Marijuana enthusiasts have been speculating for years that pot can actually combat certain types of cancer, but it wasn’t until recently that research has finally made it into the mainstream media.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse issued a statement: “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not recognized or approved the marijuana plant as medicine,” the statement reads. “However, scientific study of the chemicals in marijuana, called cannabinoids, has led to two FDA-approved medications that contain cannabinoid chemicals in pill form. Continued research may lead to more medications.”
Dr. Wai Liu is an oncologist at St. George’s University of London. His study was published in the Anticancer Research journal. He stressed the fact that this study was done using purified cannabinoids which is the chemical found in marijuana responsible for fighting off cancer. Dr. Liu’s team took leukemia cells and introduced six pure types of cannabinoids to the petri dish containing the leukemia.
While there is speculation that it may help various forms of cancer, the research has found that marijuana specifically helps people with leukemia which is a form of cancer that causes over 23,000 deaths a year in the US alone. The six types of cannabinoids used were cannabidiol, cannabidiolic acid, cannbigerol, cannabigerolic acid, cannabigevarin and cannabigevaric acid.
The doctor has been quoted saying that using marijuana “has really good potential over other drugs that only have one function and I am impressed by its activity profile, and feel it has a great future, especially if used with standard chemotherapies.” This study was partially funded by GW Pharmaceuticals specializing in creating drugs using cannabinoids.
When Dr. Liu was asked whether or not the same effect could be found by smoking marijuana or using weed oil he said it was doubtful. There are 80 to 100 different types of cannabinoids and in traditional weed oil it is tough to know which oil is best for which cancer. Besides that, most oils sold in dispensaries are not purified enough to match the chemicals used in the study. In regards to the smoking of marijuana he said it is quite possible that in the smoking process the valuable cannabinoids may be altered or made useless in regards to their anti-cancer effects.
There have already been vast studies done showing the efficacy of marijuana use to treat conditions like glaucoma as well as wasting syndrome, nausea, insomia and others; but cancer is still one of the biggest obstacles for the human race with over 40% of all people diagnosed with some type of cancer during their lifetimes. There has already been previous research done showing the potential for CBD to halt the metastasis of certain types of cancer.
This research may prove that we are one step closer to being able to use this natural widely available herb to potentially help people heal or cure cancer. Due to its affordability and accessibility, if marijuana proves affective when put through more studies, it could become a common course of treatment for cancer patients in need.
(Christian Cristiano is an acupuncturist in LA, TV host of Wellness for Realists and writes on wellness regularly for CityWatch. Christian can be reached at 323.935.3420. twitter: @CristianoWFR)
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 13 Issue 44
Pub: May 29, 2015
