Health - Cannabis Destroys Cancer Cells

[mopsie]

Cannabis Destroys Cancer Cells
Tuesday 07 March 2006

Researchers investigating the role of cannabis in cancer therapy reveal it has the potential to destroy leukaemia cells, in a paper published in the March 2006 edition of Letters in Drug Design & Discovery.
Led by Dr Wai Man Liu, at Barts and the London, Queen Mary’s School of Medicine and Dentistry, the team has followed up on their findings of 2005 which showed that the main active ingredient in cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, has the potential to be used effectively against some forms of cancer. Dr Liu has since moved to the Institute of Cancer in Sutton where he continues his work into investigating the potential therapeutic benefit of new anti-cancer agents.

It has previously been acknowledged that cannabis-based medicines have merit in the treatment of cancer patients as a painkiller; appetite stimulant and in reducing nausea, but recently evidence has been growing of its potential as an anti-tumour agent. The widely reported psychoactive side effects and consequent legal status of cannabis have, however, complicated its use in this capacity. Although THC and its related compounds have been shown to attack cancer cells by interfering with important growth-processing pathways, it has not hitherto been established exactly how this is achieved. Now Dr Liu and his colleagues, using highly sophisticated microarray technology - allowing them to simultaneously detect changes in more than 18,000 genes in cells treated with THC - have begun to uncover further the existence of crucial processes through which THC can kill cancer cells and potentially promote survival.

Whilst leukaemia treatment is on the whole successful, some people cannot be treated with conventional therapy - 25 per cent of children with leukaemia fail to respond to traditional treatment leaving their prognosis outcome poor. Dr Liu’s research findings provide a crucial first step towards the development of new therapies that can eradicate a deadly disease which affects millions of children and adults worldwide.

Dr Liu said: "It is important to stress that these cannabis-like substances are far removed from the cannabis that is smoked. These novel compounds have been specifically designed to be free of the psychoactive features, whilst maintaining anti-cancer action. Ultimately, understanding the fundamental mechanisms of these compounds will provide us with insights into developing new drugs that can be used to effectively treat cancers."


source aza

Reputation Comments on this post:

Very interesting article which proves there is more much needed information on the topic.

[Dogears]

This is interesting cause even though marijuanna has a lot of tar in it's smoke it does not seem to cause lung cancer.

[Anabolic Monkey]

Im sure the marijuana for medical use is smoked using a vaporizor, that elimintates all tar, carcinogens, ect. making it a much healthier smoke

[AntiAimer]

Originally Posted by Anabolic Monkey

Im sure the marijuana for medical use is smoked using a vaporizor, that elimintates all tar, carcinogens, ect. making it a much healthier smoke

The problem is, they dont publicize this. They always say the same BS!....retarded,ridicuolous,untrue, straight from there arses "gateway" theory and it can cause cancer. Most people have no clue, about vaporizeing nor eating it. It's mostly all about ingesting THC, not the plant itself. Nor do they publicize the so many studies, that show postive effects. BTW, people who use paper(Joints,Blunts,ETC.) are more susceptible to diseases they always state. Lung cancer, throat cancer,ect. But any smoke inhalation will be very BAD for you.

It's all about lieing and keeping people ignorant, in the eyes of the law and the government.

[Nature Boy]

Originally Posted by Dogears

This is interesting cause even though marijuanna has a lot of tar in it's smoke it does not seem to cause lung cancer.

The so-called "tar" is actually cannabis oils. Tobacco favouring studies like to use the word tar in relation to marijuana to make it look worse although these cannabis oils are nowhere near as damaging as the tar in cigarettes.

Reputation Comments on this post:

[Alicia]

Also apparently is not the tar that causes cancer, which some people thought rather actually being the radioactivity of the smoke it self.

Reputation Comments on this post:

intresting point

[mopsie]

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Marijuana smoking does not increase a person's risk of developing lung cancer, according to the findings of a new study at the University of California Los Angeles that surprised even the researchers.

