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Many clinicians and addiction medicine specialists suggest that stress is the number one cause of relapse to drug abuse, including smoking. Now, research is elucidating a scientific basis for these clinical observations. In both people and animals, stress leads to an increase in the brain levels of a peptide known as corticotropin releasing factor (CRF). The increased CRF levels in turn triggers a cascade of biological responses. Animal and human research has implicated this cascade in the pathophysiology of both substance use disorders and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (Jacobsen, et al. Am J Psychiatry 2001). Research also has shown that administering CRF or a chemical that mimics the action of CRF in animals produces increases in stress-related behaviors (Koob, Heinrichs. Brain Research 1999; Jones, et al. Psychopharmacology 1998). And, mice that lack a receptor for CRF (CRF1) have impaired stress responses and express less anxiety-related behavior (Smith, et al. Neuron 1998; Timpl, et al. Nature Genetics 1998). Furthermore, people subjected to chronic stress or those who show symptoms of PTSD often have hormonal responses that are not properly regulated and do not return to normal when the stress is over. This may make these individuals more prone to stress-related illnesses and may prompt patients to relapse to drug use. http://www.drugabuse.gov/stressanddrugabuse.html

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Marijuana is a mixture of the dried and shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and flowers of the hemp plant. The mixture can be green, brown, or gray. Hemp's scientific name is Cannabis sativa.

A bunch of leaves seems harmless, right? But think again. Marijuana has a chemical in it called tetrahydrocannabinol. Better known as THC. A lot of other chemicals are found in marijuana too-about 400 of them, some of which can cause lung cancer. But THC is the main active ingredient. [1]