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Nerve Gas Antidote Discovered by Israeli Scientists . . . and It’s Cannabis!
(Dan Even, Maariv, October 11, 2002 )
Imagine yourself a scenario whereby you were unlucky enough to be in Tel Aviv at the time when a chemical attack is launched from Iraq. Teams from the civil command race through the darkened streets, tearing through the silence with blazing sirens, but, surprisingly, inside the homes of the residents of the city there is a peaceful atmosphere accompanied by a sweet and forbidden scent. On the TV screens appears the face of the Military spokesperson, the national Valium, a clone of the mythological Nachman Shai (IDF spokesperson during The Gulf War) and suggest that all worried citizens have a glass of water. Immediately after, the search and analysis teams of the civil command identify traces of chemical weapons at the place of impact, and the spokesperson instructs the citizens to activate the antidote, only that this time it is not an automatic injection of Atropine to the thigh, but rather lighting up of a marijuana filled cigarette, a joint, rolled and handed out by special teams of the civil command from confiscated dope seized by the Police and stored in a secluded warehouse.

"Take a toke" says the spokesperson with an authoritative tone, "the active ingredient will neutralize the effect of the gas, there is no need to be alarmed from a light sense of floating and an accompanied sense of hunger, these will pass within a maximum of two hours."

Sounds sci-fi? completely impossible in our reality? Not according to Boaz Wachtel, chairman of the Green Leaf Party who confronted the Ministry of Health and the Army with information supporting the claim that Marijuana protects from nerve gas, but has yet to receive any response. With his help a new research will soon be launched by a scientist in a governmental laboratory in an unspecified European country, to examine the possible effect of marijuana as a protection from the gas. The research has already received approval from the Helsinki committee. , Wachtel protests. "From a scientific point of view, there is support for the fact that smoked marijuana can help survival and reduce brain damage and prevent nausea and vomiting as a result of exposure to nerve gas. With this new research we hope to have results before the onset of the war so as to provide maximum protection from nerve gas with marijuana."

Evaporating nerve gas, for which we know the Atropine as a protection, are the Tabun, the Sarin, GB, GF, VX and the "Soman" known as GD. The Soman is considered a sever threat in professional publications due to the fact that the raw materials for its manufacture are easy to find. The gas causes death after sensitive neural centers in the brain are exposed to it.

In a research conducted by a group of researchers from the Chemical Warfare Institute of the US Army, headed by Dr. Margaret Philbert, rats were exposed to Soman and then were injected with a substance called HU-211. HU - 211 is an acronym for Hebrew University 211 also known as Dexanabinol. It is a synthetic canabinoid mirroring the effects of THC, the active ingredient in the marijuana (Cannabis) but without any psychoactive effect, due to the fact that it does not connect to the Cannabinoid receptors in the brain.

The substance was developed by Prof. Rafael Meshoulam from the Hebrew University, an internationally acclaimed researcher specializing in cannabinoid chemistry. In 1992, Pharmos, an Israeli, Rehovot based company purchased an exclusive license to develop and sell the substance for all uses. Among others, the company supplied the US Army with HU-211. In an experiment conducted by the US Army, the substance was injected into rats. The injection was administered 5 minutes after the onset of symptoms. It did not stop the convulsions due to gas exposure, but it did reduce brain damage by a staggering 86%. Administering HU-211 40 minutes after exposure reduced brain damage by 81.5%. The conclusion was that the HU-211, which mirrors the effect of marijuana, provides a defense shield for the brain during gas exposure but does not protect from epileptic like fits associated with exposure.

In a rare step, the US Army applied and received a special patent for use of the substance as a treatment for nerve gas. Now it appears that the patent was registered without prior knowledge or consent from Pharmos, who has requested the US Army to withdraw the registration. "We informed them that the patent should be shared by Israel and Pharmos" says Cynthia Webb, patent clerk at Pharmos.

The success of the US Army brought about interest in HU-211 also from the Israeli Ministry of Defence. "Due to the assumption that it has a possible use also in unconventional warfare, negotiations were held with Pharmos to examine possible cooperation, but the company has a condition to handing over the substance that the Ministry of Defense does not accept. Contact continues with intention to reach an agreement", said the spokeswoman for the Ministry of Defence, Rachel Nidak-Ashkenazi.

At the same time, Pharmos is examining the effect of HU-211 on traffic related head trauma. They have shown that HU-211 is effective in stopping nerve damage, and improving basic skills of though and movement in animals suffering from brain damage. The research is in an advanced, phase III, stage in a number of medical centers in Israel and the world. "If it was possible to administer the substance in the ambulance the results would be substantially better, but with current restrictions it is only administered 6 hours after the brain trauma", says Prof. Meshoulam.

The results of the US Army research brought about the initiative on the part of Wachtel and the Green Leaf Party. Wachtel, who served in the past in the Israel Defence Force attache in Washington D.C., recently succeeding in obtaining the necessary approvals for a pioneering research that will check the effects of Soman nerve gas and rats exposed to marijuana smoke. Expectations are that similarly to exposure to HU-211, so marijuana smoke protects from nerve gas.

"Cannabinoids (including marijuana) succeed in protecting from the irreversible damage caused by Soman exposure, thus shielding form the toxic effect without any side effects except for psychoactive ones: a sense of elation and spiritual release for a short time", it was written in the research proposal. In the first stage the survival of rats exposed to marijuana and Soman gas will be compared to rats exposed to Soman alone. In the second stage brain damage in both groups will be studied. The research will begin within the next few weeks. If it appears that exposure to natural marijuana smoke has a similar effect to that of HU-211 in nerve gas exposure then these are revolutionary findings. This is due to the fact that researchers claim that marijuana is healthier, more accessible, cheaper and easier to administer then atropine, which is today the main defense in both civil and military systems. The Green Leaf Party is demanding that the Government of Israel begin immediately with experiments to examine the effect of marijuana against nerve gas", declares Wachtel.

posted by LoZo 2:07 PM