CANCER

Researchers Say Compound in Cannabis Plant Could Cure Cancer

A compound found in marijuana is now gaining some attention and its not THC.  Bay area researchers say CBD or Cannabidiol is showing signs of fighting cancerous cells.

Medicinal marijuana supporters believe THC helps terminally ill patients relieve pain and some have medical research to back it. But new research into a different compound found in the leafy green is said to possibly have more medical benefits than any other pharmaceutical drug in the market.

"We are at a point where we can finally say that CBD can inhibit and possibly reverse cancer cell growth and to me that's a eureka moment!" said Kevin Saunders, who grows medicinal marijuana in Marina.

The research is pioneered by the California Pacific Medical Center in the Bay Area. The team tested the compound on animals and found there was disruption in growth of tumor cells when CBD was used and Saunders said they believe it has to do with a natural defense mechanism in the plant.  

Saunders said CBD makes up 40 percent of the cannabis plant matter. But the difference between CBD and THC is that CBD is non-toxic part of cannabis that is non-psychoactive, in other words, doesn't get you high. 

"We can manipulate through breeding, it will allow high CBD, low THC levels, and that brings down the psychoactive effect that some people find marijuana gives them," said Saunders.  

Bay Area researchers are now trying to get funding to begin testing CBD on humans. They have created two models, one for brain cancer and one for breast cancer.

A utopian-minded true believer who means well but does not consider the unintended consequences of promoting wishes as facts Shares Clint Werner's Status:

Clint Werner is the author of "Marijuana Gateway to Health: How Cannabis Protects Us from Cancer and Alzheimer's Disease" 

The cannabis oil situation is going off the rails. Scammers selling bogus or toxic oil to desperate people who have bought the overly broad promise that "Cannabis Cures Cancer" which is promoted by utopian-minded true believers who mean well but do not consider the unintended consequences of promoting wishes as facts. There is an amazing and growing body of preclinical (cells and animals) research indicating that cannabinoids stunt, attack and kill certain types of cancer cells but this is not proof that "cannabis cures cancer." Just because a study found that THC kills lung cancer cells in a test tube does not mean that the effect will translate to the human organism with its myriad of complex biological responses. That is why I support the assertions in my book with population data showing lower cancer rates for marijuana smokers, the preclinical data needs to be supported with evidence from human subjects. We do not have such data for a "cure" yet. Unfortunately, many people who promote the "cure" idea fail to acknowledge the patients who do not survive with oil use, they are often dismissed as not having done it right. The idealist utopian promotion of cannabis as a cancer cure has had some ugly unintended consequences.