Tag Archives: medical

Cannabis smokers show greater lung capacity and lower cancer levels than non-smokers

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“For many years, the demonizing claims being made against cannabis have been crumbling as research slowly dispels them. Fifty years ago people earnestly believed that the consumption of cannabis was directly linked to the development of an array of mental illnesses, and violent and hypersexual behavior.”
 
cannabis
 

 “Rewriting the medical records

The results of a new government-run research program are now forcing medical authorities to overturn these beliefs. The study has been ongoing for the past twenty years, following the smoking habits of over 5000 people.
 
 Researchers found that, contrary to popular belief, smoking cannabis, does not interfere with lung function or capacity. This holds true for ongoing regular -even including daily- and long term consumption.
 
 Curiously, as a general rule, cannabis smokers had better lung function than nonsmokers, which researchers attribute to the smoking action itself, rather than the cannabis. Pot smokers inhale deeply and hold those breaths to make the most of their supply, expanding the lung’s capacity.Dr. Tashkin found that, in almost all instances, cannabis consumers had rates of cancer that were no different from those who didn’t smoke cannabis. The one exception to this rule was between cannabis smokers and individuals who didn’t smoke anything (including tobacco), in which marijuana smokers actually had lower levels of lung cancer.” 
 
 
 

Evidence: Cannabinoid Therapy Reduces Breast Cancer Tumors

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“Warning: Many alternative treatments are shams with zero proof. Most alternatives make claims that are not backed up by any evidence or hard empirical medical studies, are are not peer-reviewed. 
 
Peer review means your study and its claims will be vetted by a panel of the best doctors and other medical professionals in that field, for critical review. They will try to find fault in its methodology before publication and its recommendations for possible human treatment.
 
For any cannabis-based study strong enough to stand up to this critical review, and for it to be published in a major journal within such a field as cancer research, is incredible. That’s exactly how strong the evidence for cannabis medicine is starting to become.
 
Imagine that. This plant, this “great friend of humanity” which has helped us survive by giving early humans food, fuel, fiber and medicine, and who ancient healers wrote about in 6000 B.C., more than 8,000 years ago, is now coming back to prove itself and to help save us again.
 
And this time we are starting to find the evidence to back up the claims made for this plant over the centuries…”
 

Medical Cannabis Treatment for Cancer and HIV/AIDS ?

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“Benefits of Medical Cannabis”

medical marijuana

“Today, there are at least 17 states, including the District of Colombia, where cannabis is legal. Ohio, South Carolina, Colorado, New Jersey, California, and Michigan are just a few states that garnered strong support in the legalization of  medical cannabis. In Illinois, a bill legalizing the use of  cannabis needed the signature of Gov Pat Quinn. The legislation was approved by House and Senate, permitting doctors to prescribe cannabis for cancer and patients with HIV/AIDS and other diseases…

There is now quantifiable evidence that cannabis is beneficial in treating many disorders…

Moreover, the Medical Cannabis Research and the University of California found out that cannabis can treat HIV/AIDS and multiple sclerosis symptoms. It can even benefit cancer patients to mitigate the unpleasant side effects of chemotherapy or as an alternative treatment for cervical cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, colorectal cancer, brain cancer, and leukemia.”

More: http://guardianlv.com/2013/05/medical-cannabis-treatment-for-cancer-and-hivaids/

Bay Area Researchers Claim Cannabis Can Cure Cancer

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“Marijuana has been used for medicinal purposes–relieving stress and pain and fighting hunger and nausea–for centuries if not millennia. But now, a pair of doctors in San Francisco claim that they’ve compiled reliable data showing that a certain compound in cannabis–cannabidiol–may actually cure cancer.”

Bay Area Researchers Claim Cannabis Can Cure Cancer

“Unlike THC, the ingredient in marijuana that makes you feel stoned, cannabidiol is a non-toxic compound of the plant that has no psychoactive qualities, and it’s been the focus of an ongoing series of trials at the San Francisco-based California Pacific Medical Center. There, physicians Sean McAllister and Pierre Desprez claim they’ve successfully used cannabidiol to fight animal genes involved in the spread of cancer. Now they hope to be allowed to conduct anti-cancer research using cannabidiol on actual humans.”

