For some time we’ve been pointing out the massive pile of evidence that THC and other cannabinoids have potential as anticancer drugs. A new study out of Thailand demonstrates that THC can fight cholangiocarcinoma – cancer of the bile duct. This is a rare but deadly form of cancer, with only 30 percent of patients still alive after five years, according to the  Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation. Based on these new lab results, the Thai researchers conclude, “THC is potentially used to retard cholangiocarcinoma cell growth and metastasis.”

That alcohol causes cancer isn’t really news, but how it does so hasn’t been fully understood. A new study, published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, adds an important new piece of information. Alcohol, it turns out, stimulates a type of cell transformation that turns cancer cells more aggressive and thus more likely to spread throughout the body.

As we’ve noted before, research shows that cannabinoids (marijuana’s unique, active components) interfere with tumor growth and may actually prevent cancer.

One thing that drives me crazy is the tendency of the media and others to refer to THC as “the active ingredient” in marijuana. While THC is indeed responsible for marijuana’s “high,” it is one of about 80 unique compounds, called cannabinoids, that are not seen in any other plant. Many of these have interesting, potentially significant, medical applications, and are not psychoactive.

Anyone who wants to learn about these other cannabinoids should check out this recent review published in the journal Trends in Pharmacological Sciences. [Read more →]

Among the more interesting pieces of news that came out while I was on vacation the first half of August was a new study in the journal Cancer Prevention Research, which found that marijuana smokers have a lower risk of head and neck cancers than people who don’t smoke marijuana. Alas, this important research has been largely ignored by the news media.

While this type of study cannot conclusively prove cause and effect, the combination of this new study and existing research — which for decades has shown that cannabinoids are fairly potent anticancer drugs — raises a significant possibility that marijuana use is in fact protective against certain types of cancer. [Read more →]

Here in the U.S., medical marijuana is still routinely branded as some sort of sinister “drug legalizer” conspiracy. In Israel, according to a fascinating article in the newspaper Haaretz, the leading conspirator appears to be the Ministry of Health.

Officials have authorized over 700 patients to use marijuana for medical purposes, and expect the number to rise to 1,200 within three months. Authorities are in the process of authorizing five or six producers to handle the needs of this growing patient population. [Read more →]

One of the canards regularly raised by opponents of medical marijuana is that it just gets people high and doesn’t provide real medical relief. For example, last year former deputy drug czar Scott Burns told a California newspaper, ”Anybody can say something makes me feel better anecdotally. And I hear that a lot.  ‘Marijuana is the only thing that makes me feel good.’ I say you should try crack, because from what I hear, crack cocaine will make you feel really good as well.”

Anyone inclined to believe such nonsense should check out an article just published online by the journal Pharmacological Research. The article, by two researchers from the University of Naples, covers the potential benefits of cannabinoids in illnesses involving intestinal inflammation (e.g. Crohn’s disease) and in colorectal cancer. [Read more →]

A 1999 study showed a modestly increased risk of certain types of head and neck cancer among marijuana smokers. Due to methodological limitations, the researchers warned that their “results need to be interpreted with some caution in drawing causal inferences.” But warnings about this alleged risk have shown up from time to time in materials put out by prohibitionist types, including the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

A new study, just published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, & Prevention, suggests this may have been a false alarm.

Researchers pooled data from five studies, totaling over 9,000 participants (nearly 30 times the number in the 1999 study) and found that the risk of head and neck cancer “was not elevated” among those who had ever smoked marijuana compared to those who hadn’t. Notably, “there was no increasing risk associated with increasing frequency, duration, or cumulative consumption of marijuana …”

The researchers note that, due to the small number of long-term, very heavy marijuana users in the studies, they can’t rule out increased risk from such very heavy use. But it is striking that the overall cancer risk among marijuana smokers was slightly lower than nonsmokers, though not enough to be statistically significant. That was also the case in a major lung cancer study a few years ago. In the new study, there were some subcategories in which the lowered risk among marijuana smokers came close to statistical significance.

But don’t expect mere data to put an end to hysterical claims that marijuana is more carcinogenic than tobacco.

Last November, I mentioned here that I’d undergone treatment for prostate cancer  – implantation of 85 tiny, radioactive seeds designed to zap the tumor before it zaps me. I’m happy to report that, six months later, it seems to have worked, according to the latest lab tests. Though the risk of recurrence never goes away entirely, I’m as close as one can be to being an official cancer survivor.

Endless thanks to all who sent kind thoughts. And since someone is bound to ask: No, I didn’t ever need medical marijuana. My treatment was happily quite low-impact: no chemo, no nausea, no hair loss, etc. I almost feel like I should refer to it as Cancer Lite, it was so comparatively easy. 

But the point I made last November still remains. If I had needed medical marijuana, that decision should have been between me and my doctor. Cops and politicians have no place in medical treatment decisions.