Here is an interesting little read concerning MJ / MMJ.

Here is an interesting little read concerning MJ / MMJ. I got this from a news item from another stock I own so the whole article is not included.....just the pertenate part of the subject matter.
Should you wish to have the whole article, PM me and I will forward to you where I got it. GLTA

_______________________________________________________

Based on State by State laws the Company can proceed with studies in the 25+ states approved for medical marijuana, and lay the groundwork for expanding into other states across the nation as legislation changes and more states become legal. This could also be seen as a mechanism to verify the effectiveness of CBD/THC on patients that use the medication as a bronchodilator.

Studies have shown CBD/THC to be effective as a bronchial dilator and in many cases being better that Albuterol or Ipratropium.

Studies have demonstrated that THC may act as a temporary (1-2 hours) bronchodilator, especially when ingested. The New England Journal of Medicine, published a 1973 study that stated, "Marihuana smoke, unlike cigarette smoke, causes broncho-dilation rather than broncho-constriction [narrowing of the air passages] and, unlike opiates, does not cause central respiratory depression [i.e. a decrease in breathing]."

Another long-term study (20 years) done from 1985 to 2006, examined 5,000 subjects from three American cities. The researchers questioned the participants about their cannabis and cigarette use, and tested lung capacity as well as rate of air flow out of their lungs. To their surprise, the researchers found that at low to moderate levels of cannabis smoking, lung volume and air flow rates both increased with each "joint year" (365 joints), up until seven joint-years (or 2,555 joints).

Bronchodilatory effects - Studies performed in the 1970's at the University of California Los Angeles by Donald Tashkin have shown that both inhaled and orally ingested THC produce bronchodilation for up to two hours after administration [1]. Further investigations by the Respiratory Pharmacology Laboratory in Paris have shown that CB1 receptor activation inhibits cholinergic contraction in a concentration-dependent fashion, offering a possible mechanism for acute bronchodilation associated with cannabis intake [2]. Although smoked cannabis also has this effect, any kind of combustion creates other lung irritants that would be counterproductive for COPD treatment.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive lung disease that makes it difficult to breathe. "Progressive" means that the disease gets worse over time.

Approximately 12 million people in the United States have been diagnosed with COPD. Many more may be affected and not know they have it.

CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PUMONARY DISEASE (COPD) LUNG FUNCTION & CANNABIS STUDIES COMPLETED

1968 - Study - Byssinosis, Chronic Bronchitis, and Ventilatory Capacities in Workers Exposed to Soft Hemp Dust. 1997 - News - Heavy Long-Term Marijuana Use Does Not Impair Lung Function. 1997 - Study - Heavy Habitual Marijuana Smoking Does Not Cause an Accelerated Decline in FEV with Age. 2005 - Study - The cannabinoid receptor agonist WIN 55212-2 inhibits neurogenic inflammations in airway tissues. 2005 - Lecture - THC effective in appetite and weight loss in severe lung disease (COPD). 2005 - News - Researchers to test if cannabis ingredient can help COPD patients. 2005 - News - THC effective in appetite and weight loss in severe lung disease (COPD). 2007 - Study - Effects of Marijuana Smoking on Pulmonary Function and Respiratory Complications: A Systematic Review. 2007 - Study - No Decrease in Pulmonary Function Associated with Long-Term Cannabis Smoking, Study Says. 2009 - Study - Marijuana. Respiratory tract effects. 2009 - Study - Marijuana and chronic obstructive lung disease: a population-based study. 2009 - Patent - US Patent Application 20090197941 - Pharmaceutical Compositons for the Treatment of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. 2009 - News - Smoking Pot, Cigarettes Ups COPD Risk. 2009 - News - Does smoking marijuana increase the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease? 2009 - Study - Marijuana and chronic obstructive lung disease: a population-based study. 2010 - Study - Effects of cannabis on lung function: a population-based cohort study. 2011 - Study - Effects of smoking cannabis on lung function. 2011 - Study - Cannabinoid effects on ventilation and breathlessness: A pilot study of efficacy and safety. 2011 - Study - Beneficial effects of cannabinoids (CB) in a murine model of allergen-induced airway inflammation: role of CB1/CB2 receptors. 2012 - News - Marijuana Smoke Not as Damaging as Tobacco, Says Study.

Marijuana has long been reported to relieve symptoms of asthma. Now, research explains why marijuana's main ingredient may help patients breathe easier.

How Cannabinoids may help COPD

◾Cannabinoids relieve inflammation
◾Cannabinoids are anti-microbial
◾Cannabinoids support / modulate the immune system and its response to infection and disease
◾Cannabinoids are expectorants
◾Cannabinoids are analgesic (pain relief)
◾Cannabinoid medicine has little to no side effects
In COPD, air flow is restrictive due to:

◾The airways + air sacs have a lack of elasticity
◾Air sac destruction and inflammation
◾Increased mucus and clogged airways
Published last week in the British Journal of Pharmacology, a new study shows marijuana may have a similar effect on the airways as some asthma medications.

Using samples of human lung tissue, French researchers found that THC could block muscle contractions caused by a signaling molecule called acetylcholine.

Acetylcholine is responsible for maintaining muscle tone of the airways and also contributes to contractions in asthma attacks. Interestingly, asthma medications block the same molecule, but from a slightly different angle.

"They prevent the acetylcholine from binding to its receptor," explains Dr. Donald Tashkin, who was not involved with the study. "But THC works proximal to that. It doesn't have any competitive effect for binding to receptors. It just prevents the acetylcholine from being released."

Dr. Donald Tashkin, a lung expert and professor of medicine at UCLA, was part of the team that first discovered marijuana's effect as a bronchodilator. In 1973, his group published a study in the New England Journal of Medicine that found airways widen in both healthy and asthmatic individuals after smoking marijuana.

"It also succeeded in reversing experimentally induced asthma, in a manner that was comparable to what could be achieved with a standard therapeutic bronchodilator that was widely used at the time."

Dr. Tashkin explains, "I don't know if anyone's ever studied the effect of vaporized THC on airway smooth muscle, but my guess is that it would lead to bronchodilation."

.