The
practice of oncology in the United States is in need of a host of
reforms and initiatives to mitigate the problem of over diagnosis and
overtreatment of cancer, according to a working group sanctioned by the
National Cancer Institute. Using natural chemotherapy agents like
medical marijuana needs to be part of that reform. The mainstream press is
turning to embrace medical marijuana, which is now acknowledging that
it is more effective and certainly safer than many pharmaceutical drugs.
Pharmaceutical
strength marijuana is now available legally to the four corners of the
globe because Cannabidiol (CBD) has no illegal THC. No longer do people
need to sneak around to obtain one of the most useful plants on the
planet and the medicines that can be made from them.
The
American College of Physicians (ACP) issued a policy statement years
ago endorsing medical marijuana use. The group has urged the government
to reverse its ban on medical treatments using marijuana. "ACP
encourages the use of non-smoked forms of THC (the
main psychoactive element in marijuana) that have proven therapeutic
value." The Philadelphia-based organization, the second largest doctor's
group in the United States, cited studies into marijuana's medical
applications such as treating severe weight loss associated with
illnesses such as AIDS, and treating nausea and vomiting associated with
chemotherapy for cancer patients.[1]
Cannabinoids offer cancer patients a therapeutic option in the treatment of highly invasive cancers. The medical science is strongly in favor of hemp oil as a primary cancer therapy,not
just in a supportive role to control the side effects of chemotherapy.
According to Dr. Robert Ramer and Dr. Burkhard Hinz of the University of
Rostock in Germany medical marijuana can be an effective treatment for cancer.[2]
Their research was published in the Journal of the National Cancer
Institute Advance Access on December 25th of 2007 in a paper entitled
Inhibition of Cancer Cell Invasion by Cannabinoids via Increased
Expression of Tissue Inhibitor of Matrix Metalloproteinases-1.[3]
Marijuana cuts lung cancer tumor growth in half, a 2007 Harvard Medical School study shows.[4].The active ingredient in marijuana cuts tumor growth in common lung cancer in half and
significantly reduces the ability of the cancer to spread, say
researchers at Harvard University who tested the chemical in both lab
and mouse studies. "The beauty of this study is that we are showing that
a substance of abuse, if used prudently, may offer a new road to therapy against lung cancer," said Anju Preet, Ph.D., a researcher in the Division of Experimental Medicine.
Researchers
reported in the August 15, 2004 issue of Cancer Research, the journal
of the American Association for Cancer Research, that marijuana's
constituents inhibited the spread of brain cancer in human tumor
biopsies.[5]
Researchers
at the University of Milan in Naples, Italy, reported in the Journal of
Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics that non-psychoactive
compounds in marijuana inhibited the growth of glioma cells in
a dose-dependent manner, and selectively targeted and killed malignant
cells through apoptosis. "Non-psychoactive CBD produce[s] a significant
anti-tumor activity both in vitro and in vivo, thus suggesting a
possible application of CBD as an antineoplastic agent."[6]
Cannabidiol (CBD)
According
to Dr. Allan Frankel, "Cannabidiol will be used to treat chronic pain,
anxiety and other mood disorders, as well as being a neuro-protectant
and a very helpful anti-cancer drug." CBD is an extremely powerful
anti-inflammatory. While inflammation is normally treated with
corticosteroids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), the
improvements in quality and understanding of CBD content increases the
opportunity for inflammation and associated pain to be treated with Cannabidiol.
Dr.
Frankel goes on to say, "CBD works against pain primarily in the
peripheral nervous system. It does not work like typical pain meds by
affecting the central nervous system; it works at the neuro-synapse.
When we sustain injuries, often the pain is acute and disappears
completely. Other times we have persistent or intermittent pain, but it
is still not that big of a deal. However, with many disorders the pain
is either part of the underlying problem itself (multiple sclerosis,
rheumatoid arthritis, etc.) or the pain becomes a syndrome of its own.
In other words, the pain takes on a life of its own and is now crippling
the patient."
CBD
has no side effects and becomes very effective as an anti-psychotic
when given in larger doses. With more antioxidant potency than either
vitamin C or E, CBD has consistently demonstrated neuro-protective
effects.
For Addiction
Researchers believe they've found a substance that might help fight cocaine addiction—marijuana.
Doctors from the National Institute on Drug Abuse found that the brain
has receptors for many drug compounds, including marijuana compounds
such as Cannabidiol, which has a synthetic form called JWH133.
Using
synthetic compounds of Cannabidiol works but natural marijuana does not
have the side effects that come from all things synthetic. But we can
learn a lot about how natural marijuana works when we study synthetics
in action.
When
scientists gave samples of JWH133 to mice that were trained to be
regular users of cocaine, the mice's use of cocaine decreased. The more
JWH133 the mice got, the less coke they wanted. "The researchers deduced
that the reason the mice dialed back their cocaine habits was that the
drug no longer made them feel so good," says Karen Kaplan in the Los Angeles Times.
The receptors for drug compounds work by stimulating the brain's reward system.
JWH133 apparently eliminates the rewarding effect that comes from
taking cocaine. In one experiment, mice given cocaine ran wildly on a
treadmill—until they were given JWH133, which dampened cocaine's effects
and caused them to run more slowly.
Dr. Antonello Bonci of the NIDA, as quoted in TIME,
is extremely excited and says that studies of Alzheimer's disease and
psychosis have found that JWH133 may have therapeutic uses against those
conditions, too: "It's extremely exciting."
