Marijuana cures cancer

[arab_freak]

A new study published in Nature Reviews-Cancer provides an historic and detailed explanation about how THC and natural cannabinoids counteract cancer, but preserve normal cells.

 

The study by Manuel Guzmán of Madrid Spain found that cannabinoids, the active components of marijuana, inhibit tumor growth in laboratory animals. They do so by modulating key cell-signalling pathways, thereby inducing direct growth arrest and death of tumor cells, as well as by inhibiting the growth of blood vessels that supply the tumor.

 

The Guzman study is very important according to Dr. Ethan Russo , a neurologist and world authority on medical cannabis: "Cancer occurs because cells become immortalized; they fail to heed normal signals to turn off growth. A normal function of remodelling in the body requires that cells die on cue. This is called apoptosis, or programmed cell death. That process fails to work in tumors. THC promotes its reappearance so that gliomas, leukemias, melanomas and other cell types will in fact heed the signals, stop dividing, and die."

 

"But, that is not all," explains Dr. Russo: "The other way that tumors grow is by ensuring that they are nourished: they send out signals to promote angiogenesis, the growth of new blood vessels. Cannabinoids turn off these signals as well. It is truly incredible, and elegant."

 

In other words, this article explains several ways in which cannabinoids might be used to fight cancer, and, as the article says, "Cannabinoids are usually well tolerated, and do not produce the generalized toxic effects of conventional chemotherapies.

 

Usually, any story that even suggests the possibility of a new treatment for cancer is greeted with headlines about a "cancer cure" - however remote in the future and improbable in fact it might be. But if marijuana is involved, don't expect any coverage from mainstream media, especially since mainstream editors have been quietly killing this story for the past thirty years.

 

That's right, news about the abilility of pot to shrink tumors first surfaced, way back in 1974. Researchers at the Medical College of Virginia, who had been funded by the National Institutes of Health to find evidence that marijuana damages the immune system, found instead that THC slowed the growth of three kinds of cancer in mice -- lung and breast cancer, and a virus-induced leukemia.

 

The Washington Post reported on the 1974 study -- in the "Local" section -- on Aug. 18, 1974. Under the headline, "Cancer Curb Is Studied," it read in part: "The active chemical agent in marijuana curbs the growth of three kinds of cancer in mice and may also suppress the immunity reaction that causes rejection of organ transplants, a Medical College of Virginia team has discovered." The researchers "found that 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."

 

"News coverage of the Madrid discovery has been virtually nonexistent in this country. The news broke quietly on Feb. 29, 2000 with a story that ran once on the UPI wire about the Nature Medicine article," complained MarijuanaNews.com editor Richard Cowan , who said he was only able to find the article through a link that appeared briefly on the Drudge Report Web page. "The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times all ignored the story, even though its newsworthiness is indisputable: a benign substance occurring in nature destroys deadly brain tumors," added Cowan.

 

On March 29, 2001, the San Antonio Current printed a carefully researched, bombshell of a story by Raymond Cushing titled, "POT SHRINKS TUMORS; GOVERNMENT KNEW IN '74." Media coverage since then has been nonexistant, except for a copy of the story on Alternet .

 

It is hard to believe that the knowledge that cannabis can be used to fight cancer has been suppressed for almost thirty years , yet it seems likely that it will continue to be suppressed. Why?

 

According to Cowan, the answer is because it is a threat to cannabis prohibition . "If this article and its predecessors from 2000 and 1974 were the only evidence of the suppression of medical cannabis, then one might perhaps be able to rationalize it in some herniated way. However, there really is massive proof that the suppression of medical cannabis represents the greatest failure of the institutions of a free society, medicine, journalism, science, and our fundamental values," Cowan notes.

 

Millions of people have died horrible deaths and in many cases, familes exhausted their savings on dangerous, toxic and expensive drugs. Now we are just beginning to realize that while marijuana has never killed anyone, marijuana prohibition has killed millions.

 

http://opposingdigits.com/vlog/?p=106

http://www.opposingdigits.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=4303

http://www.sierratimes.com/03/11/07/article_kubby.htm

 

Maybe they'll hook it up with that drug-free weed invented by those Russian scientists.

[Dan_Dare]

no no. because you see- smoking involves inhaling carceogenic material ( hand here's the good part) directly into your lungs! this dramatically increases your chances of getting cancer!

 

whoopie!

[Bren]

then eat it or vaporize it.

 

One day weed will be appreciated by everyone.

[gaggle64]

Im not sure about this - surely by stunting to growth of new blood vessles you'd be stifiling the tumour, but also the rest of your body too? what about heart disease? I think I'll stick to Essiac herbs if I need an alternative treatment.

[Dieter]

Maybe they'll hook it up with that drug-free weed invented by those Russian scientists.

 

Drug-free = no THC, and THC is one of the things that combat cancer.

 

Or so this article says.

[MunKy]

Its been proven that marijuana doesnt cause cancer, its the tobacco that people put in their joints.

[Guest Ford Prefect]

smoke blunts instead, no baccy in them. just pure bud.

[Bren]

but still smoke, which helps causes cancer. Eat and vape it, healthiest way!

[The Lillster]

but still smoke, which helps causes cancer. Eat and vape it, healthiest way!

 

The problem is most people can't be arsed to put it into their food, and will just smoke it instead, especially hard-core stoners.

[Guest Ford Prefect]

living and breathing = cancer risk. we're all gonna go sometimes and something like a third of us will get some form of cancer at some point.

[Tyson]

What is this vaporising method of weed taking? I heard of it the other night but how does it work?

[Guest Ford Prefect]

you need a startrek phaser and a bloody good aim..........

[Bren]

vaporisers are like these lil machines, u place the weed on a hot plate type thing, and it heats it up to the temperature were the THC and all the goodness is released, but your weed doesnt burn. It collects in a bag, and u inhale the vapour. Your weed just looks proper crispy at the end. Im gonna get one soon enough.

[Guest Ford Prefect]

if you're any where near nottingham, ice nine is a good place for getting stuff like that. last i knew they sold all kinds of smoking gear. they did used to sell magic mushrooms too uptil a couple of years ago. great shop, along with void across the road......