By: Arjun Walia,
Collective Evolution.
Cannabis has been making a lot of
noise lately. Multiple states across the United States and countries
around the world have successfully legalized medical Marijuana, and the
Uruguay parliament recently voted to create the world’s first legal marijuana market.
This is good news as the health benefits of Cannabis are vast, with
multiple medical and scientific studies that confirm them. On the other
hand, arguments against the use of marijuana is usually published in
Psychiatric journals, which show no scientific evidence that Cannabis is
harmful to human health. All psychological evaluations from the intake
of cannabis are largely based on assumptions, suggestions and
observations (1).
When we look at the actual science behind Cannabis, the health benefits
can be overwhelming. So what does one who opposes the use of cannabis
base their belief on? Nothing, not scientific evidence anyways. The
negative stigmatism attached to marijuana is due to it’s supposed
psychotropic effects, yet again, there is no scientific evidence to show
that marijuana has any psychotropic effects. Nonetheless, cannabis has
recently been the focus of medical research and considered as a
potential therapeutic treatment and cure for cancer.
Cannabis is a great example of how the human mind is programmed and
conditioned to believe something. Growing up, we are told drugs are bad,
which is very true, however not all substances that have been labelled
as “drugs” by the government are harmful. Multiple substances are
labelled as a “drug” in order to protect corporate interests. One
example is the automobile and energy industry, a car made from hemp is
stronger than steel, and can be fuelled from hemp alone. Henry Ford demonstrated this many years ago. Hemp actually has over 50,000 uses!
Let’s take a look at the science
behind Cannabis and Cancer. Although Cannabis has been proven to be
effective for a large range of ailments, this article will focus mainly
on it’s effectiveness in the treatment of cancer. Cannabinoids may very
well be one of the best disease and cancer fighting treatments out
there. Cannabinoids refer to any of a group of related compounds that
include cannabinol and the active constituents of cannabis. They
activate cannabinoid receptors in the body. The body itself produces
compounds called endocannabinoids and they play a role in many processes
within the body that help to create a healthy environment. Cannabinoids
also play a role in immune system generation and re-generation. The
body regenerates best when it’s saturated with
Phyto-Cannabinoids. Cannabinoids can also be found in Cannabis. It is
important to note that the cannabinoids are plentiful in both hemp and
cannabis. One of the main differentiations between hemp and cannabis is
simply that hemp only contains 0.3% THC while cannabis is 0.4% THC or
higher. (Technically they are both strains of Cannabis Sativa.)
Cannabinoids have been proven to reduce cancer cells as they have a
great impact on the rebuilding of the immune system. While not every
strain of cannabis has the same effect, more and more patients are
seeing success in cancer reduction in a short period of time by using
cannabis.
While taking a look at these studies, keep in mind that cannabis can be much more effective for medicinal purposes when we eat it rather
than smoking it. Below are 20 medical studies that prove cannabis can
be an effective treatment and possible cure for cancer. Please keep in
mind that this is a very short list of studies that support the use of
medicinal marijuana. Please feel free to further your research,
hopefully this is a good starting point.Brain Cancer
1. A study published in the British Journal of Cancer, conducted by the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Complutense University in Madrid, this study determined that Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and other cannabinoids inhibit tumour growth. They were responsible for the first clinical study aimed at assessing cannabinoid antitumoral action. Cannabinoid delivery was safe and was achieved with zero psychoactive effects. THC was found to decrease tumour cells in two out of the nine patients.
2. A study published in The Journal of Neuroscience examined
the biochemical events in both acute neuronal damage and in slowly
progressive, neurodegenerative diseases. They conducted a magnetic
resonance imaging study that looked at THC (the main active compound in
marijuana) and found that it reduced neuronal injury in rats. The
results of this study provide evidence that the cannabinoid system can
serve to protect the brain against neurodegeneration.
3. A study published in The Journal of Pharmacology And Experimental Therapeutics already
acknowledged the fact that cannabinoids have been shown to possess
antitumor properties. This study examined the effect of cannabidiol
(CBD, non psychoactive cannabinoid compound) on human glioma cell lines.
