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American Morning
Researchers Saying New Findings About Marijuana Point to One Conclusion
Aired November 22, 2002 - 08:45 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Researchers saying some new findings about marijuana all point to one conclusion. It says there are clear links between its heavy use and serious mental health conditions. Here with more on that, along with some good news for chocolate lovers is our medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
Good to see you.
Talk about pot first -- what are they saying?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'll tell you, first of all, marijuana use in this country is a common use; 12 million people in 2001 approximately are using marijuana. High school statistics, I think, are some of the most alarming -- 20.1 percent of eighth graders, that number doubles by the time you get to 10 graders, 40 percent of 10 graders say they've used it at least once in the prior month before they were asked, about 42 percent of seniors.
What we're talking about marijuana, pot, bale, bomba (ph), bomalaca (ph), whatever you call it, THC is the chemical name for it, tetra hydro canibinaol (ph). This's a chemical name for it. This is a chemical that gets in the brain and binds to receptors in the brain called cannibonoid (ph) receptors. Those receptors, once expressed, they have the cellular reactions that cause all of the things associated with a high, pleasure, difficulties with memories, difficulties with concentration, uncoordinated movements. All of those things that people associate with actually being high. You can see some of those things right there.
Now, a couple of also important points, Bill, I'll just point out, boys are more likely to use marijuana than girls. But first-time users, if offered, there is no gender difference between boys and girls for using this.
There are some benefits to marijuana use. In chemotherapy for patients, who have cancer, getting chemotherapy, also for HIV AIDS to make them more hungry. But the three studies you are talking are talking about talk specifically about schizophrenia and depression, and there have been three studies now that actually talk about the fact that marijuana use earlier in life actually may lead to an increased -- 30 percent increase in schizophrenia later in life. They actually looked at 50,000 Swedish military people, and they actually went back and looked at their histories and found those people who are more likely to use marijuana, both in terms of frequency and amount, are more likely to actually have the symptoms of schizophrenia. HEMMER: You know the brain as well as anyone -- you're a neurologist. What is the impact on the brain long-term then according to the study as it relates to depression and schizophrenia?
GUPTA: That's right. Well, they talk specifically about this canibinol (ph) receptors and the tetra hydro canibol (ph) sort of interacting. We know it causes all these short-term effects, the ones we just listed. What is it doing to the brain long-term? Schizophrenia is a very complicated diagnosis. You get all sorts of symptoms. You see some of them with hearing internal voices. You can see the list right there. Belief that others are actually reading their minds, controlling their thoughts, fear and withdrawal, disorganized speech. You can see the list of all of those sorts of symptoms. That's a very complicated picture within the brain. The fact that this THC can actually cause these things is just becoming known now.
HEMMER: Take it a little deeper on depression, though. We saw schizophrenia. What do you list for that depression?
GUPTA: Depression, also a very big diagnosis -- 18.8 million in this country roughly have it. Again, they looked at 1,600 this time high school students and followed them over about seven years. This is in Australia, not in the United States. But actually found that all of these boys and girls, particularly girls, were more vulnerable to the symptoms of depression later on in life again if they were frequent or even daily canibonoid (ph) users.
Now, Bill, trying to piece together exactly the mechanism of how this THC causes these sorts of symptoms is a little more complicated, but that's what they're finding out.
HEMMER: You mentioned the benefits the that some of the studies talk about. There are major significant movements in this country to get marijuana legalized for medicinal use or other reasons. And were their benefits pointed to...
GUPTA: There are major movements. There is organization called NORMAL -- National Organization for Form of Marijuana Laws. They have gained a lot of press lately, talked about in on this show, specifically about some of the medicinal uses, again. And marijuana can offer some of those things, especially when it comes to reducing nausea and vomiting, not advocating that necessarily myself. I think there are other ways to do that besides marijuana. There are a lot of short-term effects which may be hard to get around.
HEMMER: Don't want to shortchange you, though, but we mentioned chocolate -- good for the heart?
GUPTA: You got to talk about it. Flavanol -- I will say that term flavanol. Throw it out there, flavonoids, specifically. What are they? What are they? These are some of the foods that that have them, teas, chocolate. Dark chocolate, the conventional wisdom has been that dark chocolate has the most flavanols in it.
But interestingly, we actually found this out, that a lot of chocolate manufacturers will actually take chocolate out of their chocolate, because it actually makes the chocolate more bitter. If you want the sweet chocolate, you take the flavanols out. The bitter chocolate is actually going to be a little bit better for you in terms of flavanol concentration. How much better? One ounce of flavanol is actually in chocolate, has about the same flavanol concentration as one ounce of an apple. Now, the flavanol is good stuff. A lot of people ask about this. We've been talking about it all week, it seems. The effects on the heart, it actually reduces platelets aggregation, that can cause blood clots and dilates the blood vessels, making the heart pump.
HEMMER: You say green apples are the best, right?
GUPTA: That's right.
HEMMER: I have to get one. Have a safe trip back to Atlanta. Great to have you here in New York.
