Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Cannabis May Halt Breast Cancer

BBC

'CANNABIS' MAY HALT BREAST CANCER

USA -- A compound found in cannabis may stop breast cancer spreading throughout the body, US scientists believe.

The California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute team are hopeful that cannabidiol or CBD could be a non-toxic alternative to chemotherapy.

Unlike cannabis, CBD does not have any psychoactive properties so its use would not violate laws, Molecular Cancer Therapeutics reports.

CBD works by blocking the activity of a gene called Id-1 which is believed to be responsible for the aggressive spread of cancer cells away from the original tumour site - a process called metastasis.

Past work has shown CBD can block aggressive human brain cancers.

The latest work found CBD appeared to have a similar effect on breast cancer cells in the lab.

Future Hope

Lead researcher Dr Sean McAllister said: "Right now we have a limited range of options in treating aggressive forms of cancer.

"Those treatments, such as chemotherapy, can be effective but they can also be extremely toxic and difficult for patients.

"This compound offers the hope of a non-toxic therapy that could achieve the same results without any of the painful side effects."

Maria Leadbeater of Breast Cancer Care said: "Many people experience side-effects while having chemotherapy, such as nausea and an increased risk of infection, which can take both a physical and emotional toll.

"Any drug that has fewer side-effects will, of course, be of great interest."
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It's really amazing how long this vital information has been kept from the people of the US. The US government has known since 1974.

The first experiment documenting pot's anti-tumor effects took place in 1974 at the Medical College of Virginia at the behest of the U.S. government. The results of that study, reported in an Aug. 18, 1974, Washington Post newspaper feature, were that marijuana's psychoactive component, THC, "slowed the growth of lung cancers, breast cancers and a virus-induced leukemia in laboratory mice, and prolonged their lives by as much as 36 percent." Paul Armentano

Just think of all the millions of people that have died of cancer or suffered near to the point of death with radiation and chemo who could have lived longer and had a much better quality of life if this simple, natural, plant had been available to them without criminal sanctions.



2 comments:

Christie O'Brien said...

Unbelievable. Still one more thing the magic plant could be helping...if it wasn't for this backwards ass government.

Anonymous said...

I'm curious as to whether there has been a survey of older senior pot smokers for the occurrence of cancer, glaucoma and other diseases just to see if there would be an indication of cannabis having a beneficial effect in disease protection.

Peter