Today the journal Nature released some interesting new results in endocannabinoid research. Scientists have found a possible treatment for Parkinson’s disease.

Endocannabinoids are naturally occurring compounds in the human body that are similar to those in marijuana. While the research does not indicate that smoking marijuana treats Parkinson’s, it does confirm what medical marijuana patients have been saying for years regarding the therapeutic properties of cannabinoids.

From The Guardian:

A treatment for Parkinson’s disease has been dramatically improved by boosting the levels of natural marijuana-like chemicals in the brain.
Researchers combined a drug used to treat patients with another that prevents the breakdown of substances called cannabinoids in the brain and noticed an almost complete recovery in mice that developed a Parkinson’s-like disease.

The scientists focused on a region of the brain called the striatum, which has been linked to a range of brain disorders including Parkinson’s. They uncovered two distinct brain circuits they believe play a key role in Parkinson’s disease. The first brain circuit activates normal movement, while the second works to restrain unwanted movements.
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In the past, the best hope we often had was symptom relief. Now, cannabinoid research is beginning to find hope of treatment for many diseases. But some avenues of cannabinoid research, such as medical marijuana, are blocked by the DEA.

That’s right. Some of our most hopeful scientific research is being blocked, not by scientists or doctors, but by cops. Those who speak on their behalf wrap themselves in morality and assure us they are doing what is best for us by protecting us from ourselves. While it is the prohibitionists who choose to allow human suffering over facing their fear of a plant that has never killed anyone. Bravo, moral crusaders. By your fruits we shall know you.