New Research shows Marijuana addictive

A federal-funded study in the United States suggests the drug Marijuana may indeed have more addictive qualities than previously believed.

At the National Institute on Drug Abuse, four squirrel monkeys were attached to machinery which dispatches THC - the main active ingredient of Marijuana - and allowed to control their own dosage. During one hour sessions every day, the monkeys were shown a signal at irregular intervals which allowed them to press a lever repeatedly in order to receive a dose of the drug. The monkeys injected themselves as much as 30 times during each one hour session. When the substance was replaced with a harmless saline solution, the monkeys administered doses only 1 to 4 times an hour.

This experiment has also been carried out with a cocaine derivative and researchers believe the monkeys' compulsive behaviour gives a clear indication of the the extremely addictive qualities of both drugs.

Friday, 10 November 2000