National Cancer Institute reverses text on cannabis "antitumor" effect

Posted on March 31st, 2011 by Global Ganja Report and tagged , , , , .

cannabisEarlier this month, the National Cancer Institute nodded to a growing body of studies indicating that one of the chemical compounds in cannabis slows—or stops—uncontrolled cell growth. In one study, tumors in lab mice shrank once exposed to the compound CBD. The NCI updated its website to include a reference to a "possible direct antitumor effect" from cannabis. But sometime since, the reference was removed, much to cannabis advocates' disgust.

The original passage read, "In the practice of integrative oncology, the health care provider may recommend medicinal cannabis, not only for symptom management, but also for its possible direct antitumor effect." This week, actvists noticed this passage had been changed, removing all references to the anti-tumor effect. The new text that had been put in its place stated: "Though no relevant surveys of practice patterns exist, it appears that physicians caring for cancer patients who prescribe medicinal cannabis predominantly do so for symptom management."

"The backpedaling has begun," said Kris Hermes of Americans for Safe Access, which first reported the change. "Apparently, politics speak louder than science." (SF Weekly, March 30)

 

Photo: Themadpothead

 

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Study: cannabis compounds can kill cancer cells

Global Ganja Report's picture

A British researcher has found that cannabinoids, a term for chemicals derived from marijuana, can kill leukemia cells, and he expects clinical trials for new medications to begin soon. The findings, published in the October issue of the journal Anticancer Research, show that certain non-psychoactive cannabinoids "resulted in dramatic reductions in cell viability" and "caused a simultaneous arrest at all phases of the cell cycle," according to an abstract posted online. The study tested six cannabinoids, together and independently, on leukemia cells. Study author Wai Liu, an oncologist at the University of London's St. George's medical school, told U.S. News the chemicals displayed "potent anti-cancer activity" and, significantly, "target and switch off" pathways that allow cancers to grow. (US News & World Report, Oct. 24)

Comment by Global Ganja Report on Oct 28th, 2013 at 3:58 pm

Government admits cannabis anti-cancer properties

Bill Weinberg's picture

 The London Cannabis Club notes that the US National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) had added the following text to its page entitled "DrugFacts: Is Marijuana Medicine?"

Recent animal studies have shown that marijuana extracts may help kill certain cancer cells and reduce the size of others. Evidence from one cell culture study suggests that purified extracts from whole-plant marijuana can slow the growth of cancer cells from one of the most serious types of brain tumors. Research in mice showed that treatment with purified extracts of THC and CBD, when used with radiation, increased the cancer-killing effects of the radiation...

But it also states:

Why isn’t the marijuana plant an FDA-approved medicine?

The FDA requires carefully conducted studies (clinical trials) in hundreds to thousands of human subjects to determine the benefits and risks of a possible medication. So far, researchers have not conducted enough large-scale clinical trials that show that the benefits of the marijuana plant (as opposed to its cannabinoid ingredients) outweigh its risks in patients it is meant to treat.

 

Comment by Bill Weinberg on Aug 13th, 2015 at 9:59 pm

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