Posted by Jakeman on January 7, 2005, at 23:37:05
In reply to Re: Runner's High and Marijuana, posted by gromit on January 7, 2005, at 21:00:53
> When I was younger I used to train pretty hard, running, weight training etc and I've never experienced any "runner's high". It did give me strength and endurance which was helpful in the things that did give me a kind of high. Vertical skateboarding, basketball, football, skiing etc. I wonder what the difference is, maybe adrenaline?
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> At one time I was a very heavy marijuana user, all day every day for over 10 years. That was over about 12 years ago but I have had a couple relapses since then. Each time it was like a switch flipped in my head, something came on that wasn't on before. You might think I was just high but golf scores don't lie, recordings don't lie. After a few weeks those effects are gone though, and I start fiending for more. So this is something I really can't control and shouldn't do.
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> Any ideas on substances that might have a simular effect that are OTC or something I might be able to convince a doctor to prescribe?
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> Thanks
> RickI don't know of anything comparable that is currently available, but as the study below suggests, it is something that researchers may be iinnvestigating.
Jakeman"Anandamide hydrolysis: a new target for anti-anxiety drugs?"
Trends Mol Med. 2003 Nov;9(11):474-8.The major psychoactive constituent of cannabis, Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol, affects emotional states in humans and laboratory animals by activating brain cannabinoid receptors. A primary endogenous ligand of these receptors is anandamide, the amide of arachidonic acid with ethanolamine. Anandamide is released in selected regions of the brain and is deactivated through a two-step process consisting of transport into cells followed by intracellular hydrolysis. Pharmacological blockade of the enzyme fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), which is responsible for intracellular anandamide degradation, produces anxiolytic-like effects in rats without causing the wide spectrum of behavioral responses typical of direct-acting cannabinoid agonists. These findings suggest that anandamide contributes to the regulation of emotion and anxiety, and that FAAH might be the target for a novel class of anxiolytic drugs.
poster:Jakeman
thread:436411
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20050101/msgs/439248.html