Cannabis: Possible Cancer CURE?

by Patricia Smith

What if cannabis cured cancer?  That’s a very provocative question that researchers are finally starting take seriously.  The National Cancer Institute, established in 1937 – the same year that marijuana became illegal, is the primary agency for cancer training and research.  They are part of the National Institute of Health, one of eleven agencies that make up the Department of Health and Human Services, a cabinet level position.  It is their mandate to assess and incorporate state-of-the-art cancer treatments into clinical practice.

In a break from Federal policy, on March 24, 2011, the National Cancer Institute posted an 10-part study of the potential benefits of MMJ treatment.  Their website stated that “The potential benefits for people living with Cancer include antiemetic effects (control of nausea), appetite stimulation, pain relief and improved sleep.  In the practice of integrative oncology, the health care provider may recommend medicinal cannabis not only for symptom management, but also for its possible direct anti-tumor effect.”

Five days later on March 29, the last sentence was replaced with:  “Though no relevant surveys of practice patterns exist, it appears that physicians caring for cancer patients who prescribe medicinal cannabis predominantly do so for symptom management.

Independent clinical studies have been done on various compounds in the cannabis plant despite the fact that serious research has been hampered by the agencies in control of the research materials.  The National Institute of Drug Abuse oversees approximately 85% of the world’s research on controlled substances.   Shirley Simpson, spokesperson for the NIDA, revealed to The New York Times in a Jan 19, 2010  article that, ”As the National Institute for Drug Abuse, our focus is primarily on the negative consequences of marijuana use.  We generally do not fund research focused on the potential medical benefits of marijuana.”

In January 2010, a independent research team at California Pacific Medical Research Institute, led by Dr. Sean McAllister, published a report in the peer-reviewed journal, Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, on their success in inhibiting glioblastoma (GBM) brain cancer cells.  GBM is one of the most aggressive forms of brain cancer and is the type of cancer that claimed Senator Ted Kennedy.  There has not been an improvement in the life expectancy of patients with GBM in 50 years so this study is a major breakthrough.

The team discovered that THC or CBD acting alone had little effect on the cancer cells; but when administered together at a ration of 4:1 THC to CBD, the rate of cancer cell death increased dramatically without adversely affecting the surrounding healthy cells.  Since cannabinoids selectively kill abnormal cells, it is possible to inject large doses directly into the tumor without toxic side effects.

“It appears that the cannabinoids work synergistically together to kill cancer cells and reduce tumor size, suggesting that these compounds either converge on a shared pathway or together they activate a specific response in cancer cells, ”  according to J. Marcu one of the research team members.

Much of the research done in the past has relied on synthetic forms of marijuana like Marinol which is 100% THC.  Better results have been obtained when using Sativex, which is derived from the marijuana plant rather than synthetic chemicals, and contains equal parts THC and CBD.  It was thought that some symptoms respond better to THC while others were improved with CBD.  Now we are learning that it might be finding the correct ratio of the two cannabinoids that hold the key to future cures and could account for the mixed results obtained in previous tests that favored one ingredient over the other.

Study Proved Cannabis Effective

As far back as 1974, research was conducted at the Virginia Medical College in Richmond, Virginia on tumors in the lung, brain, liver and kidneys using lab mice.  The results were startling.  Not only did the cancer stop growing, but it actually reversed itself in most cases.  Some mice that were treated with cannabis for their cancer outlived the control mice who did not have cancer.  The Nixon administration abruptly shut down the research project.  Whitehouse tapes have revealed that Nixon’s drug policy was based on his personal prejudices rather than scientific evidence.

In light of the mounting evidence of marijuana’s medicinal value, we have to ask many lives will be lost before the Federal government allows meaningful research into cannabinoid-based medicine?