[DrJay2001]

It was bound to happen. Having discovered the endocannabinoids scientists have been creating both agonist and antagonists to endocannibinoid actions. While blocking the "reward" action in the brain from endo (or exo) cannabinoids may reduce appetite, etc. one has to worry just what long term side effects such meddling in brain regulatory systems this might have. Endocanniboids are essential, for instance, for babies to be able to nurse. They are precursors in hormone synthesis, and help prevent excessive innervation seen in movement disorders. Can you imagine the side effects?

My other concern is that now a substance has been created to block the action of cannabis it is likely that folks arrested for pot related offenses may be court ordered to take antagonist medicine. What a nightmare.

Yours,
Dr. jay


Anti-Obesity Pill Might Fight Drug Abuse
By MALCOLM RITTER, AP
NEW YORK (Nov. 14) - A pill that helps you lose weight and quit smoking? That was amazing enough to capture headlines last week. But scientists say the experimental drug might be even more versatile, providing a new tool to help people stop abusing drugs and alcohol, too.

It's called rimonabant, or Acomplia, and last week researchers reported it could help people not only lose weight but keep it off for two years. That burnished the drug's reputation after two studies in March, which suggested it could fight both obesity and smoking, two of humanity's biggest killers. The French pharmaceutical firm Sanofi-Aventis plans to seek federal approval for rimonabant next year. But the drug's benefits may go beyond just smokers and obese people, researchers say.

"I think it's going to have a big impact on the treatment of addiction," said Dr. Charles O'Brien, an addiction expert at the University of Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Animal studies suggest rimonabant can block the effects of marijuana and fight relapse in alcohol and cocaine abuse, he said. Once it is approved for treating obesity or smoking, "we'll be free to study it in these other areas and I'll try to get my hands on it as quickly as possible," O'Brien said. He's not alone in his enthusiasm.

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism is interested in seeing whether rimonabant can help treat heavy drinkers, said Dr. George Kunos of the institute. No human test results for rimonabant in alcohol abuse have yet been published, he said. But researchers at the National Institute on Drug Abuse reported in 2001 that a single dose of the drug could block the effects of smoked marijuana in people, not just animals. That suggests the drug could be useful in treating marijuana dependence, said Marilyn Huestis, principal investigator of the study. The institute is now pursuing follow-up research, said Huestis, acting chief for chemistry and drug metabolism research at NIDA.

Rimonabant's versatility traces back to its effects on the brain's reward system, circuitry that tells you to keep on doing something. Basically, it appears to help break the connection between an activity like smoking and the rewarding feeling it causes in the brain. The body has its own marijuana-like substances called endocannabinoids, and they activate certain brain cells that in turn can lead to stimulation of the brain's reward system. Pleasurable things like drinking alcohol are thought to activate a feeling of reward by acting through the endocannabinoid system.

"We think that the (endocannabinoid) system is overactivated by chronic smoking, or perhaps even excessive overeating," said Dr. Robert Anthenelli of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and the Cincinnati Veterans Affairs Medical Center. He's on the advisory board of Sanofi-Aventis. Rimonabant blocks the effect of the natural endocannabinoids by keeping them from latching onto the brain cells they normally stimulate, he said. In smokers, for example, that seems to restore the natural balance of the brain reward circuitry, he said.
11/14/04 16:27 EST

**My other concern is that now a substance has been created to block the action of cannabis it is likely that folks arrested for pot related offenses may be court ordered to take antagonist medicine**

Surely they cant leglly force people to do that can they?
Thats preposterous!

[DrJay2001]

Yes, the mandatory use of Rimonabant can be ordered as part of probation/parole. It essentially works like naltrexone for opiates. Folks will able to refuse but then will not be offered probation/parole.

Yours,
Dr. Jay

[nattynattygurrl]

wow!! Dr. Jay, heard 'bout dat, (it's new drug for "weight loss", yes?), however i didn't put it all together...Not good news! :( Sorta like "chemical castration" for sexual preditors, except these ppl aren't hurtin' any1 & will, in many cases, be ppl w/ medical probs, just tryin to find a bit of relief!! :X

I for 1, am just so tiered of being scared, all the time...& all b/c i smoke pot for medical, (& spiritual), reasons!! i'm tiered of being afraid of each knock at my door, each phone call & every time i get in my car!!!


Dr. Jay, it's good to see u again, my friend!!
Hope ths finds u feeling alright!!
Thanks, once again, for more grate info.! Ur the best!!
Take care of urself, good Dr.!


Hope ths finds the rest of u doing & feeling well too!!
Be peaceful my friends,
natty

[mybeans420]

well, lets all hope that the scandals involving the fda makes it much harder to bring this stuff to market.

[DrJay2001]

Welcome back IandI. Yeah, being afraid is tiresome. I suggest we just all stop being afraid. Let's just use our medicine, tend our gardens, and love our friends. If the government types insist in being miserable so be it.

I'm just back too...from neck surgery. I'm sporting some new hardware (titanium).

Yours,
dr. Jay