Dr. Christina Sanchez: How THC kills cancer cells

Dr. Christina Sanchez is a molecular biologist at the Compultense University in Madrid Spain, her research led to the findings that THC does indeed kill cancer cells. We are not talking about smoking cannabis, but using therapeutic doses. She has some great information so please enjoy this video from Cannabis Planet!

Dr. Christina Sanchez is a molecular biologist at Compultense University in Madrid Spain, her research led to the findings that THC does indeed kill cancer cells! She sat down with us to explain her work...

Lyme Disease and Cannabis....worth a look!

Since Lyme Disease is so rampant these days and people who suffer from this condition are always looking for something to help with their symptoms so that they can function, here is a article found on the website www.collective-evolution.com.

Written by Shelly M. White, author of "Cannabis for Lyme Disease and Related Conditions: Scientific Basis and Anecdotal Evidence for Medicinal Use" --for details visit www.cannabisforlyme.com. She works as a writer and editor, and is training to be a Herbalist specializing in Lyme disease and other infectious illnesses.

The beginning of my journey with Lyme disease is similar to most. My ending, however, is playing out quite differently than most. I found a tick behind my ear at the age of fourteen, and had various health problems for seven years before I was finally diagnosed with Lyme disease, Lupus, Mycoplasma, Bartonella, and Babesia. After two years my Lupus, Mycoplasma, Bartonella and Babesia are entirely eradicated. As far as my Lyme disease goes, I now have zero symptoms. My remaining ones are a result of withdrawals from the prescriptions I so naively started taking when I was initially diagnosed. How am I already returning to a healthy lifestyle only two years after forgetting to read, write, walk and talk? Well, a wealth of credit is owed to the Buhner protocol. I would not be where I am today without it. Still, I had one last giant “hump” in healing to get over after a year on the protocol. So I took a shot in the dark which, for me, turned out to be the path to light. I decided to make my own cannabis oil and began taking it every waking hour. I now owe my life to this fascinating herb and am hopeful some of you will find strength and encouragement through this information.

For a year and a half I had over ten seizures a day. I tried every treatment I could find, exhausting outlets in both conventional and holistic medicine. Desperately searching for answers, I stumbled across what turned out to be one of the most profound facts I have ever learned. Marijuana contains one of the most potent anticonvulsants in the world. Controversy over the subject was meaningless at that point, as the herb offered a possible solution to one of my most debilitating symptoms. As it turned out, smoking marijuana not only controlled my seizures, it completely cured them. With that in mind, I moved forward with my research. If it could do for seizures what no other plant or prescription could do, what could it do for Lyme? What I found was nothing short of fascinating, and essentially lifesaving.

Cannabis has over 700 healing components which, to the best of my knowledge, is more than any other plant known to mankind.  Since my Lyme disease had reacted to and benefited from literally every herb I had taken, I figured it would without a doubt react to cannabis as well. Indeed, it did. Smoking marijuana had sometimes made me feel sick in the past, and I realized this could possibly be because it caused a Herxheimer reaction from bacteria die off each time. Experimenting what thankfully turned out to be an anything but crazy theory, I smoked an exceptionally large amount one night and suffered from a massive Herxheimer reaction. The next day, when it subsided, I felt I had regained a little chunk of my brain back. Since smoking the herb out of a regular pipe also means inhaling a lot of toxins, I began using a vaporizer to get more cannaniboids. My rate of improvement significantly sped up when I did this. Naturally, this motivated me to take treatment one step further and find out what the results of taking cannabis oil would do for me.  After only a month of taking it I was able to return to work and school, and began to drive and have a social life again. Now, I am finally planning to move out and be independent for the first time in years. Basically, I am returning to a lifestyle that I was once unsure I would ever see again thanks to the immense healing power of cannabis oil.

Understandably, some will negate this article due to preconceived notions regarding cannabis, ones we were all conditioned to believe from a young age. Even I once held strong beliefs that cannabis was harmful to my health, but I could not be more thankful that I was proven otherwise. For me, the tangible proof stemming from first-hand experience will always trump the mere words of others.

Please browse through the CE website to find more links about the medicinal benefits of this herb. You can start here and here.

Here at Pianta Tinta, we will soon be carrying an RSO oil with 60-70% THC content.

