Clearing the Haze – Is Marijuana Addictive? Nah.
The most popular, and the least studied — not a prescription for rational decision making from a public health point of view. A variety of influences combined to force marijuana research off the table years ago, but the birth of "receptorology," as molecular scientist Candace Pert once called it, and a more relaxed grip on federal funding has refueled the research.
Some of the mystery of marijuana’s effects was resolved after researchers demonstrated that marijuana definitely increased dopamine activity in the limbic area of the brain, as do all other addictive drugs. Tanda, Pontieri, and Di Chiara demonstrated that dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens doubled when rats received an infusion of THC. It appears that marijuana also raises dopamine and serotonin levels through the intermediary activation of opiate and GABA receptors.
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