Cannabis may prevent Alzheimer's

This is the big story of the day.

New research shows that the active ingredient in marijuana may prevent the progression of the disease by preserving levels of an important neurotransmitter that allows the brain to function.

Researchers at the Scripps Research Institute in California found that marijuana's active ingredient, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, can prevent the neurotransmitter acetylcholine from breaking down more effectively than commercially marketed drugs.

THC is also more effective at blocking clumps of protein that can inhibit memory and cognition in Alzheimer's patients, the researchers reported in the journal Molecular Pharmaceutics.

Note that THC is the ingredient in cannabis that the pharmaceutical companies are always trying to eliminate with their synthentic versions, yet time and time again, research shows that it's the combination of elements in the natural herb that are the most beneficial. Granted, smoking marijuana is not the most harmless manner of using the plant, but with vaporizers any concern about the hazard of smoking it are virtually eliminated and it remains the most effective way to use the medicine.

In the face of this growing evidence, if our government and the corporations who own it, really cared about the health of Americans, they would be pushing to legalize the plant themselves. The only reason the pharmas continue to fund prohibition is they want a stranglehold on the profit side of the plant.