Study Reveals Pot Fights Cancer
A dose of marijuana may be just what the doctor ordered if the patient is suffering from cancer. A scientific research study has concluded that pot actually helps to fight the disease by retarding the growth of new cells.
A study of cell metabolism conducted in Madrid, Spain found that when cancer cells were exposed to the principal ingredient found in marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol, commonly known as THC, cancer cells quickly died off.
The Daily Beast writes:
Subsequent peer-reviewed studies in several countries would show that THC and other marijuana-derived compounds, known as “cannabinoids,” are effective not only for cancer-symptom management (nausea, pain, loss of appetite, fatigue), they also confer a direct antitumoral effect.
Additional medical studies conducted at San Francisco’s Pacific Medical Center as well as Harvard University support the findings that marijuana is very effective as an anti-cancer agent.
In addition, the presence of THC helped to prevent the growth of new cancer cells as well as help the patient to better manage pain and greatly reduce such side effects as nausea and fatigue.
“Cannabidiol offers hope of a non-toxic therapy that could treat aggressive forms of cancer without any of the painful side effects of chemotherapy,” says McAllister, who is seeking support to conduct clinical trials with the marijuana compound on breast cancer patients.
Scientific research supporting the benefits of marijuana use by cancer patients is helping in the fight to legalize the use of medical marijuana in many US states.
