Cannabis may improve night vision, new research suggests

New research from the Montreal Neurological Institute in Canada suggests that cannabis may improve night vision.

It has been described as a groundbreaking research which nullifies other theories of the effects of marijuana on the eyes.

The findings from the study show that cannabis acts on nerves related to sight and could give you better night vision.

According to the study, cannabis acts directly on the cell’s of the eye’s retina, making them more receptive to light. And the more receptive those cells are, the better the eye can see.

Tests showed how tadpoles exposed to cannabinoids were better at seeing in dark areas.

Cannabinoid treatment improved the tadpoles’ night vision and didn’t have side-effects to regular vision.

If the same responses can be monitored in human beings, cannabis presents viable treatment options for retinal diseases, such as retinitis pigmentosa and glaucoma.

As The Guardian reports, 25 years ago a scientist in Kingston, Jamaica observed that local fishermen would get high before navigating their boats through dangerous coral reefs at night.

“It was impossible to believe that anyone could navigate a boat without compass and without light in such treacherous surroundings,” he wrote after accompanying the crew of a fishing boat one dark night, “[but] I was then convinced that the man who had taken the rum extract of cannabis had far better night vision than I had, and that a subjective effect was not responsible.”

It would be an impossible task under normal conditions, but fisherman who drank a rum extract of cannabis had no trouble at all.

“Overall, these experiments show that cannabinoids reduce the concentration of chloride ions inside the retinal ganglion cells, making them more excitable and more sensitive to light,” Mo Costandi reports, writing for The Guardian.

“Thus, the researchers conclude that the enhanced cellular responses observed in their first set of experiments improved the tadpoles’ sensitivity to contrast under low-light conditions.”