BBC documentary maker compares injections of THC and cannabidiol
From Mind Hacks:
I've uploaded a fascinating video clip where a TV presenter is intravenously injected with the active ingredients of cannabis as part of the BBC documentary Should I Smoke Dope?.Mainlining the active ingredients of cannabis (Mind Hacks)It's part of an experiment to compare the effects of intravenous THC and cannabidiol combined, with intravenous THC on its own. The mix of both gives the presenter a pleasant giggly high while THC on its own causes her to become desolate and paranoid.
Both are these are known to be key psychoactive ingredients in cannabis but the video is interesting as it is a reflection of the fact that THC has been most linked to an increased risk of developing psychosis while cannabidiol seems to have an antipsychotic effect.
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Way to model the real world.
Clearly these drugs are evil and must be banned, with severe penalties for anyone caught using or distributing them. :p
Also, what about pure cannabanoid?
(How else are we to discern whether the combo effect is synergetic or not?)
I agree! Dirt weed rules.
Wait...what?
Pardon my pedantry,but are you sure you don't mean "synergistic", Zuzu?
Boy it's been so long since I injected some good weed.
Or does it only seem like a long time?
This experiment was not placebo controlled, which is an obvious weakness.
The drug administration is blind (the subject does not know what she's getting), but is it double blind? In other words, does the experimenter know what he's administering?
Mood, especially laughter, is a highly social phenomenon, therefore the expectations of the experimenter can easily effect the mood of the experimenter. When the mood is part of what is being measured, this effects the outcome of the experiment.
/end experimental protocol nerd rant
"effect the mood of the subject", I mean.
I was going to preview, but then I got high.
Spazzm is correct.
Not sure about the usefulness of teasing out the separate ingredients, except for pharmacorp research.
Yet the space-time expansion is in actuality accelerating.
Funny ol' world.
This was quite a pedestrian, but odd, program (the whole thing, not just the clip above).
They definitely covered some good points, but they seemed to conclude dfferently on some complex issues, than I would. To be honest though, I can't remember any of the reasons I didn't like it's treatment of the subject, I just remember a general feeling of "..really?".
She also went to work in a coffeshop in Amsterdam, as a weedista (dig?), to see how a cannabis-decriminalized-society dealt with it, and ultimately it's utter normality.
It was ok :)
Arkizzle, sounds like you're not familiar with BBC Three's infamous dramatizations in the Lifestyle-style of storytelling. It's like listening to a guidance counsellor or an after-school special. "Down with dope, up with hope!"
*Sigh*
Yeah, there is that..
Damn though, is that where my licence fee went?
j/k, I don't have a licence :p
Knowing that cannabis affects different people differently, one person's trial doesn't really tell us much.
Exactly. I'd like to learn why cannabis affects different people differently. I remember reading somewhere that a very very small percentage of people experience hardcore psychoses after smoking—anxiety attacks and whatnot. Why is that? We really need to lift the embargo on studying psychoactive drugs . . . if for no other reason than it's bloody interesting.
This is really fascinating to me. The shift from the effects of THC and cannabidiol to pure THC corresponds precisely to the change in the way that pot affected me. Up to the age of 22 or so, it made me giggly, happy, relaxed. Since then it tends much more to make me paranoid and unable to speak or interact with others. I've heard a number of other people say that they've had that same shift.
So who's going to breed marijuana with much higher cannabidiol content?
Not, of course, that I would ever take an illegal drug or break the law in any other way.
I think smoking pot leads to potheads. And they are frightening.
perhaps you are easily frightened?
#17 eggsyntaxL
Since then it tends much more to make me paranoid and unable to speak or interact with others. I've heard a number of other people say that they've had that same shift.
Very common. Lasted about ten years. Had a big glass or two of wine before turning on and the paranoia would drift off. Finally I learned it was easier going with sativa; more giggles, more fun. Still sip when I nip though.
Me too. I tend to go with good colorado beer. and make sure it's good people. "Some like to walk in the woods." As to breeding plants with a higher cannabidiol content: it's the penultimate compound in the biosynthesis of THC, so all you gotta do is harvest early. This is _definitely_ not a definitive study (if there is such a thing) for something as complex as psychopharmacology, but interesting. Wasn't it Baudlaire (sp?) who used to do this with hash? to investigate madness? and Crowley?
I love how she keeps referring to it as "skunk"
Should I Smoke Dope?
I guess "dope" is still used to refer to weed in England?
If you're in the States and someone offers you dope, you might be a little surprised by what you get...
@ EGGSYNTAX and the like:
I feel like I am the opposite of what you are describing. I am now 25 and enjoy smoking weed occasionally through the week. I feel like I can relax better on it than when I was younger. In high school I experienced panic attacks and stopped for awhile until college was just about finished. (I know great time to start again.)
I do drink alcohol pretty regularly but don't mix the two all the time.
From my prospective, I was worrying too much about things I couldn't control when I was young. I was TOO concerned about unimportant things in this material world. When I let go more of things and understood this was just a ride then I didn't really have panic anymore. I also noticed people who drink coffee often are too wound up for it sometimes. The type of weed definitely shapes your experience too.
"If you're in the States and someone offers you dope, you might be a little surprised by what you get..."
The President?
jack #18, you are so right! alcoholics are so much more entertaining. this reminds me of the chevy chase p.s.a. where he was trying to stick a joint in his arm. classic.
@#21: Walter Benjamin.
Yes this experiment of this subject is double blind.
It's a TV programme, the testing is double blind and fully compliant with good practices.
You are seeing one slightly bubbleum invertegation for a telly programme.
They didn't set up the whole thing just for her you know.
The problem with the current state of weed is that you get the same jail time regardless so you might as well sell super skunk and make money hand over fist by charging top dollar.
Like a bar where the only drink is 100% Alcohol, when all most people would like is a beer or two.
Does hash still contain both agents? Brownies? THC is fat-soluble, what about cannabidiol? Also- does injection really give the same effect/results as smoking a joint at your own rate?
@Ugly Canuck #6:
Boy it's been so long since I injected some good weed. Or does it only seem like a long time?
It just seems that way because of ... uh ... what's the word?
I'm picturing a similar experiment from the Prohibition era:
"Nine out of ten test subjects severely burned after smoking alcohol..."
This entire documentary was hilarious. Imagine that your mom moved to Amsterdam to sell and ingest pot. That's what the rest of the show is about. It's a MUST SEE.
All you people with your experimental design complaints have failed to state a viable alternative; to wit, that Mark, Cory, Xeni, David, and John should ingest either pure Marinol or an equivalent-by-weight dose of hash brownies in double blind administration, and hang around in front of their webcams so we can all watch them and try to predict which they got. Science is about predictions, people! And if you're going to watch journalists get really stoned, you've got to be making predictions, or you're just giving the Feds ideas. (Here in California, where research is considered part of compassionate care.)