GUPTA: It was wonderful being here.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
One Conclusion>
Aired November 22, 2002 - 08:45 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Researchers saying some new findings about marijuana all point to one conclusion. It says there are clear links between its heavy use and serious mental health conditions. Here with more on that, along with some good news for chocolate lovers is our medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
Good to see you.
Talk about pot first -- what are they saying?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'll tell you, first of all, marijuana use in this country is a common use; 12 million people in 2001 approximately are using marijuana. High school statistics, I think, are some of the most alarming -- 20.1 percent of eighth graders, that number doubles by the time you get to 10 graders, 40 percent of 10 graders say they've used it at least once in the prior month before they were asked, about 42 percent of seniors.
What we're talking about marijuana, pot, bale, bomba (ph), bomalaca (ph), whatever you call it, THC is the chemical name for it, tetra hydro canibinaol (ph). This's a chemical name for it. This is a chemical that gets in the brain and binds to receptors in the brain called cannibonoid (ph) receptors. Those receptors, once expressed, they have the cellular reactions that cause all of the things associated with a high, pleasure, difficulties with memories, difficulties with concentration, uncoordinated movements. All of those things that people associate with actually being high. You can see some of those things right there.
Now, a couple of also important points, Bill, I'll just point out, boys are more likely to use marijuana than girls. But first-time users, if offered, there is no gender difference between boys and girls for using this.
There are some benefits to marijuana use. In chemotherapy for patients, who have cancer, getting chemotherapy, also for HIV AIDS to make them more hungry. But the three studies you are talking are talking about talk specifically about schizophrenia and depression, and there have been three studies now that actually talk about the fact that marijuana use earlier in life actually may lead to an increased -- 30 percent increase in schizophrenia later in life. They actually looked at 50,000 Swedish military people, and they actually went back and looked at their histories and found those people who are more likely to use marijuana, both in terms of frequency and amount, are more likely to actually have the symptoms of schizophrenia. HEMMER: You know the brain as well as anyone -- you're a neurologist. What is the impact on the brain long-term then according to the study as it relates to depression and schizophrenia?
GUPTA: That's right. Well, they talk specifically about this canibinol (ph) receptors and the tetra hydro canibol (ph) sort of interacting. We know it causes all these short-term effects, the ones we just listed. What is it doing to the brain long-term? Schizophrenia is a very complicated diagnosis. You get all sorts of symptoms. You see some of them with hearing internal voices. You can see the list right there. Belief that others are actually reading their minds, controlling their thoughts, fear and withdrawal, disorganized speech. You can see the list of all of those sorts of symptoms. That's a very complicated picture within the brain. The fact that this THC can actually cause these things is just becoming known now.
HEMMER: Take it a little deeper on depression, though. We saw schizophrenia. What do you list for that depression?
GUPTA: Depression, also a very big diagnosis -- 18.8 million in this country roughly have it. Again, they looked at 1,600 this time high school students and followed them over about seven years. This is in Australia, not in the United States. But actually found that all of these boys and girls, particularly girls, were more vulnerable to the symptoms of depression later on in life again if they were frequent or even daily canibonoid (ph) users.
Now, Bill, trying to piece together exactly the mechanism of how this THC causes these sorts of symptoms is a little more complicated, but that's what they're finding out.
HEMMER: You mentioned the benefits the that some of the studies talk about. There are major significant movements in this country to get marijuana legalized for medicinal use or other reasons. And were their benefits pointed to...
GUPTA: There are major movements. There is organization called NORMAL -- National Organization for Form of Marijuana Laws. They have gained a lot of press lately, talked about in on this show, specifically about some of the medicinal uses, again. And marijuana can offer some of those things, especially when it comes to reducing nausea and vomiting, not advocating that necessarily myself. I think there are other ways to do that besides marijuana. There are a lot of short-term effects which may be hard to get around.
HEMMER: Don't want to shortchange you, though, but we mentioned chocolate -- good for the heart?
GUPTA: You got to talk about it. Flavanol -- I will say that term flavanol. Throw it out there, flavonoids, specifically. What are they? What are they? These are some of the foods that that have them, teas, chocolate. Dark chocolate, the conventional wisdom has been that dark chocolate has the most flavanols in it.
But interestingly, we actually found this out, that a lot of chocolate manufacturers will actually take chocolate out of their chocolate, because it actually makes the chocolate more bitter. If you want the sweet chocolate, you take the flavanols out. The bitter chocolate is actually going to be a little bit better for you in terms of flavanol concentration. How much better? One ounce of flavanol is actually in chocolate, has about the same flavanol concentration as one ounce of an apple. Now, the flavanol is good stuff. A lot of people ask about this. We've been talking about it all week, it seems. The effects on the heart, it actually reduces platelets aggregation, that can cause blood clots and dilates the blood vessels, making the heart pump.
HEMMER: You say green apples are the best, right?
GUPTA: That's right.
HEMMER: I have to get one. Have a safe trip back to Atlanta. Great to have you here in New York.
GUPTA: It was wonderful being here.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
One Conclusion>