Stefanie LaRue: Cancer Survivor Story

Had to share this story that just came out on Medical Jane. Many times when people go through the barbaric treatments of chemotherapy and their cancer comes back...they start to rethink the situation and options and end up educating themselves on all of the alternative and more natural ways of healing. Here is one story written by Sonia Renea, writer for Medical Jane.

February 3, 2015

On the surface, Stefanie LaRue is a sweet girl with a hint of Texas in her voice. But like they say in the South, “she’s got a lot of fight in her.” Stefanie gives the term “breast cancer survivor” a new meaning. Every day she celebrates the time she may not have had.

In 2005, Stefanie’s world came to a halt. Her boyfriend discovered a lump in one of her breasts. At first, she was misdiagnosed by three different doctors and was told that she was too young for breast cancer. After all, she was only 30 years old at the time.

Stefanie was sent home several times with several rounds of antibiotics, which is quite telling of younger folks being misdiagnosed. By the time she could be tested thoroughly, the cancer had spread to her bones. Doctors diagnosed her with Stage 4 Metastatic Breast Cancer, which is cancer that has spread beyond the breast to other organs in the body. The prognosis was grim: she was given a year to live, at most.

Stefanie Fights Back, Leaves Toxic Environment

Three weeks later, Stefanie began her first round of chemotherapy. To make matters worse, she had to to cope with her employer, who showed little sympathy for her situation. Despite her job in commercial real estate being very stressful, she was expected to work through her cancer treatment.

“It [cannabis oil] is the best medicine.” – Stefanie LaRue

In retrospect, she credits a nurse practitioner with saving her life. “She pulled me aside and told me, ‘you have to leave that job. Working under so much stress is going to kill you.’ She made a very proactive effort that day to help me.” It was difficult, but Stefanie took her advice. “It was devastating,” she said. “It was hard having to leave that job and go on disability, but I believe that stress effects our emotions and our health,” she said. “I think working under all that pressure triggered my cancer.”

Stefanie filed for disability, finally taking time to focus on healing herself. She found help with an integrative oncologist at UCLA, where she learned how to make changes to her diet, use natural supplements, get acupuncture, and work on personal fitness; all of which are integrative, complimentary, and alternative treatments to go along with chemotherapy.

After six rounds of chemotherapy treatments, Stefanie had surgery to remove the cancer which ended up costing her all of her breast tissue.

This is my electronic press kit, the story of a breast cancer warrior who was diagnosed (but initially MISdiagnosed) at the age of 30 with STAGE 4 metastatic breast cancer. She was given one year to live.

Say “No” To Chemotherapy, “Yes” To Cannabis Oil

In 2013 Stefanie had a Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery (VATS) and the results were not good. This was now her third reoccurrence of cancer. The chemo sensitivity testing concluded there were five lines of chemo treatments that would work on the tumors.

Stefanie declined the treatment. “I did my homework. I researched as much as I could. I watched. I listened. I read. I contacted. I prayed. Most of all, I believed. I weighed my options, which were essentially chemotherapy or cannabis oil, and I decided to take the natural route this time…” she says.

“My monthly lab and quarterly scan results are proof that the cannabis oil treatment worked.” – Stefanie LaRue

Stefanie followed the Rick Simpson Oil (RSO) protocol until she was cancer-free.

Her doctor even noted that this was due to her “alternative” treatments. “Cannabis oil killed all of the tumors in my body. My monthly lab and quarterly scan results are proof that the cannabis oil treatment worked,” she says.

Now that her cancer is gone, Stefanie takes a maintenance dose of .5 gram of concentrated cannabis oil per day and it seems to be working. Her last scan in December of 2014 showed no signs of cancerous tumors.

Stefanie LaRue: An Inspiration To Cancer Patients

Stefanie began sharing her story with others, urging women to empower themselves. She works with various breast cancer organizations, with a focus on young women (under the age of 40) who have been diagnosed with cancer.

As far as the cannabis movement goes, Stefanie is in it for the long haul. According to her, “It is going to take our actual patient community to help fast track changing the laws federally so it is important that we share, support one another, and join forces in advocating together on this journey until we are not deemed as criminals any longer. Yes, change is happening, but it is not happening fast enough!”

When asked if she has a message for others with cancer, she pauses and says quietly, “I would just say: Be your own voice. Be your own advocate. Jump in, engage, interact, ask for help from others on the same journey. It’s about quality of life. Do the work. Do not live in fear … live in love.”

