Pubdate: Tue, 02 May 2000 Source: Orange County Register (CA) Copyright: 2000 The Orange County Register Contact: P.O. Box 11626, Santa Ana, CA 92711 Fax: (714) 565-3657 Website: http://www.ocregister.com/ Section: Local News, page 3 Author: Mayrav Saar PSYCHIATRIC DRUG SHOWS PROMISE University of California, Irvine, researchers said Monday that they've created a marijuana-like chemical to treat psychiatric disorders. The brain naturally creates marijuana-like anandamide to block the production of dopamine - a suspected culprit in schizophrenia and Tourette's syndrome. UCI researchers created an anandamide analogue that has a similar affect on dopamine, said UCI pharmacology professor Daniele Piomelli. The drug has been tested on rats and is probably a long way from human consumption, but Piomelli hopes it will eventually be an alternative to current sedating dopamine blockers on the market. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek Rea