Substance Found Can Stop Marijuana Addiction

Marijuana fields in Aceh Besar (Reuters)

Research conducted by a team of researchers from the University of Maryland, College Park, United States, managed to find a new way to stop a person addicted to marijuana. Efforts to stop the addiction is to increase levels of natural compounds that exist in the brain, so it can relieve to smoke marijuana. 

As is known, THC is the active ingredient in marijuana that activates chemical dopamine in the brain to bring up addiction.To undermine the THC and dopamine in the brain, it is necessary to compound called kynurenic acid. 


The research team has been studying mice and monkeys that have a dependency on the drug. Having given kynurenic acid, then the animals are no longer addicted to drugs. 

"Kynurenic acid works to block dopamine which bring a sense of addiction on the brain. We've found a few years ago, that kynurenic acid may control dopamine," said Robert Schwarcz, professor of psychiatry at the University of Maryland, College Park, as reported by Live Science, October 14 2013. 

The researchers also said that the function of kynurenic acid tryptophan, a substance similar to that found in bananas Turkey. Both substances are naturally going to control the levels of dopamine in the brain. 

To learn more about the effects of kynurenic acid to dopamine, the research team tested in monkeys, mice, and squirrels, which have been given THC in small doses. "The result is known kynurenic acid could paralyze the dopamine in the brain. Kynurenic acid can prevent the emergence of marijuana addiction in animals, of the views of dopamine substances that do not appear in the animal's brain," says Schwarcz. 

Unfortunately, kynurenic acid has not been tested in humans.So it is not known the effect on people who are addicted to marijuana. But, researchers are confident kynurenic acid were able to stop the addiction to marijuana and will not relapse.