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Marijuana, Absinthe, Thujone, Terpenes


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Marijuana, Absinthe and Thujone

 

 

 

Marijuana, absinthe and the central nervous system.

by J. Del Castillo, M. Anderson, G. M. Rubottom

 

THERE are striking similarities between the psychological actions of the liqueur absinthe and the experiences frequently reported by users of marijuana. We have therefore compared the properties of thujone and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which are believed to be the active principles of Artemisia absinthium and Cannabis sativa, respectively. Both substances are terpenoid, derived from the essential oils absinthol and cannabinol, and are formed by similar biosynthetic mechanisms.

 

 

Thujone has a molecular structure similar to that of another terpenoid essential oil, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). THC is the chemical in marijuana that induces its notorious ‘high’. Its functional side groups, which resemble those of THC, are thought to act at the same specific receptor sites in the central nervous system as those occupied by THC.

 

Thujone appears to effect chloride ion channels in the central nervous system. In neurobiology, ion channels are protein channels in cell membranes that allow ions to pass from extracellular solution to intracellular solution and vice versa. Most ion channels are selective and only allow certain ions to pass through. Each neuron has ion channels with various ion selectivities. Each nerve cell’s parallel conductivity of “information” down its axon is contingent upon the opening and closing of ion channels along its cell membrane. At the end of a neuron, at its synapse, neurotransmitters are released based upon the “information” passed down by the changing concentration gradient and charge.

 

Neurotransmitters are chemical substances that cross the synapse between a presynaptic nerve ending and a post synaptic nerve ending. At the membrane of the post synaptic neuron the transmitter substances interacts with a receptor. Depending on the type of receptor, the result may be an excitatory or an inhibitory effect on the postsynaptic nerve cell.

 

GABA is the neurotransmitter substance gamma-aminobutyric acid. A GABA receptor is any of several membrane proteins that bind GABA and mediate its channels. GABA type A receptors produce an inhibitory effect on postsynaptic nerve cell membranes. Studies show that alpha-thujone in absinthe is a rapidly-acting and readily detoxified modulator of the gamma-amino butyric acid-gated chloride ion channel. Thujone also acts as a GABA-type A receptor antagonist. Thujone competitively inhibits the binding of the radioactive convulsant [(sub3)H] ethynylbicycloorthobenzoate to the known convulsant site linked to GABA-type A receptors in mammalian brain membranes. Without access to GABA, a natural inhibitor of nerve impulses, neurons fire too easily and their signaling goes out of control. Perhaps this explains the state of psychosis and high sensitization described by the creative individuals who were addicted to the effects of absinthe.

 

Scientists had documented thujone’s effects by 1916, but “nobody had ever figured out exactly where the toxin was working,” says Hold. The original concentration of Old absinthe was about 260 parts per million of alpha-thujone. Though today the drink, which is still made in the Czech Republic, Spain, and most recently Great Briton, typically contains less than 10 parts per million. This is below the maximum concentration permitted by European beverage guidelines.

 

 

Another possible explanation for van Gogh’s xanthopsia was his excessive ingestion of absinthe. Van Gogh’s taste for absinthe (a liqueur) may have also influenced his style of painting. The drink’s effect comes from the chemical thujone. Distilled from plants such as wormwood, thujone poisons the nervous system. Van Gogh had a pica (or hunger) for unnatural “foods,” craving the entire class of fragrant but dangerous chemicals called terpenes, including thujone. As van Gogh recovered from cutting off his ear, he wrote to his brother: “I fight this insomnia with a very, very strong dose of camphor in my pillow and mattress, and if ever you can’t sleep, I recommend this to you.” Camphor is a terpene known to cause convulsions in animals when inhaled. Van Gogh had at least 4 such fits in his last 18 months of life.

 

Van Gogh’s friend and fellow artist Paul Signac described an evening in 1889 when he had to restrain the painter from drinking turpentine. The solvent contains a terpene distilled from the sap of pines and firs. Van Gogh tried more than once to eat his paints, which contained terpenes as well. Signac also wrote that van Gogh, returning after spending the whole day in the torrid heat, would take his seat on the terrace of a cafe, with the absinthe and brandies following each other in quick succession. Toulouse-Lautrec drank absinthe from a hollowed walking stick. Degas immortalized absinthe in his bleary-eyed painting, Absinthe Drinker. Van Gogh nursed a disturbed mind on the aquamarine liqueur, which may have encouraged him to amputate his ear.

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We made some absinthe years ago using wormwood and Pernod. To me it was like tranquilizers without any of the pleasant effects.

 

Great stuff if you like to stare at your shoes and drool.

assenzio_degas.jpg

At least you quit before you did cut your ear off,(VanGogh).

 

This 'cut and paste' has a lot of anecdotal evidence that shows that there's a lot of difference between cannabis terpenes and similar terpenes in other plants. It looks like finding substitutes for cannabis IS harder than playing concentration with structures, tastes, smells, and can kill you if you are not very careful. Makes me happy/thankful about having the real deal and not needing substitutes for cannabis. 

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Its just Blue Star Ointment. The smell of the camphor helps me breathe at night,and helps with congestion and head pain.  I use aromatherapy and essential oils  if I need them. If camphor is bad,well tough. I am still using it. I rub some on my forehead,my temples and under my nose. Menthol and the other strong smells like eucalyptus don't work. The smell of something like Ben Gay will make me puke.

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Its just Blue Star Ointment. The smell of the camphor helps me breathe at night,and helps with congestion and head pain.  I use aromatherapy and essential oils  if I need them. If camphor is bad,well tough. I am still using it. I rub some on my forehead,my temples and under my nose. Menthol and the other strong smells like eucalyptus don't work. The smell of something like Ben Gay will make me puke.

Vics Vapor Rub under your nose is what mom always called for .....

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