It turns out the benefits of marijuana could extend to Alzheimer's disease research.

Scientists at the Salk Institute discovered compounds that exist in marijuana, like tetrahydrocannabinol, can aid in amyloid beta elimination. Amyloid beta, a lethal protein, is linked to Alzheimer's disease.

"Although other studies have offered evidence that cannabinoids might be neuroprotective against the symptoms of Alzheimer's, we believe our study is the first to demonstrate that cannabinoids affect both inflammation and amyloid beta accumulation in nerve cells," says Salk professor David Schubert in Science Daily.

The Salk team, whose research was published in Aging and Mechanisms of Disease this month, recreated parts of Alzheimer's disease through nerve cell modification.

Schubert clarified this was done in an exploratory lab setting. These tests would need to be done clinically for further experimentation.

While amyloid beta is commonly linked to Alzheimer's, its exact function regarding the disease is unknown. The National Institutes of Health says Alzheimer's plagues more than 5 million Americans.