Stefanie LaRue

Stefanie LaRue was 30 years old when she was diagnosed with Stage 4 Metastatic Breast Cancer and given the dismal prognosis of less than a year to live. That was nine years ago. And thanks …

You DO Have A Choice! →

I am passing this article along that I just saw on the Cashinbis.com website. It is a wonderful testimonial by a woman here in Northern California who made the choice to use alternative medicines over prescriptions for her brain tumor. A big thanks to Felicia for writing her story and sharing!!

I Chose CBD Oil Over My Doctor’s Prescription

MMJ Patient Testimonial: Felicia Accomazzo, Windsor, CA

Yes, you heard that correct. Felicia Accomazzo, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor, said ‘No’ to modern medicine and went the alternative medicine route. And guess what? She is healing and feeling better than she did before! This is her story.

What medical condition have you been struggling with?

On June 15th of 2013, I was diagnosed with Stage One Pilocytic Astrocytoma. It’s a brain tumor that begins to develop early in one’s adolescent years. For years, I had been suffering from numerous neurological side effects and only recently discovered that this juvenile tumor was the cause this past year.

How long have you been experiencing your medical condition?

I’ve endured symptoms for the majority of my life. As early as 3 years old, I was getting severe headaches. I believe too that that was the time when the tumor began developing.

What do you believe caused this medical condition?

I actually believe it was exposure to the chemical, formaldehyde. I say this because I had a non-blood grandfather pass away from a massive brain tumor right around the time I began showing symptoms of headaches and he was heavily exposed to what is now a classified carcinogenic chemical, formaldehyde.

What medications have you been taking that was prescribed to you by your doctor?

When I was diagnosed with the brain tumor, I went through with a surgery. I had an incision along my head held together by 25 staples. I was put on medication to stop the hemorrhaging in my brain, to keep the swelling down, and to prevent seizures because they were concerned about that. The type of tumor that I was found to have was pressing on my cerebral glad and my brain stem, which made me nausea and caused me to vomit. Since the surgery, in terms of treatment, I no longer continued with traditional medicine. I have taken absolutely no medication from my doctor, I won’t accept it. I refused to agree to more chemo or radiation.

I have taken absolutely no medication from my doctor, I won’t accept it. I refused to agree to more chemo or radiation.

I wanted to hear what the doctors had to say, but I always knew that taking on medication like that would not be the treatment method I would choose.

What type of alternative medicine have you tried aside from your doctor’s recommendation?

I have experimented with countless forms. I began with the foundation of nutrition; I knew what I was putting in my body was important to my health and so I went the vegan route and have committed to juicing often. In my research on alternative medicine, I was reading about people doing hydrogen peroxide therapy which is when you ingest 35% food-grade hydrogen peroxide in distilled water. The idea behind this is that it creates oxygenated cells in your body and the idea behind cancer is that it cannot survive in an oxygenated body. So, I have been practicing that off and on for quite some time. I am also doing essential oils; I am making my own capsules of certain types of oils like frankincense to heal my cancer by detoxifying my body.

And lastly and rather importantly, I am taking CBD oils which I cannot say enough about. My preferred method of taking cannabidiol is inhalation, smoking it with a CBD vaporizer. Originally, I had been smoking marijuana, but found myself concerned with the toxic effects of the carcinogens you ingest when doing so. It was then that I switched to a vaporizer; instead of smoke, it emits water vapors which is much smarter and healthier option for patients battling cancer. You need to take care of yourself and stay far away from carcinogens.

SEE ALSO: How Cannabis, Herbal Remedies, and CBD Oil Made Me Feel Alive Again

How long have you been using alternative medicine?

I have used these methods of alternative medicine since June 2013. I didn’t start using cannabis as my main healing regime until earlier this year in January. I had met with a doctor in my area that specialized in treating all different types of cancer with cannabis. In our first appointment he presented me with two case studies done on two different women, both around my age, both with the same type of cancer as I had at similar stages as mine, who, after 6 years of using cannabis, had scans that showed their tumor had completely disappeared. And so far, I’m on that track.

How have you felt since you started using the alternative medicine? Compared to your prescribed medications?

