The Super Bowl - Marijuana vs. Alzheimer's

Since I am a football fan I am going to have my Super Bowl Punch right now. I have seen first hand the effects of Alzheimer's Disease and it is a horrible thing to watch. This very intelligent amazing person not understanding that I am not her long lost son. How about seeing a child visit their grandmother to only realize that their grandmother does not know who they are. This is a very emotional decline for not only the patient but also those that are close to those that are inflicted with this horrible disease. Alzheimer's Disease is a degenerative disease that causes dementia or senility. It has also been know to effect a persons speaking and visual abilities. In 2005 Science Daily released an article about the effect marijuana could have on Alzheimer's Disease. This Study was released in the February 23, 2005, issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. This study was done with brain tissues used from people that have died from Alzheimer's Disease and compared it to those that have died around the same age that did not have Alzheimer's Disease. This study showed that those that had Alzheimer's had reduced functioning of cannabinoid receptors. This research expanded quickly into testing on Rats to find the effect Cannabis can have on the brain. The researchers injected the rats with proteins which leads to cognitive decline. Then in other Rats they injected the same protein and also a cannabinoid. This study showed the decline in the memory and thinking in the rats that were not given the cannabinoid. As of October 2006, approximately 4.5 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's disease. This number is going up due to the life expectancy of Americans also rising. With this study that was released almost 3 years ago you would assume that this is research that would have been released to the public and actually might have gotten some researcher in the US a grant to fund more extensive research. The effects of Cannabis on the brain can cause short term memory loss while under the influence but may save someones memory well into old age. If this research is extended on there might be some findings on cannabis for patients that have brain damage. It is amazing to me to see research such as this completed in other countries hit Fox News, MSNBC, CBS News, WebMD, Live Science and a ton of other resources but not be well known by those patients and the family members of those patients that could actually benefit from it.