Is Banana the 'Cure' for MARIJUANA Addiction? Scientists Discover New Treatment

Thanks to a new finding by scientists in University of Maryland, U.S.A a cure for marijuana abuse could be on the horizon. Researchers found that increasing the levels of a naturally occurring acid in the brain could stop addicts who are trying to give up from relapsing.

The scientists discovered that kynurenic acid reduces the kick monkeys and rats get from THC – the active ingredient in marijuana.

The researchers, at the University of Maryland, in the U.S., explained that drug abuse is controlled by dopamine and that kynurenic acid influences dopamine, LiveScience reports.

The acid is effective because it blocks the receptors that cause the positive feelings inspired by dopamine.

THC activates dopamine neurones in the brain which causes cells to release dopamine.

Kynurenic acid – which can be produced from bananas and turkey – is thought to cause fewer side effects than other treatments that have been considered because it occurs naturally in the brain.

To test the effectiveness of the treatment, Robert Schwarcz and his colleagues gave rats and monkeys a drug that increased their levels of the acid while the creatures self-administered THC.

They found the animals were less interested in the THC when they were being given the treatment.

The researchers also tried taking the animals off the THC and then increased their acid levels while giving them a small amount of THC.

They found that increasing the levels of the acid stopped the rats and monkeys reverting to their previous pattern of drug use.
 

‘We found that you can reduce dopamine levels and the animals behave differently — they don't have relapse, and don't abuse marijuana,’ Dr Schwarcz told LiveScience.
 

The findings have not yet been tested in people and it is not known whether the treatment would act on other parts of the brain as well.
 

'A medication that would safely and effectively assist in the treat­ment of marijuana dependence would be an important step forward in dealing with cannabis-use disorders,' he added, writing in the journal Nature Neuroscience.