So, previously to knowing what exactly what was going on, I was experiencing headaches that were absolutely debilitating; I couldn’t even get up out of bed or else I would become overwhelmed with nausea and have to vomit. When I did the initial operation it did relieve some pain, but the minute I started using the CBD oils and essential oils was when I really began feeling the significant difference.

Before I go to bed, I take CBD capsules. They haven’t only helped me with my cancer, the CBD oils have also helped me with my skin, my acne, and my weight; I am in the best shape of my life and have a much greater sense of well-being. I really can’t credit all these differences in my body to anything else but to cannabis oil because I know it’s making my body work the way it’s supposed to work. It is repairing my cells and giving me a new sense of well-being and happiness that makes me wake up wanting to live that day to the fullest.

I really can’t credit all these differences in my body to anything else but to cannabis oil because I know it’s making my body work the way it’s supposed to work.

Do you think you will continue with using alternative medicine?

Most definitely. I will be using it until my tumor doesn’t show up on that scan. Actually, I believe I will continue using it even after that. Cannabidiol supports both healing and your general health.

DISCLAIMER: The statements in this article are true experiences and real life medical scenarios of Felicia Accomazzo. The shared results may not work for you as it varies based on each individual immune system reaction. The information provided herein have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Always consult with a medical doctor prior to starting a new relief program such as mentioned in this article. The information herein is not a recommendation, suggestion, or medical advice to simulate Felicia Accomazzo’s relief program. This article was published for testimonial purposes only.

Mercola interviews Dr. Frankel on Medical Cannabis

I am posting this excellent article and video by Dr. Mercola that is from March 9th, 2014. If you are confused about what is medicine and what isn't, or cannabis versus hemp, strength and dosage, then please read on and take some time to watch the interview!! A big thank you to Dr. Joseph Mercola and the wonderful service he provides for those of us that choose holistic health care.....

Elizabeth

By Dr. Mercola

Marijuana has been legalized in a number of US states; 20 states have legalized cannabis for medical purposes; two states—Colorado and Washington state—also permit recreational use. Certain forms of cannabis are actually very potent medicine, with few or no psychoactive effects.

In California, medical marijuana has been legal for 18 years. Dr. Allan Frankel, a board-certified internist in California, has treated patients with medical cannabis for the past seven years.

By and large, cannabis is highly favored by people across the US. According to Dr. Frankel, 85-95 percent of Americans are in favor of medical cannabis, and 58-59 percent are in favor of legalizing marijuana.

The federal government, meanwhile, wants to get rid of all medical use of marijuana, which of course begs the question: Why? According to Dr. Frankel, the answer is simple. "They want it. This is a huge market," he says.

And yes, medical cannabis is clearly competition to the pharmaceutical industry, as the cannabis plant can take the place of a wide variety of synthetic drugs, especially for mood and anxiety disorders. The last thing they want is a therapy that's going to take away from their bottom line.

Cannabis as Medicine

Dr. Frankel initially learned about medical cannabis through glaucoma trials and cancer work performed at UCLA in the 70s and early 80s.

"I've always seen it as a medicine," he says. "Eventually, I got interested in it. I thought my tool box was getting too small for typical issues with patients related to anxiety, pain, or the common issues where we just had inadequate medications.

I saw the cannabinoid future was something that was bright. Seven years ago, I kind of picked up my formal white coat and sprayed a little green on it..."

Green Bridge Medical is his professional corporation where he sees patients, performs research, and provides physician and patient education and outreach. For all its benefits, using cannabis in lieu of other medicines has many challenges.

"It's a complicated process, as a physician in particular, working inside the medical system, to work outside the medical system to make these dose-consistent extracts available."

Many may find the idea of medical cannabis abhorrent or somehow "wrong," as we've been indoctrinated to view marijuana as a dangerous gateway drug that will lead you down a path of illicit drug use.

Many fail to realize that prescription drugs actually have FAR greater potential to turn you into "a junkie." Legal drug addiction is also taking lives in record numbers. In the UK, one million people are addicted to over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription painkillers and tranquilizers.

That's significantly more than the number addicted to illegal drugs.1 In the US, there were four times more deaths among women from prescription painkiller overdose than for cocaine and heroin deaths combined in 2010.2

Pharmaceuticals in general are among the leading causes of death in the US, and some medicines have killed tens of thousands of individuals. The painkiller Vioxx is one classic example, which killed over 60,000 before being pulled off the market.

