"Don't smoke dope. It'll rot your brain." That's what the high school nuns at Cathedral High School used to tell me. Of course, most of the guys I hung out with had been smoking pot for years, many starting in their early teens. While smoking every day was sometimes bad for schoolwork and the wallet, it always seemed better than drinking beer. The "suds" crowd, as we "dopers" called the budding alcoholics, always seemed to be getting in fights and destined for a low rent life.

I smoked all through college and grad school. My grades didn't suffer and it seems that my stoned introspection allowed me to understand myself better and to develop more confidence. I tried other drugs like LSD and cocaine, but they never appealed to me like marijuana. It helped me to relax and "smell the roses" as I experienced life.

As time passed, the "bags" of grass I used to buy for twenty bucks changed to the plastic jewel cases of cultivated bud, with exotic names like "kush" and "goldylocks" -- and exotic prices. The same twenty bucks now bought only a two grams!

I found marijuana in almost every corner of the globe. In Yemen, China, Australia, Somalia, Brazil, Cambodia and even Iceland. There was always someone selling and using it. It seems endemic to humanity.

Somehow, with finding a job and starting a family, the regularity of smoking pot diminished. I never made a conscious decision to stop, it just happened. I was too busy doing other things. I couldn't say the same for my "suds" friends, whose full blown alcoholism netted them police records, divorces and stomach ulcers.

A couple of years ago my father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. It was a horrible experience both for him and me. He first forgot my name, then who I was, and ultimately lost himself. They told me at the time it was hereditary and possibly I had some genetic predisposition to his fate.

Recently, I saw a news item that showed how smoking marijuana can prevent Alzheimer's. It seems that the active ingredient in marijuana may prevent the progression of the disease by preserving levels of an important neurotransmitter that allows the brain to function.

Researchers at the Scripps Research Institute in California found that marijuana's active ingredient, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, can prevent the neurotransmitter acetylcholine from breaking down more effectively than commercially marketed drugs.

THC is also more effective at blocking clumps of protein that can inhibit memory and cognition in Alzheimer's patients, the researchers reported in the journal Molecular Pharmaceutics.

The researchers said their discovery could lead to more effective drug treatment for Alzheimer's, the leading cause of dementia among the elderly. I am counting on that to keep my memories intact.

Possessing marijuana for recreational use is illegal in many parts of the world, including the United States, though some states allow possession for medical purposes. My friend Lee, for example, lives in California. Lee is one of the "dopers" who never allowed work or family to interfere with his smoking enjoyment. It has become a ritual that is the very fabric of his personality. He told me that he recently got a note from his doctor allowing him to legally buy marijuana in a "pot store." California is way ahead of other states. But he says the price is about the same as he used to pay on the street. While the illegality issues may be diminished, the price of marijuana is still prohibitive.

Treating Alzheimer's is one of the major expenses facing our burdened health care system. It also caused immeasurable heartbreak to families. Let's hope that this new research will make marijuana available for preventive treatments of dementia and Alzheimer's at a cost that is accessible to the needy.

Advice for the public: If you've got 'em, smoke 'em.