.htm">full knowledge and support of the Nixon administration</a>.




  • Because The U.S. Helped Topple The Democratically Elected Government Of Salvador Allende


    When it became clear that socialist Salvador Allende would likely win the presidency in Chile, U.S. President Richard Nixon told the CIA to "make the economy scream" in order to "prevent Allende from coming to power or to unseat him," <a href="http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB8/nsaebb8i.htm">according to the National Security Archive</a>. Augusto Pinochet overthrew Allende in a bloody coup on Sept. 11, 1973, torturing and disappearing thousands of his political rivals with the backing of the U.S. government.




  • Because the U.S. Backed A Military Coup In Brazil In 1964


    The Brazilian military overthrew the democratically elected government of João Goulart in 1964, with the <a href="http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB118/index.htm">enthusiastic support of President Lyndon Johnson</a>, ushering in two decades of repressive government.




  • Because The U.S. Funded A Terrorist Group In Nicaragua


    The Reagan administration funded the Contra rebels against the Marxist Sandinista government in Nicaragua. Regarded by many as terrorists, <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/1985-03-08/news/mn-32283_1_contras">the Contras murdered, tortured and raped civilians</a>. When human rights organizations reported on the crimes, the Reagan administration accused them of working on behalf of the Sandinistas.




  • Because The U.S. Helped Finance Atrocities In Colombia


    Through Plan Colombia, the U.S. has pumped over $6 billion into Colombia's military and intelligence service since 2002. The intelligence service has been disbanded for <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/national-security/us-aid-implicated-in-abuses-of-power-in-colombia/2011/06/21/gIQABrZpSJ_story.html">spying on the Supreme Court and carrying out smear campaigns</a> against the justices, as well as journalists, members of Congress and human rights activists. The military faces numerous allegations of human rights abuse, including the practice of killing non-combatants from poor neighborhoods and dressing them up as guerrillas to inflate enemy casualty statistics.




  • Because The U.S. Maintains A Trade Embargo Against Cuba Despite Opposition From The Entire World


    For 21 years, the <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/u-n-urges-end-u-cuba-embargo-21st-192516276.html">U.N. has condemned the U.S. embargo against Cuba</a> and for 21 years the United States has ignored it. Some 188 nations voted against the embargo this year, with only the U.S. itself, Israel, Palau opposing.




  • Because The U.S. Engineered A Coup Against The Democratically Elected Government Of Guatemala In 1954


    At the behest of United Fruit Company, a U.S. corporation with extensive holdings in Central America, the CIA helped engineer the overthrow of the Guatemalan government in 1954, ushering in decades of civil war that resulted in the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives.




  • Because The U.S. Backed The Salvadoran Military As It Committed Atrocities In The 1980s


    El Salvador's military <a href="http://www.pbs.org/itvs/enemiesofwar/elsalvador2.html">committed atrocities throughout the 1980s with U.S. funding</a>.




  • Because The U.S. Invaded Haiti and Occupied It For Almost 20 Years


    Woodrow Wilson ordered the Marines to <a href="http://history.state.gov/milestones/1914-1920/Haiti">invade and occupy Haiti in 1915</a> after the assassination of the Haitian president. The troops didn't leave until 1934.




  • Because The U.S. Invaded Haiti Again In 1994


    One invasion wasn't good enough. The U.S. <a href="http://wws.princeton.edu/research/cases/haiti.pdf">military returned in 1994</a>.




  • Because The U.S. Trained Military Leaders Who Committed Atrocities In Latin America


    The School of the Americas in Ft. Benning, Georgia, trained soldiers and generals responsible for massacres and torture of tens of thousands of Latin Americans, <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestoryamericas/2012/09/201292081054585410.html">according to Al Jazeera</a>.




  • Because The U.S. Backed Dictator Rafael Trujillo


    Rafael Trujillo Sr. (Photo by Hank Walker//Time Life Pictures/Getty Images)




  • Because The U.S. Invaded Cuba And Undermined The Island's Independence


    The so-called "Spanish-American War" began in 1868 with the first of a series of three wars for Cuban independence. In 1898, the U.S. got involved, invading Cuba and occupying the island after forcing Spain to give it. The United States then forced Cuba to <a href="http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=55">accept the odious Platt Amendent to its Constitution</a>, which allowed the United States to intervene in the country militarily and established the U.S. military base at Guantánamo.




  • Because The U.S. Colonized Puerto Rico


    As long as you're invading Cuba, <a href="http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/puerto-rico-invaded">why not take Puerto Rico</a> as well? The United States invaded in 1898 and the island remains a U.S. territory today.