Marijuana helps in battle against cancer: study

April 2, 2009

The main chemical in marijuana appears to aid in the destruction of brain cancer cells, offering hope for future anti-cancer therapies, researchers in Spain wrote in a study released Thursday.

The authors from the Complutense University in Madrid, working with scientists from other universities, found that the active component of marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), causes cancer cells to undergo a process called autophagy -- the breakdown that occurs when the cell essentially self-digests.

The research, which appears in the April edition of US-published Journal of Clinical Investigation, demonstrates that THC and related "cannabinoids" appear to be "a new family of potential antitumoral agent."

The authors wrote that the chemical may prove useful in the development of future "antitumoral agents."

The scientists conducted their research on mice, first stimulating the growth of cancer in the lab animals, then injecting them with a daily dose of THC near the site of their tumors.

The researchers also analyzed the tumors of two patients in an experimental trial looking at the effects of THC on a highly aggressive form of brain tumor, and saw findings "in line with the preclinical evidence" first observed in the laboratory mice.

(c) 2009 AFP

• am_Unition - Apr 02, 2009
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  Well, clearly we need to develop a methodology of mimicking these effects with a pill. How will our beloved pharmaceutical companies benefit from decriminalization?
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• trippingsock - Apr 02, 2009
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  There's already a pill called Marinol.
  
  Remember, the FDA says in its report that marijuana has no medicinal benefit.. so this study doesn't exist.. understood?
  
  BTW. legalisation is the only way
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• Duude - Apr 03, 2009
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  Have to consider the source of these studies. In another unrelated development, the University of Tehran has reported that crude oil will cure all that ails infidels.
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• Soylent - Apr 03, 2009
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  Have to consider the source of these studies.

  
  
  Damn those spaniards, always pushing their wacky tobacco on people; wait, what?
  
  What is the bias you percieve here?
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