The diabetes drug Avandia is another, and most recently, a study estimated that in a five-year span, some 800,000 people in Europe were killed from inappropriate use of beta-blockers in non-cardiac surgery patients. Deaths attributed to cannabis barely registers in comparison.

"I think that any intervention, regardless of how benign (I would say in my 35 years of medical experience, cannabis should be considered a benign substance overall), there are potential uses and abuses," Dr. Frankel says.

"For me, we're just talking about the real solid indications. The issue of abuse and neglect is there, but I think it's relatively small. I think the claim that it is a gateway drug has been pretty soundly proven not to be correct.

Even if cannabis to some extent is a gateway drug (which I do not believe it is), even if it is, it should be legalized to protect the gateway [drug] issue, because legalization opens up communication."

Natural health physician and Mercola.com founder Dr. Joseph Mercola interviews Dr. Allan Frankel about the medical uses of marijuana or cannabis.

What's the Difference Between Medical and Non-Medical Marijuana?

According to Dr. Frankel, cannabis has been cultivated in Northern Europe since before the last Ice Age. Even back then, there were two very distinct groups of strains. One is cannabis; the other is hemp. There's plenty of confusion about the similarities and differences between these two plants. While they are subspecies of the same plant species, they look very different, and are extremely different in ways that really matter when it comes to medicinal use.

The thing they have in common is that they both contain cannabidiol (CBD), which has medicinal properties. The amount of CBD however, differs greatly between the two. Dosing, therefore, is dramatically different where you to try to use hemp in lieu of cannabis, as the latter, cannabis, is up to 100-fold more potent. Another difference that appears to matter in terms of its usefulness as medicine relates to differing terpene profiles. Hemp contains very little of these valuable medicinal compounds.

Lastly, there's the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content. THC is the psychoactive component of marijuana; it's the molecule that makes you feel "stoned." (While cannabidiol (CBD) also has certain psychoactive properties, it does NOT produce a high.) By legal definition, hemp cannot have more than 0.3 percent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in it. So to summarize:

• Hemp has less value for medicinal uses, as it only contains about four percent CBD and lacks many of the medicinal terpenes and flavonoids. It also contains less than 0.3 percent THC, which means it cannot produce a high or get you stoned. However, for many disease processes, THC is very much indicated and required. So, for many disease processes, CBD alone has much less value.
• Cannabis is potent medicine courtesy of high amounts (about 10-20 percent) of CBD, critical levels of medicinal terpenes, and flavanoids, as well as THC in varying ratios for various diseases. The higher the THC, the more pronounced its psychoactive effects

How Marijuana Got a Bad Rap

"What happened in the '60s and '70s was that due to desires for psychedelia, the changes in the war in Vietnam, and the war on drugs with Nixon, the types of strains that were available and the demand for psychedelia changed. Before we knew it, CBD—due to a lack of 'stoniness'—was bred out of the plant," Dr. Frankel explains.

As a result of growers breeding out the all-important CBD, marijuana became known primarily as a plant that gets you high. Its original medicinal properties and uses largely fell by the wayside. Things are changing however.

"Five years ago, California Physicians, and other groups around the world, didn't really know if we would find CBD-rich strains anymore, but we have. Now there's many different varieties of it. We keep bringing back new CBD rich strains every month or two. These plants genes' haven't seen the light of day for God knows how long."

CBD is currently a Schedule 1 controlled substance, which means:

• The drug or other substance has a high potential for abuse
• The drug or other substance has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the US
• There is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision

There's no doubt that CBD needs to be rescheduled, as each of these three points are blatantly wrong. Dr. Frankel actually thinks cannabis should be de-scheduled altogether, as a plant really does not belong on any schedule of a controlled substance.

"How could we have a plant on a schedule? What if it's an all-THC plant? What if it's an all-CBD? What if we find some other psychoactivity? If you take the Physicians' Desk Reference (PDR) and look at every product, none of them looks like a plant to me. This is the only plant, and it's not just one medicine. One entry with one data ID or MDI cannot be applied for cannabis. For example, we're actually right now making different medicines with cannabis plants based upon harvest time.

As the plants mature, the flowers get darker and darker. There's a traditional time when you're just supposed to pick them. Of course, what we've done is we picked them at different times in large amounts, ground them all together so we can get very representative samples, and see what happens in the last few weeks of flowering. The medicine changes a lot in the last three weeks. You can make more sedating medicine by letting it just stay on the vine three weeks longer. Even how long you let it grow makes it a very different medicine, a noticeably different medicine," he says.

