Scientists now believe they know how cannabis works in the brain.
They studied naturally occurring cannabinoids to find that cannabis 'speaks' to nerve cells, telling them to stop releasing their chemical neurotransmitters, thereby 'dumbing down' their effects. Dr. Maurice Elphick of Queen Mary, University of London was scheduled to present a talk yesterday at the Society for Experimental Biology's Annual Meeting at the University of Kent, Canterbury. His presentation was slated to include evidence that nerve cells not only send signals in one direction across synapses in the brain, but also receive them back. The chemical messengers are known as endocannabinoids, or naturally occurring cannabinoids produced by the brain. It binds to a cannabinoid receptor on Cell A and tells it to stop releasing its neurotransmitter.