Short Term Memory Is Over-Rated

New research suggests that a marijuana like substance could be used to prevent Alzheimer's. Of course they aren't suggesting that people could smoke marijuana in an effort to prevent the disease. That would be absurd. You just can't say anything like that and expect to keep the federal grant money that funds your research (which I don't know if they actually get any) or in any way jeopardize the funding of the academic institution that funds your research. So they certainly aren't suggesting people should smoke more pot.

Scientists are high on idea that marijuana reduces memory impairment

Could people smoke marijuana to prevent Alzheimer's disease if the disease is in their family? We're not saying that, but it might actually work.

Now that we have that cleared up...

What we are saying is it appears that a safe, legal substance that mimics those important properties of marijuana can work on receptors in the brain to prevent memory impairments in aging.

We all clear on that? Don't go smoke up just to prevent Alzheimer's because we directly told you not to and pointed out that chemicals that do what marijuana does can help prevent Alzheimer's. Not marijuana. Got it?

Moving on...

The end goal is not to recommend the use of THC in humans to reduce Alzheimer's. We need to find exactly which receptors are most crucial, and ideally lead to the development of drugs that specifically activate those receptors. We hope a compound can be found that can target both inflammation and neurogenesis, which would be the most efficient way to produce the best effects.

The most efficient way without smoking marijuana. Because nobody is suggesting you do that. You could, but nobody is suggesting that.

What might happen if someone were to smoke marijuana in an attempt to prevent Alzheimer's? We all know that marijuana does have an adverse effect on short term memory. So they'll come home from the store with some cool shiny tin foil after forgetting that they meant to buy condoms. But when they get old they'll remember the names of the resulting children.