The addition of cannabidiol led to a dramatic drop in the viability of
glioma cells. Glioma is the word used to describe brain tumour. The
study concluded that cannabidiol was able to produce a significant
antitumor activity.
4. A study published in the journal Molecular Cancer Therapeutics outlines
how brain tumours are highly resistant to current anticancer
treatments, which makes it crucial to find new therapeutic strategies
aimed at improving the poor prognosis of patients suffering from this
disease. This study also demonstrated the reversal of tumour activity in
Glioblastoma multiforme.
Breast Cancer
5. A study published in the US National Library of Medicine,
conducted by the California Pacific Medical Centre determined that
cannabidiol (CBD) inhibits human breast cancer cell proliferation and
invasion. They also demonstrated that CBD significantly reduces tumour
mass.
6. A study published in The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics determined
that THC as well as cannabidiol dramatically reduced breast cancer cell
growth. They confirmed the potency and effectiveness of these
compounds.
7. A study published in the Journal Molecular Cancer showed
that THC reduced tumour growth and tumour numbers. They determined that
cannabinoids inhibit cancer cell proliferation, induce cancer cell
apoptosis and impair tumour angiogenesis (all good things). This study
provides strong evidence for the use of cannabinoid based therapies for
the management of breast cancer.
8. A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) determined that cannabinoids inhibit human breast cancer cell proliferation.
Lung Cancer
9. A study published in the journal Oncogene, by
Harvard Medical Schools Experimental Medicine Department determined
that THC inhibits epithelial growth factor induced lung cancer cell
migration and more. They go on to state that THC should be explored as
novel therapeutic molecules in controlling the growth and metastasis of
certain lung cancers.
10. A study published by the US National Library of Medicine by
the Institute of Toxicology and Pharmacology, from the Department of
General Surgery in Germany determined that cannabinoids inhibit cancer
cell invasion. Effects were confirmed in primary tumour cells from a
lung cancer patient. Overall, data indicated that cannabinoids decrease
cancer cell invasiveness.
11. A study published by the US National Library of Medicine,
conducted by Harvard Medical School investigated the role of
cannabinoid receptors in lung cancer cells. They determined its
effectiveness and suggested that it should be used for treatment against
lung cancer cells.
Prostate Cancer
12. A study published in the US National Library of Medicine illustrates a decrease in prostatic cancer cells by acting through cannabinoid receptors.
13. A study published in the US National Library of Medicine outlined multiple studies proving the effectiveness of cannabis on prostate cancer.
14. Another study published by the US National Library of Medicine determined
that clinical testing of CBD against prostate carcinoma is a must. That
cannabinoid receptor activation induces prostate carcinoma cell
apoptosis. They determined that cannabidiol significantly inhibited cell
viability.
Blood Cancer
15. A study published in the journal Molecular Pharmacology recently
showed that cannabinoids induce growth inhibition and apoptosis in
matle cell lymphoma. The study was supported by grants from the Swedish
Cancer Society, The Swedish Research Council and the Cancer Society in
Stockholm.
16. A study published in the International Journal of Cancer also
determined and illustrated that cannabinoids exert antiproliferative
and proapoptotic effects in various types of cancer and in mantle cell
lymphoma.
17. A study published in the US National Library of Medicine conducted
by the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology by Virginia
Commonwealth University determined that cannabinoids induce apoptosis in
leukemia cells.
Oral Cancer
18. A study published by the US National Library of Medicine results show cannabinoids are potent inhibitors of cellular respiration and are toxic to highly malignant oral Tumours.
Liver Cancer
19. A study published by the US National Library of Medicine determined
that that THC reduces the viability of human HCC cell lines (Human
hepatocellular liver carcinoma cell line) and reduced the growth.
Pancreatic Cancer
20. A study published in The American Journal of Cancer determined
that cannabinoid receptors are expressed in human pancreatic tumor cell
lines and tumour biopsies at much higher levels than in normal
pancreatic tissue. Results showed that cannabinoid administration
induced apoptosis. They also reduced the growth of tumour cells, and
inhibited the spreading of pancreatic tumour cells.
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