CBD
turns the debate about illicit-drugs-as-medicine on its head—medical
marijuana that does not get the user high. One woman with Parkinson's
disease, who Dr. Michael Callton treats,
told him she ingests an oral marijuana candy, a medicine that doesn't
make her intoxicated in order to calm her tremors enough so she can
sleep. "She doesn't want to get high," said Dr. Callton (also Michigan
Republican Representative). "She just wants to sleep."
Researchers
at the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute (CPMCRI)
combined the non-psychoactive cannabis compound, Cannabidiol (CBD), with
Δ9-tetrahyrdocannabinol (Δ9-THC), the primary psychoactive active
ingredient in cannabis.
They found the combination boosts the inhibitory effects of Δ9-THC on
glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive form of brain tumour and
the cancer that claimed the life of Sen. Ted Kennedy.[7]
Real Scientific Hemp Oil (RSHO)
Real
Scientific Hemp Oil, an associated company of Dixie Botanicals, just
came out with a two month supply of highly concentrated CBD (legal)
medical marijuana. Each batch of CBD-rich oil is tested for potency and
is marked and sold in concentrations of 10% to 25%. A Certificate of
Analysis (COA) is included with every purchase.[8]
The
one gram a day dosage of sublingual CBD in this new formula is at five
times the concentration that is necessary to throw cancer on its back.
People have rightfully complained about the low concentration levels of
other products because high dosages are necessary for full
pharmaceutical effect.
The cost on their site is
$3,600 (After introductory instant rebate) for a two month supply of
the highest concentrated CBD on the planet. The normal price is 4,995
and that is inexpensive for a truly natural chemotherapy agent. IMVA Members receive an even higher discount.
Another exciting product for
California residents is exceptionally pure extract/marijuana oil with
extremely high levels of THC, which will get the patient high as a kite
whereas the CBD will not. It is also, in one gram dosages, $60 dollars a
day but people should not expect to function to well while under the
influence.
CBD-rich
oil is best absorbed through sublingual application, and provides the
highest available CBD content without a psychotropic effect (meaning,
there is less than 1% THC). When taken sublingually, the CBD is absorbed
via the oral mucosa. The oral mucosa contains small micro-capillaries
that allow the CBD to be absorbed directly into the bloodstream.
Absorption directly into the bloodstream allows for an almost immediate
effect and bypasses "first pass" liver metabolism, allowing for the full
strength of the CBD to be experienced.
As the remaining CBD-rich oil is swallowed, it enters the digestive system and is directed to the liver by the hepatic portal system. The liver will then metabolize the remaining CBD, which then later enters the bloodstream to provide a delayed but longer-lasting effect.
As the remaining CBD-rich oil is swallowed, it enters the digestive system and is directed to the liver by the hepatic portal system. The liver will then metabolize the remaining CBD, which then later enters the bloodstream to provide a delayed but longer-lasting effect.
This
secondary longer-lasting effect from the RSHO provides pain relief for
several hours. There have been stories of patients suffering from
Parkinson's disease whose tremors ceased for several hours after taking
RSHO. Even those suffering from sleep disorders have been known to not
need to take their sleep medications because of the sustained delivery
of the CBD-rich oil.
Conclusion
CBD
spells bad news for the pharmaceutical industry because, when combined
with other strong medicinals like magnesium, sodium bicarbonate, iodine
and selenium they offer an alternative approach to cancer treatment that
is safe and effective.
CBD
is an all-purpose general medicine which has anti-inflammatory,
anti-anxiety, anti-epileptic, sedative and neuro-protective actions. It
is also a potent anti-oxidant, protecting against chemical damage due to
oxidation. Studies have suggested that CBD protects against the
development of diabetes, certain kinds of cancer, rheumatoid arthritis,
brain and nerve damage due to stroke, alcoholism, nausea, inflammatory
bowel disease and Huntington's disease. Medicine just does not get any
better.
Mieko Hester-Perez went public on television about giving her autistic son Joey medical marijuana.She says it saved his life! "It
seems to me if one is going to need to use drugs, one ought to consider
a relatively safe drug, like marijuana," said Bernard Rimland, Ph.D. of
the Autism Research Institute. "The reports we are seeing from parents
indicate that medical marijuana often works when no other treatments,
drug or non-drug, have helped."
Dr. Ester Fride strongly recommends the use of cannabinoids in pediatric medicine. She
notes that "excellent clinical results" have been reported in pediatric
oncology and in case studies of children with severe neurological
diseases or brain trauma,
and suggests that cannabis-derived medicines could also play a role in
the treatment of other childhood syndromes, including the pain and gastrointestinal inflammation associated with cystic fibrosis.
REFERENCES
[3] Inhibition
of Cancer Cell Invasion by Cannabinoids via Increased Expression of
Tissue Inhibitor of Matrix Metalloproteinases-1; Robert Ramer, Burkhard
Hinz; jnci.oxfordjournals.org; Vol. 100, Issue 1 January 2, 2008; http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/content/100/1/59.full.pdf
[6] Massi
et al. 2004. Antitumor effects of cannabidiol, a non-psychotropic
cannabinoid, on human glioma cell lines. Journal of Pharmacology and
Experimental Therapeutics Fast Forward 308: 838-845.
[7] http://www.cannabisni.com/medicinal-cannabis-news/1313-thc-and-cbd-enhances-inhibitory-effects-on-brain-cancer-
[8] RSHO
(Real Scientific Hemp Oil) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of US Hemp Oil
which falls under the PhytoSPHERE client group. US Hemp Oil is the
world's leading hemp products company.
