Marijuana may Potentially Cure Depression

A new study published in the journal European Neuropsychopharmacology suggests that marijuana could be used as a potential cure for depression as it contains an ingredient that can alter our response to negative emotions and images.

The study was conducted by researchers at University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands who looked into how a compound, tetrahydrocannabinoid (THC), affected our brains.

The researchers found that THC, which is a principal psychoactive constituent of the cannabis plant, alters the response to negative images or emotions by activating endocannabinoid system naturally found in the brain.

"THC administration reduces the negative bias in emotional processing. This adds human evidence to support the hypothesis that the endocannabinoid system is involved in modulation of emotional processing and may thus be relevant for psychiatric disorders such as major depression", the researchers wrote in their report.



Source: Medindia