They had expected to find that a history of heavy marijuana use, like cigarette smoking, would increase the risk of cancer.

Instead, the study, which compared the lifestyles of 611 Los Angeles County lung cancer patients and 601 patients with head and neck cancers with those of 1,040 people without cancer, found no elevated cancer risk for even the heaviest pot smokers. It did find a 20-fold increased risk of lung cancer in people who smoked two or more packs of cigarettes a day.

The study results were presented in San Diego on Tuesday at a meeting of the American Thoracic Society.

The study was confined to people under age 60 since baby boomers were the most likely age group to have long-term exposure to marijuana, said Dr. Donald Tashkin, senior researcher and professor at the UCLA School of Medicine.

The results should not be taken as a blank check to smoke pot, which has been associated with problems like cognitive impairment and chronic bronchitis, said Dr. John Hansen-Flaschen, chief of pulmonary and critical care at the University of Pennsylvania Health System in Philadelphia. He was not involved in the study.

Previous studies showed marijuana tar contained about 50 percent more of the chemicals linked to lung cancer, compared with tobacco tar, Tashkin said. In addition, smoking a marijuana joint deposits four times more tar in the lungs than smoking an equivalent amount of tobacco.

"Marijuana is packed more loosely than tobacco, so there's less filtration through the rod of the cigarette, so more particles will be inhaled," Tashkin said in a statement. "And marijuana smokers typically smoke differently than tobacco smokers -- they hold their breath about four times longer, allowing more time for extra fine particles to deposit in the lung."

He theorized that tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, a chemical in marijuana smoke that produces its psychotropic effect, may encourage aging, damaged cells to die off before they become cancerous.

Hansen-Flaschen also cautioned a cancer-marijuana link could emerge as baby boomers age and there may be smaller population groups, based on genetics or other factors, still at risk for marijuana-related cancers.


source aza nl

[radagast]

the only reason that tobacco is able to be harmful is because our beloved tobacco companies treat the plants with allsorts of really nasty chemicals and even radiation,then when they cure the tobacco they do a hot cure which robs it of all its psychoactive properties i.e. if you grew your own tobacco and cold cured it you would barely be able to smoke more than a couple of puffs before losing touch with reality and throwing up.
so less than a fags worth of tobacco a day with no chemicals added poses very little threat to health.
this is part of the reason swim doesnt want cannabis legalised! because who would get contracts to process the pot? the tobacco companies.they would make it weak so you buy more and also treat it with nasties.
you could grow yourself if legal true but i for one am already sick of my country being robbed from and ruled by tobacco and pharmaceutical companies

you can see this already in amsterdam in the coffee shops as a tourist you are sold really well grown sweet tasting pot but its not very strong cos they want you to come back


p.s. sorry 'bout the rant

[No Warning Shot]

I was under the impression that while cannabis does help against specific kinds of cancer, I've also seen statistical analysis of data that said smoking doubled the risk of other (throat, head) cancers. This is because while it isn't loaded with synthethic chemicals like cigs, its still getting broken down with butane and the incinerated hydrocarbons that are irriatating their way through the throat are carcinogenic. Also the act of holding the smoke in the lungs will expose it to even more carcinogens. I've even read a study that hypothesised that the weed smoke produces high levels/concentrations of an enzyme that converts certain hydrocarbons into a different form which accelerate the changes that ultimately produce malignant cancer cells

man, I've never typed the word "carcinogenic" so many times ever. Oh, yeah, bottom line: buy a vaporizer already

let me know if you guys want sources

[thecowman]

I read somewhere as well (might have been on EDIT) that THC helps stop the blood flow to tumours slowing and delaying cancer. Perhaps this is why many people smoke blunts all their lives and never contract cancer.

[psyche]

Also apparently is not the tar that causes cancer, which some people thought rather actually being the radioactivity of the smoke it self.

That's what I thought but believed my friend when he told me that he did a school project of some kind about tobacco and told me that the tar is the major cause of carsinogenic properties. Are you sure of that? I'd go for the radioactivity...