| “Donald Tashkin’s is a tale cannabis pushers like to repeat. The physician and professor at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine set out to prove — via a study funded by the National Institutes on Drug Abuse — that marijuana is bad for you. Instead, a long-term study found no solid link between marijuana use and lung cancer, in sharp contrast to tobacco terrible effects on health.”
|
| “Similar findings were repeated all over the world. In a collection and review of studies on marijuana’s effect on the lungs, published in the June issue of the Annals of the American Thoracic Society, Tashkin concludes that compared to tobacco smoking, heavy marijuana use has “relatively small and far lower” risks.
This despite an average joint marijuana having four times the tar of a typical American Spirit. How can this be? It’s worth remembering that this is not a new development — Tashkin’s long-term study was published in 2006. And well before that — as in the 19th Century, when cannabis tinctures and other marijuana medicines were sold in pharmacies — doctors were prescribing marijuana as a treatment for asthma patients.” |
Category Archives: Cancer
Breathe Easy: A Marijuana Study Finds No Lung Cancer Links
“Donald Tashkin‘s is a tale cannabis pushers like to repeat. The physician and professor at UCLA‘s David Geffen School of Medicine set out to prove — via a study funded by the National Institutes on Drug Abuse — that marijuana is bad for you. Instead, a long-term study found no solid link between marijuana use and lung cancer.
Similar findings were repeated all over the world. In a review of studies on marijuana’s effect on the lungs, published in the June issue of the Annals of the American Thoracic Society, Tashkin concludes that compared to tobacco smoking, heavy marijuana use has “relatively small and far lower” risks.”
More: http://www.sfweekly.com/2013-06-19/news/ucla-medical-marijuana-cancer/full/
Cannabis Cures Cancer Without Poison
“Isn’t it strange that doctors can legally administer poison in the form of chemotherapy and radiation as well as numerous toxic pharmaceuticals and yet one of nature’s medicines- found to greatly assist cancer patients- which can be prepared by any common person without harmful side effects, is illegal and can send a person to prison for its possession?
There are numerous studies, now spanning the globe, revealing the miraculous healing properties of cannabis oil and its ability to cure cancers and other ailments without poisoning the body.
Cannabis oil, or Hemp oil contains many healing benefits including a high amount of protein as well as essential fatty acids, including the harder to come by GLA’s – known to reduce inflammation and slow the growth of cancer cells. As far as essential fatty acids go, we need a particular ratio of Omega 3, Omega 6 and GLA’s in our body for good health. Omega 3 comes largely from fish, Omega 6 can be found in many of our cooking oils such as olive and sunflower, but GLA is only found in a few sources such as borage oil, spirulina and hemp. Hemp oil happens to contain the perfect 2:5:1 ratio of omega 3, 6 and GLA’s. Interesting.
As far as cancer goes, the research proof has been out there for a while…
Cannabis oil has been shown to shrink and even cure cancers in all the studies conducted without poisoning the body. Isn’t it time to give the people a safe, legal alternative to such an ailment? Let us put aside our fears and greed and support nature in being our medicine, so she can further support us in healing.”
More: http://guardianlv.com/2013/06/cannabis-cures-cancer-without-poison/
Poly-ε-caprolactone microspheres as a drug delivery system for cannabinoid administration: development, characterization and in vitro evaluation of their antitumoral efficacy.
“Cannabinoids show promise for the treatment of various medical conditions such as emesis, anorexia, pain, cancer, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and glaucoma.
The objective of the present work was to assess the feasibility of developing cannabinoid loaded poly-ε-caprolactone (PCL) microparticles prepared by the oil-in-water emulsion-solvent evaporation technique as a suitable dosage form for their administration.
In vitro cell viability studies demonstrated the antitumoral activity of CBD released from microparticles. After 4 and 7 days of incubation, CBD in microspheres significantly inhibited the growth of MDA-MB-231 cells by 60% as compared to the 50% attained with free drug.
The results suggest that PCL microparticles could be an alternative delivery system for long-term cannabinoid administration, showing potential therapeutic advantages over free drug.”
Preparation and characterization of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol-loaded biodegradable polymeric microparticles and their antitumoral efficacy on cancer cell lines.
“Cannabinoids present an interesting therapeutic potential as antiemetics, appetite stimulants in debilitating diseases (cancer, AIDS and multiple sclerosis), analgesics, and in the treatment of multiple sclerosis and cancer, among other conditions.
However, despite their high clinical potential, only few dosage forms are available to date. In this paper, the development of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) biodegradable microspheres as an alternative delivery system for cannabinoid parenteral administration is proposed. Tetrahydrocannabinol was encapsulated into biodegradable microspheres by the oil-in-water (o/w) emulsion solvent evaporation method. Several formulations were prepared using different drug:polymer ratios. The influence of antioxidant (α-tocopherol acetate) concentration on the release of THC from the microparticles was studied. Elevated process yield and entrapment efficiencies were achieved.The in vitro drug release studies showed that the encapsulated drug was released over a two week period.
As THC has shown therapeutic potential as anticancer drug, the efficacy of the microspheres was tested on different cancer cell lines.
Interestingly, the microspheres were able to inhibit cancer cell proliferation during the nine-day study period.
All the above results suggest that the use of biodegradable microspheres would be a suitable alternative delivery system for THC administration.”