Marijuana tied to lower bladder cancer risk

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“New research says smoking pot may be less likely to cause bladder cancer than smoking cigarettes.”

 

“The finding is potentially valuable, the study authors said, given the ongoing debate over legalising marijuana for medical purposes.”

More: http://www.health24.com/Medical/Cancer/News/Marijuana-tied-to-lower-bladder-cancer-risk-20130513

News: Can marijuana treat the symptoms of Crohn’s Disease?

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“A new study, published in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, suggests that cannabis could help relieve symptoms of Crohn’s Disease, a lifelong chronic illness that causes abdominal pain, cramping, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, weight loss and lack of energy.”

News: Can marijuana treat the symptoms of Crohn

“That’s good news for sufferers, especially considering there is currently no cure.

Researchers studied 21 patients with Crohn’s Disease. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups: The first group was given cannabis cigarettes twice a day, the second group was given a  placebo containing cannabis flowers from which the THC had been removed.

“A short course (8 week) of THC-rich cannabis produced significant clinical, steroid-free benefits to 11 patients with active CD, compared to placebo, without side effects,” the study’s authors wrote.

The most promising part?

“Complete remission was achieved by 5/11 subjects in the cannabis group.”

Crohn’s patients aren’t the only ones who can benefit from marijuana’s medical properties, according to new research.

A recent study published in the American Journal of Medicine, suggests that marijuana can lower the risk of diabetes as well.

Marijuana users have lower fasting insulin levels, Murray Mittleman, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and the lead author of the study told Time Healthland. They are “less resistant to the insulin produced by their body to maintain a normal blood sugar level,”he says.

According to Health Canada, medical marijuana can also be used to manage symptoms like severe pain, cachexia, anorexia, weight loss, and severe nausea from cancer; arthritis pain; seizures from epilepsy; and pain and muscle spasms from spinal cord injuries and multiple sclerosis.”

More:http://www.besthealthmag.ca/blog/post/news-can-marijuana-cure-crohns-disease

Marijuana may help patients with Crohn’s disease, study says

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“New research published earlier this month might have more patients with Crohn’s disease turning to medical marijuana for relief.”
 
Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory bowel disease that affects around 500,000 people in North America.

 

In a first-of-its-kind clinical trial, an 8-week treatment regimen involving daily smoking of marijuana ‘cigarettes’ resulted in a reduction in overall disease severity in 10 of the 11 patients that were studied. 5 of these patients experienced complete remission of their disease.

 

The results were published online in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology and authored by scientists at the Meir Medical Clinical in Israel. Israel has one of the most fastest growing medical marijuana programs in the world, with over 11,000 registered patients as of today — up from just 400 in 2009.

 

While the researchers say that their study was the first placebo-controlled trial — the “gold standard” when it comes to medical research — to investigate the effects of marijuana use on patients with Crohn’s disease, other studies have produced similar results.

 

Based on findings from both animal and human research, experts suggest that cannabis could play a role in the treatment of Crohn’s and other inflammatory bowel diseases by regulating intestinal hyperactivity, inflammation and pain.

 

Marijuana’s medical properties come directly from compounds known as cannabinoids, including the well-known tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) molecule. Interestingly, the cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant have been shown to mimic the activity of endocannabinoids – cannabinoids that are produced naturally by the human body.

 

Similarly, studies have identified a variety of digestive functions that can be modulated by cannabinoid activity, especially in inflammatory disease states.

 

Although the findings of the current study provide considerable support for the use of marijuana as a Crohn’s disease treatment, the authors call for more studies to “look into the role of cannabinoids in controlling inflammation and symptoms in inflammatory bowel disease.”

 

Indeed, larger studies may be able to provide stronger confirmation or perhaps refute the findings of the newest study, which failed to demonstrate complete remission of Crohn’s in the majority of the treatment group.

 

Still, the authors concluded their research by stating, “a short course of THC-rich cannabis produced significant clinical, steroid-free benefits to 11 patients with active Crohn’s disease, compared to placebo, without side effects.””

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/350495

Smoking Marijuana Causes ‘Complete Remission’ of Crohn’s Disease, No Side Effects, New Study Shows

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“Marijuana – scientific name “cannabis” – performed like a champ in the first-ever placebo-controlled trial of the drug to treat Crohn’s Disease, also known as inflammatory bowel disease.”

