Cancer Research's Surprising Story By Bruce Mirken
CN Source: Providence Journal June 08, 2008 USA
Once again the cancer diagnosis of a well-known national figure, in this case Sen. Ted Kennedy, has sparked a flurry of interest in efforts to treat and cure this frustrating, complex and deadly illness. One of the most promising areas of research involves a group of chemicals whose origins may seem shocking.
The chemicals, called cannabinoids, are the active components in marijuana.
Yes, marijuana, the very same drug that seems to generate endless controversy here and abroad, and that our government still claims causes cancer, a claim that appears to stand reality on its head.
The first solid data showing the anti-cancer effects of cannabinoids was developed by U.S. government researchers and published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute back in 1975. The scientists found that THC, the component that produces marijuana's "high", inhibits the growth of lung-cancer cells in the test tube and in mice.
In a world that made sense, this discovery would have set off a frenzy of new research. After all, President Richard Nixon had declared "war on cancer" just a few years before, and vast sums of money were being spent investigating new approaches. But Nixon had also declared "war on drugs," with marijuana at the top of the demon-drugs list, so our government, by far the world's largest source of medical research funding, never pursued these remarkable findings. Research ground to a near-complete halt until the late 1990s.
Since then, THC and other marijuana components have been shown to block growth not only of lung tumors but a variety of other cancers, including leukemia, lymphoma and cancers of the breast and skin. These effects seem to occur through a variety of different cellular mechanisms.
As Spanish researcher Dr. Manuel Guzman, one of the world's leading experts in the field, wrote in a 2003 review in the journal Nature Reviews: Cancer, "Cannabinoids are selective anti-tumor compounds, as they can kill tumor cells without affecting their non-transformed counterparts. It is probable that cannabinoid receptors regulate cell-survival and cell-death pathways differently in tumor and non-tumor cells."
continued...
Teddy Kennedy's Cannabis Brain Tumor Cure
Its Time To Wake Up
Cannabis Shrinks Tumors: Government Knew in 74
The DEA quickly shut down the Virginia study and all further cannabis/tumor research, according to Jack Herer, who reports on the events in his book, The Emperor Wears No Clothes. In 1976, President Gerald Ford put an end to all public cannabis research and granted exclusive research rights to major pharmaceutical companies, who set out -- unsuccessfully -- to develop synthetic forms of THC that would deliver all the medical benefits without the "high."
Marinol vs. Natural Cannabis
Marinol Lacks Several of the Therapeutic Compounds Available in Natural Cannabis. Marinol is More Psychoactive Than Natural Cannabis
Marinol: The Little Synthetic That Couldn't
Effort To Disguise a Medicine as an Illegal Drug
Groups Endorsing RxGanja
Can Pot Extend Ted Kennedy's Life?
It's Time To Wake Up & See That Cannabis Helps
Rooters Bold Font Lies
