Human skin produces cannabinoids

[LarksTonguesInAspic 28]

 story here: http://www.livescience.com/health/080711-skin-brain.html

Might as well turn yourself in now, fellow Americans. You have assets the government needs badly to battle all the other scumbags with reefer chemicals on their skin. 

We're gonna need bigger prisons

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Nothwithstanding these facts, which have obviously been true since we evolved, an overdose of cannabinols has bad effects including gene breaks.  Pot is still a bad idea.

[JanYpe 17]

From the article

What about the endo-pot already on our skin? Can it get us high?

"Theoretically, yes," said Bíró. But, while our skin is constantly pumping out its own type of hash, even if you chewed your arm to bits, he continued, there isn't enough to have a psychological effect.quote>

Fine practical advice there.

Originally posted by: N_O_Body

 Pot is still a bad idea.

quote>

Then again a lot of things are a bad idea. Pot is about as bad an idea as alcohol is, and arguably a much better idea than tobacco.

[Deionn 137]

True what Jan said, Tobacco is the worst of all the above and is still legal. I mean, come on doctors. Can we get some fight against the lobbyist.

[Duke87 1,070]

Well, there is a huge difference in quantity. It's obviously not enough to test positive for drugs, or everyone would be reading positives left and right... so that says something right there.

Still, it is interesting in that this means that by the letter of the law, everyone is a criminal.

(on another note, a merge with this thread may be in order...)

[Muck308 55]

I'm confused.

What I get out of that article is that our skin produces the chemical in response to stress but in turn it causes skin issues like acne and such. Am I right or wrong here?

[Barbarossa 51]

.

  Edited September 8, 2012 by Barbarossa  

[fukuda 351]

Oh wow, the article is full of scientic quality, especially the second part. The first part is nice and interesting, the other one is.. well:

Neuropeptides — such as serotonin, melatonin, cortisol and, possibly endocannabinoids — are made by the skin in response to environmental stressors or rewards such as thorns, humidity, sunshine or a refreshing breeze. These compounds can then spur the brain to alter behavior, Slominski explained. quote>

Too bad none of the cited compounds is a neuropeptide ... Even worse, Cortisol isn't even a neurotransmitter at all! Serotonin and Melatonin are only used in the CNS by special cells and circuits and it makes no sense that skin cells woud need to produce it at all. By the way, are we talking about skin cells or nervous fibers in the skin?

The brain recieves signals from the skin and indeed modifies its behaviour according to them, but the input is electric, the transmitters themselves seem pretty irrelevant. The only thing that mostly matters in efferent fibers is the frequence of the electric pulses.

The discoveries are giving credence to old wives' tales that connect skin condition with mental state. Yes, perhaps exam period did give you that pimple.quote>

Stress situations (in your brain) modify the pattern of hormone secretion through the limbic system and some special hormones like cortisone (also known as the stress hormone) are released causing metabolic troubles like oil overproduction (increased acne and empoverished skin quality) or skin overproduction and immunosupression helping the spread of some skin diseases like Herpes and its cousins.. This has been known for ages

Even though the skin is the simpler organ, as primates evolved our skin likely learned to deal with stress before the brain did, said Slominski. The skin, the body's largest organ, is continuously exposed to a stressful environment, he pointed out. Of all organs, it had the most pressing evolutionary need to develop protective responses. quote>

There are stress-related behaviours and hormonal changes in animals like fish and birds, sorry to say that this has nothing to do with primates. Dogs for instance also suffer from skin and fur problems when stressed, mostly by the same mechanisms as it works in our bodies.

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an overdose of cannabinols has bad effects including gene breaksquote>

Gene breaks as in mutations? THC is not a known or suspected carcinogen, and there is no reason to suspect it. Why? Because it is unable to enter the cell (that's why it needs to bind to surface receptors in order to work). No entry means no possibility to bind to DNA and cause any kind of mutation.

Some studies even seem to show an anti-cancerigen effect for THC. I of course agree that pot overdose is obviously bad for your health, pretty much like an alcohol overdose is ('cept alcohol overdoses are easier to reach and way more deadly)

Well, there is a huge difference in quantity. It's obviously not enough to test positive for drugs, or everyone would be reading positives left and right... so that says something right there.quote>

Well, the levels should be high enough to cause a positive test.  The reason this has been discovered recently is that the chemicals are not released into the bloodstream, but released directly in the space near the sebaceous glands and hair follicles (second frame in the pic below).

What I get out of that article is that our skin produces the chemical in response to stress but in turn it causes skin issues like acne and such. Am I right or wrong here?quote>

Well, there are 2 parts and 2 researchers in the article, the first talks about about endocannabinoids and the second about ehm.. "neuropeptides". The first is talking about a paracrine effect (signalling between nearby cells) which does not involve the brain at all and the second one is mixing the brain into the matter. So yes, it becomes a bit confusing.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Thanks.  I am glad someone took that article to task.  I am surprised any reputable jounal would publish it.  However, I like a good argument, specious or not.

[your_adress_here 11]

What exactly is a pot overdose? I was not aware such a thing existed (it certainly is impossible to die from smoking too much pot).

[piercwc10 0]

Could we make a BAT that is like a factory that does this?

[Jeiman2008 21]

Originally posted by: your_adress_here

What exactly is a pot overdose? I was not aware such a thing existed (it certainly is impossible to die from smoking too much pot).quote>

It is possible to overdose on THC.  However, you would die of asphyxiation from smoke inhaliation before you overdosed on THC.

[Patricius Maximus 236]

So, even those in the American Congress who launched the stupendous totalitarian failure that is the War on Drugs are criminals, if the laws were enforced strictly, would be criminals and would go to prison. Perhaps then they couldn't pass any more oppresive bills .

But in all seriousness, this does demonstrate the absurdity of the entire drug ban concept. Not only does it criminalize humanity, it also violates humanity's liberty, and in reality does not even achieve its ostenibly admirable objective.

Originally posted by: your_adress_here

What exactly is a pot overdose? I was not aware such a thing existed (it certainly is impossible to die from smoking too much pot).quote>

All substances, be them ones required by humans or those harmful to them, have an overdose point. I imagine that the easiest way to die from a marijuana overdose is to inhale so much smoke one asphyxiates from it. There is also the possibility of ingesting so much marijuana it kills you. However, from what I have read, overdosing on marijuana is about as difficult as overdosing on aspirin.

And when is the last time you heard of someone dying from too much tobacco smoke or an overdose of aspirin?

[hym 358]

Originally posted by: Patricius Maximus

And when is the last time you heard of someone dying from too much tobacco smoke or an overdose of aspirin?quote>

In 2010, an estimated 160,000 Americans will die from lung cancer and an estimated 500 Americans will die from an aspirin overdose.

[your_adress_here 11]

My post was meant to be ironic. Since the beginning of recorded medical history, there have been no deaths attributed to pot overdose.

And I will end that there, since this isn't the right place to be debate that, right?

On subject however, there are different types of cannabinoids, that affect you differently. Some will affect your mind more, some will affect your body more. My guess is that the ones produced by the skin go into the latter category.