 

“The disease of the digestive tract afflicts 400,000 – 600,000 people in North America alone causing abdominal pain, diarrhea (which can be bloody), severe vomiting, weight loss, as well as secondary skin rashes, arthritis, inflammation of the eye, tiredness, and lack of concentration.

Smoking pot caused a “complete remission” of Crohn’s disease compared to placebo in half the patients who lit up for eight weeks, according to clinical trial data to be published the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

Researchers at Israel’s Meir Medical Center took 21 people with intractable, severe Crohn’s disease and gave 11 of them two joints a day for eight weeks. “The standardized cannabis cigarettes” contained 23 percent THC and 0.5 percent CBD (cannabidiol). (Such marijuana is available on dispensary shelves in San Francisco, Oakland, and other cities that have regulated access to the drug.) The other ten subjects smoked placebo cigarettes containing no active cannabinoids.

Investigators reported that smoking weed caused a “complete remission” of Crohn’s Disease in five of the 11 subjects. Another five of the eleven test subjects saw their Crohn’s Disease symptoms cut in half. Furthermore, “subjects receiving cannabis reported improved appetite and sleep, with no significant side effects.”

The study is the first placebo-controlled clinical trial to assess the consumption of cannabis for the treatment of Crohn’s, notes NORML. All of the patients had intractable forms of the disease and did not respond to conventional treatments. Still, the United States government claims that marijuana is as dangerous as heroin and has no medical use. U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag is waging a war on safe access to medical cannabis in the Bay Area.”

http://blog.sfgate.com/smellthetruth/2013/05/14/smoking-marijuana-cured-crohns-disease-with-no-side-effects-new-study-shows/

Could marijuana reduce diabetes risk? – Fox News

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“There’s an unexpected link between marijuana use and factors related to Type 2 diabetes that has medical researchers intrigued.”
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“Several studies have found that marijuana users take in more food calories than nonusers, but they still have lower rates of obesity and diabetes, and lower average body mass index (BMI) levels.

In a new study, researchers investigated what effects marijuana and its active ingredient tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) might have on people’s metabolism, especially insulin levels.

Insulin resistance an important risk factor for diabetes is a metabolic disorder that occurs when the body’s cells cannot properly intake insulin. The American Heart Association estimates 35 percent of U.S. adults have metabolic disorders that include insulin resistance.

To examine the link between THC and metabolism, researchers gathered the results of 4,657 adults from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a cross-sectional study administered annually by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Of the study’s participants, 579 were current marijuana users, 1,975 had used the drug in the past but not recently, and 2,103 had never tried marijuana. Researchers analyzed the participants’ fasting insulin levels, cholesterol levels, insulin resistance and waist sizes.

Multiple benefits seen”

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/16/could-marijuana-reduce-diabetes-risk/

Regular Cannabis Users ‘Have Better Blood Sugar Control’

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“People who regularly use cannabis have better blood sugar control than those who do not, providing implications for use of the drug in diabetic control.”

Cannabis users have lower blood sugar levels than non-users (Reuters)

“Research published in the American Journal of Medicine found current marijuana users are less likely to be insulin resistant and have significantly lower fasting insulin levels, even after patients with diabetes were excluded from the study. 

The ream found cannabis users’ fasting insulin levels were 16% lower than non-users…

Cannabis in becoming increasingly used for medical purposes, with the active ingredient tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) approved in the US as a treatment for the side effect of chemotherapy. It is legal for recreational use in two states and 19 for medical use.

The researchers looked at data obtained through the National Health and Nutrition Survey between 2005 and 2010.

They looked at questionnaires from 4,657 people, of which 579 were regular cannabis users, 1,975 had used marijuana but not regularly and 2,103 had never used the drug.

Insulin and glucose were measured through blood samples after a nine hour fast and insulin resistance was calculated.

The team found that people who had used cannabis in the last month had lower levels of fasting insulin and insulin resistance and higher levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), which is associated with better cardiovascular health…”

Read more: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/467817/20130515/cannabis-marijuana-lower-blood-sugar-levels-diabetes.htm