Marijuana may slow spread of HIV

BATON ROUGE, La., Feb. 19 (UPI) -- According to a study by Louisiana State University, smoking marijuana may help slow the spread of HIV.

The study shows that THC, the primary ingredient in marijuana, may help protect immune tissue from HIV. The researchers found that by administering THC to monkeys regularly, they could halt the damaging effects of HIV, increasing the number of surviving T-cells and preventing cell death, which are critical to the replication of the virus.

The scientists suggest that THC may slow the progression of the virus enough for some people so the virus never turns into AIDS.

[WGN]