16 TheTarHeel Thursday, August 5, 1971
UNC research discovery
Marijuana no
add
ictive
by Bill Lovin
Staff Writer
UNC researchers have
discovered the active ingredient
in marijuana is not harmful or
addictive and may have potential
as a pain-killer.
Dr. William L. Dewey of N.C.
Memorial Hospital said lab
animals showed no signs of
painful withdrawal after
repeated treatments of
tetrahydrocannabol (THC) were
stopped.
Dewey said the animals were
given massive doses of THC with
no ill effects. Dewey called this
the "most interesting single
finding to date."
Animals receiving THC began
to develop a tolerance to the
drug. It is "of the same
magnitude as tolerance to
morphine,"' said Dr. Donald E.
McMillan, one of the marijuana
researchers.
McMillan pointed out that
tolerance to a drug is not the
same thing as addiction. Though
addiction and tolerance are
related with such drugs as
morphine. heroin and
barbituates, this is not the case
with THC.
This research finding is not
really in contradiction to reports
of marijuana users who claim it
takes less "grass" to become
high on successive days,
according to McMillan.
This is explained because the
active drugs in marijuana leave
the blood very slow. Research
findings indicate that 5b hours
after THC is injected into the
blood-stream, half of the drug
will remain.
If a person takes a dose of
THC on one day. he will need to
take one-quarter of the original
dose on the next day to bring
the THC level in his bloodstream
up to the original level.
Dewey said "that one reason a
person continues to get high
after repeated use of the drug is
that. although tolerance
develops to many effects of the
drug, it appears that tolerance
does not develop to some of the
psychological effects of THC or
marijuana in man."
Drug peddlers have been
selling what they say is pure
THC. usually in tablet or
powdered form. According to
Dewey, none of this is real THC.
THC only occurs as a hard,
dark resin of bluish tint. It must
be kept refrigerated in nitrogen
to prevent deterioration.
Another finding of the group
may be the sedative effect of
marijuana.
"Our studies have shown that
THC has analgesic (pain-killing)
effects in rats, mice and dogs,"
said Dewey. "Because THC is
not addictive, it may be possible
to use it instead of more
dangerous, addictive drugs."
Hypertension and high blood
pressure' may be treated with
marijuana.
"It's unusual for a drug to
reduce blood pressure for more
than four hours, but the effects
of marijuana are of longer
duration," said Dewey.
Most researchers have said the
effect of THC on the brain is
depressing but Dewey said it
may be useful as an
anti-depressant since users report
a "heightened sense of well
being."
The interacting effects of
alcohol and marijuana are also
being studied by the group. First
results indicate alcohol and
marijuana taken together in low
doses tend to reduce the effects
of each drug. But as the dosage
increases, lab animals experience
addictive effects.
McMillan is studying the
effects of marijuana on pigeons,
in particular vision and hearing
changes.
There are two known forms
of THC found in marijuana
plants, delta-8-THC and
delta-9-THC. Delta-9-THC is the
more potent and is the
ingredient being studied at UNC.
Marijuana research was very
difficult until two years ago
when THC was isolated.
Marijuana potency varies from
plant to plant depending on
THC content.
The UNC research group,
headed by .Dr. Louis Harris, is
working under a $50,000 a year
grant from the National Institute
of Mental Health. One aim of
the research is the possible use
of marijuana to treat the
mentally ill.
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