Turned-Off Cannabinoid Receptor Turns on Colorectal Tumor Growth – MDAnderson
“Researchers find CB1 suppresses tumors, a new potential path for treatment, prevention.”
“New preclinical research shows that cannabinoid cell surface receptor CB1 plays a tumor-suppressing role in human colorectal cancer, scientists report in the Aug. 1 edition of the journal Cancer Research.
CB1 is well-established for relieving pain and nausea, elevating mood and stimulating appetite by serving as a docking station for the cannabinoid group of signaling molecules. It now may serve as a new path for cancer prevention or treatment.
“Potential application of cannabinoids as anti-tumor drugs is an exciting prospect, because cannabinoid agonists are being evaluated now to treat the side-effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy,” DuBois said.
“Turning CB1 back on and then treating with a cannabinoid agonist could provide a new approach to colorectal cancer treatment or prevention.”
Cannabinoids are a group of ligands that serve a variety of cell-signaling roles. Some are produced by the body internally (endocannabinoids). External cannabinoids include manmade versions and those present in plants, most famously the active ingredient in marijuana (THC).”
Turned-off Cannabinoid Receptor Turns On Colorectal Tumor Growth – CB1 Suppresses Tumors, A New Potential Path For Treatment, Prevention
“New preclinical research shows that cannabinoid cell surface receptor CB1 plays a tumor-suppressing role in human colorectal cancer, scientists report in the Aug. 1 edition of the journal Cancer Research.
CB1 is well-established for relieving pain and nausea, elevating mood and stimulating appetite by serving as a docking station for the cannabinoid group of signaling molecules. It now may serve as a new path for cancer prevention or treatment.
“Potential application of cannabinoids as anti-tumor drugs is an exciting prospect, because cannabinoid agonists are being evaluated now to treat the side-effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy,” DuBois said. “Turning CB1 back on and then treating with a cannabinoid agonist could provide a new approach to colorectal cancer treatment or prevention.”
Cannabinoids are a group of ligands that serve a variety of cell-signaling roles. Some are produced by the body internally (endocannabinoids). External cannabinoids include manmade versions and those present in plants, most famously the active ingredient in marijuana (THC).”
Cannabis Ingredient Can Help Cancer Patients Regain Their Appetites And Sense Of Taste
“The active ingredient in cannabis can improve the appetites and sense of taste in cancer patients, according to a new study published online in the cancer journal, Annals of Oncology today.
Loss of appetite is common among cancer patients, either because the cancer itself or its treatment affects the sense of taste and smell, leading to decreased enjoyment of food. This, in turn, can lead to weight loss, anorexia, a worse quality of life and decreased survival; therefore, finding effective ways of helping patients to maintain a good diet and consume enough calories is an important aspect of their treatment.
The majority of THC-treated patients (64%) had increased appetite, three patients (27%) showed no change, and one patient’s data was incomplete. No THC-treated patients showed a decrease in appetite. By contrast, the majority of patients receiving placebo had either decreased appetite (50%) or showed no change (20%).
Although there was no difference in the total number of calories consumed by both groups, the THC-treated patients tended to increase the proportion of protein that they ate, and 55% reported that savoury foods tasted better, whereas no patients in the placebo group reported an increased liking for these foods. (Cancer patients often find that meat smells and tastes unpleasant and, therefore, they eat less of it).
In addition, THC-treated patients reported better quality of sleep and relaxation than in the placebo group.”
Cannabinoids inhibit energetic metabolism and induce AMPK-dependent autophagy in pancreatic cancer cells.
“The anti-tumoral effects of cannabinoids have been described in different tumor systems, including pancreatic adenocarcinoma, but their mechanism of action remains unclear.
We used cannabinoids specific for the CB1 (ACPA) and CB2 (GW) receptors and metabolomic analyses to unravel the potential pathways mediating cannabinoid-dependent inhibition of pancreatic cancer cell growth. Panc1 cells treated with cannabinoids show elevated AMPK activation induced by a ROS-dependent increase of AMP/ATP ratio. ROS promote nuclear translocation of GAPDH, which is further amplified by AMPK, thereby attenuating glycolysis. Furthermore, ROS determine the accumulation of NADH, suggestive of a blockage in the respiratory chain, which in turn inhibits the Krebs cycle. Concomitantly, inhibition of Akt/c-Myc pathway leads to decreased activity of both the pyruvate kinase isoform M2 (PKM2), further downregulating glycolysis, and glutamine uptake.
Altogether, these alterations of pancreatic cancer cell metabolism mediated by cannabinoids result in a strong induction of autophagy and in the inhibition of cell growth.”
Intractable nausea and vomiting due to gastrointestinal mucosal metastases relieved by tetrahydrocannabinol (dronabinol).
“Four years following resection of a Clark’s level IV malignant melanoma, a 50-year-old man developed widespred metastatic disease involving the liver, bones, brain, gastrointestinal mucosa, and lungs. One week after whole brain radiation therapy, he was admitted to the hospital for nausea, vomiting, and pain.
He was treated with several antiemetic drugs, but it was not until dronabinol was added that the nausea and vomiting stopped.
Dronabinol was an effective antiemetic used in combination with prochlorperazine in nausea and vomiting unresponsive to conventional antiemetics.”