Marijuana Essays (1789 words) - Entheogens, Euphoriants,

Marijuana Marijuana Special Report: CLAIM FOUR: Marijuana causes long-term changes in the brain similar to those seen with other drugs of abuse . . . Back in the 1970s, animal experiments led to groundless fears that marijuana blew holes in brain tissue. The experiments organisations like NIDA now fund are more sophisticated but the controversy still rages. George Koob, an addiction researcher from The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, claims the new message from the animals is simple: The more we discover about the neurobiology of addiction the more common elements we're seeing between THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, the main active ingredient in cannabis) and other drugs of abuse. And for Koob, one of these newly discovered common elements is marijauna's ability to trigger chemical changes in the brain that lead to strong withdrawal symptoms. In humans, some researchers claim to see clear evidence of insomnia, anxiety and even flu-like symptoms in heavy cannabis users who abstain. But if there's a consensus, it's that symptoms are mild and variable. By contrast, Koob's rats are shivering wrecks. Does this mean marijuana is more addictive than we think? Not a bit of it, says Roger Pertwee, a university pharmacologist and president of the Cannabinoid Research Society. That's because those symptoms aren't so much observed as manufactured. The animals are injected with high doses of THC, then injected with a second chemical to block cannabis receptors in the brain. Without the block, the sharp withdrawal symptoms can't be seen because cannabis clears so slowly that even heavily doped rats are likely to experience a gentle wind down. Another debate rages over animal studies into the short-term effects of marijuana on brain chemistry. Heroin, cocaine, alcohol and nicotine all trigger a surge in the chemical dopamine in a small midbrain structure called the nucleus accumbens. Many researchers regard this as a hallmark of an addictive substance. Last year, experiments showed that cannabis presses the same dopamine button in rats, leading to claims that the drug must be more addictive than previously thought. To critics, it is just another example of those old exaggerated fears. What nobody tells you, says John Morgan, a pharmacologist at City University of New York Medical School, is that rats don't like cannabis. It's easy for them to get hooked on heroin or cocaine -- but not marijuana. Nor, Morgan claims, are researchers exactly open about awkward observations, such as the fact that there are plenty of nonaddictive drugs that stimulate dopamine in the brain. It's easy to understand why biologists want to find simple chemical traits that are shared by all addictive drugs. Unfortunately, the differences are as important as the similarities when it comes to weighing the relative risks and pleasures involved in taking drugs. And subjectively at least, the intense rush of cocaine and orgasm-like high of heroin have little in common with dope's subtler effects. A compound related to the active ingredient in marijuana may be accumulating in the spinal fluid of people with schizophrenia. This might explain why many sufferers smoke pot. Many researchers blame schizophrenia on an overactive dopamine system in the brain. Daniele Piomelli and colleagues at the University of California at Irvine already knew that making rats? dopamine receptors hyperactive caused a surge in anandamide, a lipid that binds to the same receptors in the brain as marijuana. Now Piomelli?s group has examined cerebrospinal fluid from 10 schizophrenic patients, taken for diagnostic purposes at the Medical College of Hannover in Germany. They found that fluid from schizophrenic patients had on average twice as much anandamide as fluid from people who didn?t have schizophrenia (NeuroReport, vol 10, p 1665). One explanation for the higher levels in schizophrenics is that the brain is attempting to compensate for a hyperactive dopamine system. ?It?s the brain?s response to bring this dopamine activity down,? says Piomelli. But the brain cannot keep the amount of anandamide high enough to lower dopamine levels, he says. This might also explain why schizophrenics often smoke marijuana. The drug?s active agent, THC, and anandamide both bind to the same receptor, so patients might be treating themselves, he says. But because pot does not act selectively in the brain, Piomelli does not consider it a useful treatment

How to Write a Sample Answer to Bar Exam Essay Question

How to Write a Sample Answer to Bar Exam Essay QuestionOne of the first things that you need to learn if you are a student studying for the Massachusetts Bar Exam is exactly what your sample answer to Bar Exam essay question should look like. With this knowledge, you will be able to begin working through the sections of the test in the proper order and pace. After you know exactly what to write in each section, you can begin to work through the various parts of the examination in the correct sequence.The first sample answer to Bar Exam essay question you need to master is the type of paper that you will receive as part of your test preparation package. Each exam review course will suggest different types of papers for you to study on, but you will want to make sure that you prepare for each type of paper.A good example of a sample answer to Bar Exam essay question is that you should choose to write an essay based on a current situation or research you have done. These types of papers are often longer and more involved than the types of papers that you would prepare for if you were studying for the exam on your own. The important thing is that you follow the directions that are provided by your review course textbook in order to do this.Another very important aspect of writing a sample answer to Bar Exam essay question is that you should follow the instructions that you receive with a particular type of paper. Typically, you will be given a list of instructions, but sometimes you will not be. If this is the case, then you should try to think of a question yourself and then try to find an answer to it. Remember that many students miss important elements of a test because they are not careful about what they are trying to accomplish.The final part of writing a sample answer to Bar Exam essay question is to find out where you should begin and where you should end your paper. You should start writing at the beginning of the exam, and you should end your paper at the end of the section. The next time you take the exam, you will be able to remember how to get from one part of the exam to the next in the most efficient manner possible.It is also important that you find the right questions to ask. Many students fail to follow directions when they are taking the exam, and this leads to mistakes because they do not have the appropriate questions to use on the examination. The last thing you want to do is have to spend any extra time doing this portion of the exam because you did not follow the instructions correctly.When you begin studying for the exam, make sure that you have access to a lot of questions that are related to your area of practice. This is extremely important because you will want to ensure that you do not miss a single question that is important to your final score. As such, you should make sure that you spend some time researching for the right questions to use during your exam.It is easy to be overwhelmed by all of the information that you need to know about writing a sample answer to Bar Exam essay question. Fortunately, you will have access to sample answers to Bar Exam essay question for many types of papers. You should make sure that you do not miss any question, because failing to do so could mean that you do not receive a passing grade on the exam.