Scientists invent 'cannabis without the high'

bleedlikeme · 05-30-12 at 08:35 PM

JERUSALEM — Israeli scientists have cultivated a cannabis plant that doesn't get people stoned in a development that may help those smoking marijuana for medical purposes, a newspaper said on Wednesday.

According to the Maariv daily, the new cannabis looks, smells and even tastes the same, but does not induce any of the feelings normally associated with smoking marijuana that are brought on by the substance THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol.

"It has the same scent, shape and taste as the original plant -- it's all the same -- but the numbing sensation that users are accustomed to has disappeared," said Tzahi Klein, head of development at Tikkun Olam, the firm that developed the species.

"Many of our patients who tried the new plant come back to us and say: 'You tricked me,'" because they assumed they had been given a placebo, he said.

According to Maariv, Tikkun Olam sought to neutralise the effect of the THC and to increase the effect of another substance called CBD, or cannabidiol, which has been shown to help diabetics and to ease various psychiatric disorders.

Not only does it leave users stone-cold sober, it also doesn't induce the munchies, the hunger pangs that the drug's smokers generally suffer.

Despite the innovation, it is unlikely to have any impact on Israeli law, which outlaws the use of marijuana as illegal except for medical purposes.

According to figures published earlier this year by Sheba Medical Centre and the Israel Cancer Association, medical marijuana has been approved for use by about 6,000 Israelis suffering from various illnesses.

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http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jLh3LxYTEOLIechlKYLHxi3VDG-A?docId=CNG.60490b622cc956adb6a886ff4c892ab7.861

lando909 · 05-30-12 at 09:01 PM

Seems pointless to me because a good deal of cancer patients use cannabis because it gives you the munchies and when on chemotherapy they don't feel like eating anything or can't keep anything down. So I don't see any medical merit to this at all when the article states it will help people who use it for medical purposes. How exactly?

**nerdyplayer** · 05-30-12 at 10:02 PM

medical marijuana is also used as a way to ease pain people may have.
and not only is there the munchees people get, but there is an ingredient that can actually help slow down cancer from spreading. i cannot remember what it was though.

**Majes_G** · 05-30-12 at 10:05 PM

cannabis plant that doesn't get people stoned......I think the scientist are missing the point.

**Always.drunk** · 05-30-12 at 10:35 PM

these scientist must have run out of ideas or got nothing better to do

AsoSako · 05-31-12 at 12:06 AM

OMFG all I see cannabis activists talk about is the great medical effects of cannabis and that if there was a version of it without the high it would be a great thing for society because we would have yet another great widely available medicine, but the high not being a big issue they demand we legalize it anyways. However when they did make a version of it without the high all I hear is complaints. Uhmmm you activists sure care a lot about the medicinal effects. I call major bullshit here.

**usiel** · 05-31-12 at 12:44 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by AsoSako

OMFG all I see cannabis activists talk about is the great medical effects of cannabis and that if there was a version of it without the high it would be a great thing for society because we would have yet another great widely available medicine, but the high not being a big issue they demand we legalize it anyways. However when they did make a version of it without the high all I hear is complaints. Uhmmm you activists sure care a lot about the medicinal effects. I call major bullshit here.

So, instead of growing it yourself that is capable of helping others you rather just purchase some kind of pill that will cost 200 times than what it should. Now that right there is bullshit.

AsoSako · 05-31-12 at 01:08 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by usiel

So, instead of growing it yourself that is capable of helping others you rather just purchase some kind of pill that will cost 200 times than what it should. Now that right there is bullshit.

Newsflash, legalized medicinal marijuana with the high would cost 200 times than what it should anyways... This is not at all what I am arguing here and you are going off topic towards the discussion of privatized healthcare and pharmaceutical monopoly and I don't appreciate my statement being detracted from for the sake of obscuring it's message of the blatant hypocrisy of most cannabis activists.

**CyberKingdom** · 05-31-12 at 01:40 AM

So you can get the lung cancer without getting high in the process! Great idea!

Adanaliyik · 05-31-12 at 02:09 AM

What they are trying to do is obvious. If they can make a plant that has all the "medical benefits" of marijuana without the "high", then they can avoid the massive number of "patients" that California has.

On the conspiracy side, drug companies have so far been unable to create a pill equivalent because they couldn't remove the THC without removing the CBD's. With this plant, they can produce pills that have the "medical benefits", but wouldn't need to be government controlled. That way they could replace this inexpensive and readily available medical treatment with an expensive, but totally legal solution of their own...

:)

EDIT: @AsoSako: One of the most common complaints against this plant is that the majority of medical benefits have been removed by removing the THC. The "munchies" that help chemo patients eat when they wouldn't be able to otherwise for example. Or the muscle relaxant and pain relief properties for those in constant pain who don't want to be on morphine. There are way too many patients in California, granted, but that doesn't mean these benefits don't exist.

It could eliminate the high for those with the specific ailments the CBD's address, which would not be a bad thing. But, this discovery only represents a fraction of the medical benefits and ignores a lot of the other (how's it work on glaucoma for example?). The "whining" you mentioned was people addressing those other medical benefits, which are actually some of the more important benefits of medical marijuana use, high or no high. And, unless this plant or another like it can address those ailments too, without the high, it's not the 100% replacement it's being advertised as...

brisuth · 05-31-12 at 04:54 AM

"numbing sensation" ???.......!