Who's a Good Candidate for Medical Cannabis?

In his medical practice, Dr. Frankel treats a wide variety of patients with medical cannabis, which has become his specialty. Despite the many claims of cannabis performing miracles, he's reluctant to think of it as a cure for anything. Occasionally, however, patients will experience very dramatic results. For example, he has seen tumors virtually disappear in some patients using no other therapy except taking 40 to 60 milligrams of cannabinoids a day. The most common thing he sees in cancer patients, however, are tumors shrinking, or a metastasis disappearing. Sometimes tumors will shrink or vanish, only to reemerge in other areas, months later, and then shrink or vanish again... Other common ailments being treated with cannabis include:

• Mood disorders
• Pain disorders
• Degenerative neurological disorders such as dystonia
• Multiple sclerosis
• Parkinson's disease
• PTSD
• Seizure Disorders

He recounts how two dystonia patients with severe myofascial spasms were able to return to normal life after taking two milligrams of whole-plant CBD three times a day for a little more than one week. This is quite astounding, considering each of them had spent more than a decade undergoing neurosurgeries and taking multiple medications.

Dr. Frankel is very focused on trying to develop accurate dose-consistent medicine. The Patient Access Centers he consults with create a diverse collection of dose-consistent oral-buccal sprays. He also believes it's very important to open up and start talking about dosing—what works, what doesn't. It is his belief that some patients, in large part due to lack of education about the medicine, may be taking 10, or even 100 times higher dosage than is really needed to treat their ailment. Unfortunately, many doctors in this still highly controversial field are afraid to recommend dosages, for fear of the repercussions.

"There's this false notion (I think I can very safely say it's false) that doctors cannot recommend dosage because of this federal [law against] aiding and abetting with cannabis. It's not true. It's just not true," he says. "There are no [cannabis] medications that we dose by body weight. We now have about 120 kids with seizure disorder, and if you look at the surveys, across the board, the average dose is 37 milligrams [of whole-plant CBD] per day, and there's no relationship with body size."

More Information

A British pharmaceutical company called GW Pharmaceuticals has a cannabis product that is distributed in Canada and five other countries. It's a 1:1 CBD-THC whole plant extract. "It's a very good medicine," Dr. Frankel says. "But it's expensive. That's the problem with pharmaceutical [companies]." Dr. Frankel also consults with various states that are interested in growing medicinal CBD, i.e. cannabis with a high CBD content and hemp-level (extremely low) THC. He even gives the CBD seeds away. "I make the offer: if any governor in the 50 states wants, absolutely free – as long as I can do it legally – any of these high-ratio CBD strains, I can make it happen. No cost," he says.

"This is one of the important points I'd to emphasize: I think we're going to find ultimately that CBD is a nutritional supplement for everybody. I think we were all using [cannabis] 100 years ago... I think then, if they had hemp for food, there was CBD in it. Again, I wasn't there, but my guess is that everybody had CBD in their diet up until 100 years ago or so. CBD appears in some of the newest data to help protect your DNA epigenetic layer. That's important stuff for all of the toxins that we have in our environment. I think we have more toxins now, and we're missing one of the major protectants that we used to use for this. That's a double whammy."

Medical Studies show Cannabis cures Cancer

I recently was emailed the latest article on 420 Insight's website. I wanted to pass it along because it specifically deals with Cannabis and Cancer. The article was written by Arjun Walia and what I like about it is that it lists all the links to the studies for the different cancers.

This is an important article because one of the difficult obstacles someone with cancer deals with are FAMILY MEMBERS. Family members who will probably disagree with the way one goes about treatment, especially if it is non mainstream! With this information below one can give this information to the family members that are having a fit so that they are better educated about cannabis and how it affects cancer cells. Read and decide for yourselves! Thank you to 420 insight for the great articles and videos!  Elizabeth Knight

By Arjun Walia

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 fueled 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.

Sources: 

All sources highlighted throughout article. Click on the highlighted parts of the article to view them.

1)http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/178/2/116.full

Cannabis OIL Cancer Cure: Dr. Raphael Mechoulam discusses medical cannabis. From marijuana nation.