I wasn't really surprised by this, but the government hates stories like this, especially if they come from reputable establishments.
Other studies have found that cannabis receptors occur in ALL vertebrates, and thus the nervous system mechanisms involved were around BEFORE the Marijuana plant evolved. This is very similar to the fact that animal opiate receptors also predate the opium plant. I suppose the plants just chemically stumbled on a way to keep animals from eating too many of them, or perhaps to be eaten by more animals so the seeds would be scattered further.
The evolution of biochemical mechanisms from RNA/DNA made it possible for both offense and defense of any chemical produced by sequenced recombination. A small change in the molecular shape of various proteins could have far reaching effects on more than just a single organism -- on all dependent organisms too. It is always just a few molecules of difference in genes that snuff out otherwise perfect adaptations.
If something is ever perfectly adapted to a certain set of conditions, then any change in the environment will be suboptimal, and possibly even bad enough to kill it. If instead something consists of many parts assembled from a immense junk pile of molecules, it will always be imperfectly adapted, but since there might be a random chance that another partial solution can be met by something else within the junk pile, it is less able to be killed off by small changes in the environment.
Plants and all other living things have been effected by the presence of humans. Before the invention of farming -- before we started purposely growing a small selection of plants in huge populations -- it was doubtful that the behavior of any other single animal species could have such major disturbances in the overall number and form of plant species. Certainly not since the era of huge plant eating dinosaurs. Perhaps elephants and vast herds of animals shape the landscape in powerful ways, but humans have far more effect.
The plants that do survive all the normal biological factors plus those caused by human selection are either the very hardiest of weeds or are the subset of plants that meet some arbitrary human need or whim. Breeds of dogs survive because they are the product of human choices, not because they are superior to wolves. Mary Jane and Opium poppies will probably always exist because animal brains have those funny little receptors -- especially human brains.
Things took millions of years to evolve this way. Still, using pot or opium and then doing science is probably not a smart thing. At least wait until you've driven all the way home.
Other studies have found that cannabis receptors occur in ALL vertebrates, and thus the nervous system mechanisms involved were around BEFORE the Marijuana plant evolved. This is very similar to the fact that animal opiate receptors also predate the opium plant. I suppose the plants just chemically stumbled on a way to keep animals from eating too many of them, or perhaps to be eaten by more animals so the seeds would be scattered further.
The evolution of biochemical mechanisms from RNA/DNA made it possible for both offense and defense of any chemical produced by sequenced recombination. A small change in the molecular shape of various proteins could have far reaching effects on more than just a single organism -- on all dependent organisms too. It is always just a few molecules of difference in genes that snuff out otherwise perfect adaptations.
If something is ever perfectly adapted to a certain set of conditions, then any change in the environment will be suboptimal, and possibly even bad enough to kill it. If instead something consists of many parts assembled from a immense junk pile of molecules, it will always be imperfectly adapted, but since there might be a random chance that another partial solution can be met by something else within the junk pile, it is less able to be killed off by small changes in the environment.
Plants and all other living things have been effected by the presence of humans. Before the invention of farming -- before we started purposely growing a small selection of plants in huge populations -- it was doubtful that the behavior of any other single animal species could have such major disturbances in the overall number and form of plant species. Certainly not since the era of huge plant eating dinosaurs. Perhaps elephants and vast herds of animals shape the landscape in powerful ways, but humans have far more effect.
The plants that do survive all the normal biological factors plus those caused by human selection are either the very hardiest of weeds or are the subset of plants that meet some arbitrary human need or whim. Breeds of dogs survive because they are the product of human choices, not because they are superior to wolves. Mary Jane and Opium poppies will probably always exist because animal brains have those funny little receptors -- especially human brains.
Things took millions of years to evolve this way. Still, using pot or opium and then doing science is probably not a smart thing. At least wait until you've driven all the way home.
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