**PhoenixBSD** · 05-31-12 at 05:35 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by brisuth

"numbing sensation" ???.......!

You beat me to it brisuth!

**L1b3rta** · 05-31-12 at 07:10 AM

Just googled the article, and the "jamaicaobserver" was on the nr.1 hit. That's irony in its richest value.

**Spacebunny** · 05-31-12 at 01:08 PM

Thats like... food with-out taste or smell... pointless as no one is going to buy it :)

05-31-12 at 12:06 AM	#6
AsoSako Newcomer Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 51	OMFG all I see cannabis activists talk about is the great medical effects of cannabis and that if there was a version of it without the high it would be a great thing for society because we would have yet another great widely available medicine, but the high not being a big issue they demand we legalize it anyways. However when they did make a version of it without the high all I hear is complaints. Uhmmm you activists sure care a lot about the medicinal effects. I call major bullshit here. Last edited by AsoSako; 05-31-12 at 12:10 AM.

05-31-12 at 02:09 AM	#10
Adanaliyik Master Join Date: May 2012 Location: Turkey Posts: 1,162	What they are trying to do is obvious. If they can make a plant that has all the "medical benefits" of marijuana without the "high", then they can avoid the massive number of "patients" that California has. On the conspiracy side, drug companies have so far been unable to create a pill equivalent because they couldn't remove the THC without removing the CBD's. With this plant, they can produce pills that have the "medical benefits", but wouldn't need to be government controlled. That way they could replace this inexpensive and readily available medical treatment with an expensive, but totally legal solution of their own... :) EDIT: @AsoSako: One of the most common complaints against this plant is that the majority of medical benefits have been removed by removing the THC. The "munchies" that help chemo patients eat when they wouldn't be able to otherwise for example. Or the muscle relaxant and pain relief properties for those in constant pain who don't want to be on morphine. There are way too many patients in California, granted, but that doesn't mean these benefits don't exist. It could eliminate the high for those with the specific ailments the CBD's address, which would not be a bad thing. But, this discovery only represents a fraction of the medical benefits and ignores a lot of the other (how's it work on glaucoma for example?). The "whining" you mentioned was people addressing those other medical benefits, which are actually some of the more important benefits of medical marijuana use, high or no high. And, unless this plant or another like it can address those ailments too, without the high, it's not the 100% replacement it's being advertised as... Last edited by Adanaliyik; 05-31-12 at 02:23 AM.

05-30-12 at 09:01 PM	#2
lando909 Novice Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Atomic City USA Posts: 132	Seems pointless to me because a good deal of cancer patients use cannabis because it gives you the munchies and when on chemotherapy they don't feel like eating anything or can't keep anything down. So I don't see any medical merit to this at all when the article states it will help people who use it for medical purposes. How exactly?

05-30-12 at 10:02 PM	#3
nerdyplayer Apprentice Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 282	medical marijuana is also used as a way to ease pain people may have. and not only is there the munchees people get, but there is an ingredient that can actually help slow down cancer from spreading. i cannot remember what it was though.

05-30-12 at 10:05 PM	#4
Majes_G Elite Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Cyberdyne Posts: 1,514	cannabis plant that doesn't get people stoned......I think the scientist are missing the point.

05-30-12 at 10:35 PM	#5
Always.drunk Apprentice Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 482	these scientist must have run out of ideas or got nothing better to do

05-31-12 at 12:44 AM	#7
usiel Master Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 1,121	Quote: Originally Posted by AsoSako OMFG all I see cannabis activists talk about is the great medical effects of cannabis and that if there was a version of it without the high it would be a great thing for society because we would have yet another great widely available medicine, but the high not being a big issue they demand we legalize it anyways. However when they did make a version of it without the high all I hear is complaints. Uhmmm you activists sure care a lot about the medicinal effects. I call major bullshit here. So, instead of growing it yourself that is capable of helping others you rather just purchase some kind of pill that will cost 200 times than what it should. Now that right there is bullshit.

05-31-12 at 01:08 AM	#8
AsoSako Newcomer Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 51	Quote: Originally Posted by usiel So, instead of growing it yourself that is capable of helping others you rather just purchase some kind of pill that will cost 200 times than what it should. Now that right there is bullshit. Newsflash, legalized medicinal marijuana with the high would cost 200 times than what it should anyways... This is not at all what I am arguing here and you are going off topic towards the discussion of privatized healthcare and pharmaceutical monopoly and I don't appreciate my statement being detracted from for the sake of obscuring it's message of the blatant hypocrisy of most cannabis activists.

05-31-12 at 01:40 AM	#9
CyberKingdom Master Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 1,105	So you can get the lung cancer without getting high in the process! Great idea!

05-31-12 at 04:54 AM	#11
brisuth Newcomer Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 15	"numbing sensation" ???.......!

05-31-12 at 05:35 AM	#12
PhoenixBSD Luminiferous Ether Sailor Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Thailand Posts: 1,610	Quote: Originally Posted by brisuth "numbing sensation" ???.......! You beat me to it brisuth!

05-31-12 at 07:10 AM	#13
L1b3rta Guru Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 5,989	Just googled the article, and the "jamaicaobserver" was on the nr.1 hit. That's irony in its richest value.

05-31-12 at 01:08 PM	#14
Spacebunny Novice Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 236	Thats like... food with-out taste or smell... pointless as no one is going to buy it :)