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IIS. body'K,0~ Ila Own Medical Marijuana O httww.mapu.c.org/drugmtw elvO8.n 1187.a l0.html/all <br />p Mpdis:'Awairenee s Project <br />,,:..:.„http•j/www m®P W-, _:�;;i.'`r�” ? <br />US: Body Has Its Own Medical Marijuana <br />Newshawk: General Pulaski <br />Pubdate: 17 Dec 1998 <br />Source: Florda Times -Union (FL) <br />Contact: mailto:iaxstaff@iacksonville.com <br />Website: http://www.times-union.com/ <br />Forum: http://cafe._iacksonville.com/cafesocietv.html <br />Copyright: The Florida Times -Union 1998 <br />BODY HAS ITS OWN MEDICAL MARIJUANA <br />WASHINGTON -- Amid this year's clamorous battles to legalize medical <br />marijuana stands this little-known fact: Our brains and bodies are flooded <br />with a natural form of the drug. <br />Called cannabinoids, this family of compounds blocks pain, erases <br />memories and triggers hunger. Studies show they may also regulate the <br />immune system, enhance reproduction and protect the brain from stroke <br />and trauma damage. <br />Discovered in humans just a few years ago and, until recently, virtually <br />unstudied, the compounds have become one of the looming mysteries of <br />the nervous system. <br />Already, scientists are testing cannabinoids with hopes of harnessing the <br />medical power of marijuana to treat pain without its high, smoke or <br />political baggage. <br />A key challenge is separating the curing power of the compounds from <br />their mind -altering side effects. <br />Because cannabinoids are so numerous in the brain, they also could help <br />explain the workings of some of our body's most complex, and least <br />understood, systems. <br />"It's obviously important because there's so much of it. And we never <br />knew it existed before," said J. Michael Walker, a Brown University <br />psychologist who has conducted some of the first studies of how <br />1 nfA :mnn ma c... me <br />