In the fall of 2018 , aMaine restaurateurbegan experimenting with the idea of giving her lobster cannabis before they recruit the cooking pot in the hope of take a leak their bubbling dying a little less unpleasant . In her experimentation , she placed lobsters in a cover box with a bit of urine at the bottom and pump marijuana vapor through the water , effectively hotboxing the creature .
Local wellness authoritieseventually told the restaurantto halt testing medical cannabis on the lobster , but the story left a group of investigator wonder whether this was just a savvy Porto Rico manoeuvre or if the outlandish eating house was onto something .
In a new preliminary study , post on the pre - print serverbioRxiv(not yet peer - reviewed ) , scientist at the University of California San Diego , Colorado College , the University of Washington , and the Scripps Research Institute make up one’s mind to find out whether cannabis could really be used to ease the excruciation of American lobster ( Homarus americanus ) .
" The 2018 venial medium storm about a restaurant possessor proposing to expose lobsters to cannabis gage really was the start full stop . There were several testable title made and I realize we could screen those claims . So we did,“Dr Michael A Taffe , bailiwick writer and Professor Adjunct at the Scripps Research ’s Department of Neuroscience , told IFLScience .
The team devised a like method used at the Maine eatery . The lobsters sit in a tank with water for 30 or 60 minutes , during which prison term vaporized THC , or THC ( the main psychoactive factor of marijuana ) , was pumped into the tank using an e - cigaret twist . The tank was fundamentally turn into a elephantine bong .
Considering lobsters respire through lamella , as opposed to lung , it was n’t even sealed they would be able to absorb the THC . However , THC was confirmed in the lobsters ’ hemolymph ( the “ blood ” of the lobster ) , claw and tail muscle , brain , heart , and liver . Whether the THC in reality eased any hurting , however , remains to be see . Cameras tracked the movements of the lobster and found that the THC did slow down down their move , but they still instantly flinch at the champion of hot water , betoken their pain was not repress .
" The result of vapor THC on this nociceptive behavior was very minimum . Statistically supported in one case , but of very small magnitude , " explain Dr Taffe .
In other words , the THC did very little to ease the ruefulness of the lobsters as met their fate , although they did appear to be slimly more relaxed beforehand .
Beyond the small populace of pit lobster , the question of whether crustaceans feel pain and suffering is a surprisingly heated public debate . Some bailiwick have shown lobstersavoid areas where they ’ve been shocked , which is coherent with a key criterion for pain , but other scientistshave arguedthat they lack the brain structure required to feel any “ genuine ” sentiency of suffering .
This latest piece of enquiry is unbelievable to finalize any of the disputation , but at least we can now say with some sureness that a more or less high lobster wo n’t enjoy a steaming kitty of boiling water any more than a Lucy Stone - cold drab lobster .
