MEDICAL MARIJUANA'S TREMENDOUS POTENTIAL FOR CURING AILMENTS

Cutting Through All the Government Misinformation.

If an American doctor of the late 19th century stepped into a time
warp and emerged in 2010, he would be shocked by the multitude of
pharmaceuticals that today's physicians use. But as he pondered this
array (and wondered, as I do, whether most are really necessary), he
would soon notice an equally surprising omission, and exclaim,
"Where's my Cannabis indica?"

No wonder -- the poor fellow would feel nearly helpless without it.
In his day, labor pains, asthma, nervous disorders and even colicky
babies were treated with a fluid extract of Cannabis indica, also
known as "Indian hemp." (Cannabis is generally seen as having three
species -- sativa, indica and ruderalis -- but crossbreeding is
common, especially between sativa and indica.) At least 100
scientific papers published in the 19th century backed up such uses.

Then the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 (
http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/hemp/taxact/mjtaxact.htm ) made
possession or transfer of Cannabis illegal in the U.S. except for
certain medical and industrial uses, which were heavily taxed. The
legislation began a long process of making Cannabis use illegal
altogether. Many historians have examined this sorry chapter in
American legislative history, and the dubious evidence for Cannabis
addiction and violent behavior used to secure the bill's passage.
"Under the Influence: The Disinformation Guide to Drugs" by Preston
Peet makes a persuasive case that the Act's real purpose was to quash
the hemp industry, making synthetic fibers more valuable for
industrialists who owned the patents.

Meanwhile, as a medical doctor and botanist, my aim has always been
to filter out the cultural noise surrounding the genus Cannabis and
see it dispassionately: as a plant with bioactivity in human beings
that may have therapeutic value. From this perspective, what can it offer us?

As it turns out, a great deal. Research into possible medical uses of
Cannabis is enjoying a renaissance. In recent years, studies have
shown potential for treating nausea, vomiting, premenstrual syndrome,
insomnia, migraines, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries,
alcohol abuse, collagen-induced arthritis, asthma, atherosclerosis,
bipolar disorder, depression, Huntington's disease, Parkinson's
disease, sickle-cell disease, sleep apnea, Alzheimer's disease and
anorexia nervosa.

But perhaps most exciting, cannabinoids (chemical constituents of
Cannabis, the best known being tetrahydrocannabinol or THC) may have
a primary role in cancer treatment and prevention. A number of
studies have shown that these compounds can inhibit tumor growth in
laboratory animal models. In part, this is achieved by inhibiting
angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels that tumors need in
order to grow. What's more, cannabinoids seem to kill tumor cells
without affecting surrounding normal cells. If these findings hold
true as research progresses, cannabinoids would demonstrate a huge
advantage over conventional chemotherapy agents, which too often
destroy normal cells as well as cancer cells.

As long ago as 1975, researchers reported that cannabinoids inhibited
the growth of a certain type of lung cancer cell in test tubes and in
mice. Since then, laboratory studies have shown that cannabinoids
have effects against tumor cells from glioblastoma (a deadly type of
brain cancer) as well as those from thyroid cancer,
leukemia/lymphoma, and skin, uterus, breast, stomach, colorectal,
pancreatic and prostate cancers.

So far, the only human test of cannabinoids against cancer was
performed in Spain, and was designed to determine if treatment was
safe, not whether it was effective. (In studies on humans, such
"phase one trials," are focused on establishing the safety of a new
drug, as well as the right dosage.) In the Spanish study, reported in
2006, the dose was administered intracranially, directly into the
tumors of patients with recurrent brain cancer. The investigation
established the safety of the dose and showed that the compound used
decreased cell proliferation in at least two of nine patients studied.

It is not clear that smoking marijuana achieves blood levels high
enough to have these anticancer effects. We need more human research,
including well-designed studies to find the best mode of administration.

If you want to learn more about this subject, I recommend an
excellent documentary film, "What If Cannabis Cured Cancer," by Len
Richmond, which summarizes the remarkable research findings of recent
years. Most medical doctors are not aware of this information and its
implications for cancer prevention and treatment. The film presents
compelling evidence that our current policy on Cannabis is counterproductive.

Another reliable source of information is the chapter on cannabinoids
and cancer in "Integrative Oncology" (Oxford University Press, 2009),
a textbook I edited with integrative oncologist Donald I. Abrams,
M.D. (Learn more about integrative cancer treatment (
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART03060/Treating-Cancer-With-Integrative-Medicine.html
) from Dr. Abrams.)

After more than 70 years of misinformation about this botanical
remedy, I am delighted that we are finally gaining a mature
understanding of its immense therapeutic potential.