A chemical found in cannabis can act like an antidepressant, researchers have found.

A team from Canada’s University of Saskatchewan suggest the compound causes nerve cells to regenerate.



The Journal of Clinical Investigation study showed rats given a cannabinoid were less anxious and less depressed.



But UK experts warned other conflicting research had linked cannabis, and other cannabinoids, to an increased risk of depression and anxiety.



They suggested this could be because different cannabinoids acting at different levels have contradictory effects.



Cannabinoids have been shown to relieve the symptoms of multiple sclerosis and pain relief in humans.



They are naturally present in the body, as well as being found in cannabis.



The Canadian researchers gave rats injections of high levels of one artificial cannabinoid, HU210, for a month.



The animals were seen to have nerve cell regeneration in the hippocampus, which is linked to memory and emotions.



The hippocampus has been shown to generate new nerve cells throughout a person’s or an animal’s life, but this ability is reduced if cells are engineered to lack a cannabinoid receptor protein called CB-1.



In the Canadian study, rats given the cannabinoid were also found to be less anxious, and more willing to eat food in new environments - a change which would normally frighten them.



However, research has previously linked use of the drug cannabis to long-term damage to mental health, and to increase the risk of mental illness in those who are already genetically susceptible.



More here.