Colon cancer is the most common cancer afflicting the Western world, with over 100,000 new cases and nearly 50,000 deaths each year in the United States alone. Cancers are generally considered a cellular disease, characterized by unlimited cell proliferation, causing tumors and subsequent metastasis (migration from the tumor). In past studies, CBD, a constituent of medical cannabis called cannabidiol, has already shown many potential benefits in the treatment of cancer as an anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anti-oxidative and neuroprotective agent. In these cases, CBD seems to protect normal cells while attacking those that are diseased. New research shows that CBD shows potential to be a preventative measure against colon cancer.

A recent article from the Journal of Molecular Medicine showed that CBD administered to mice which are predisposed to developing colon cancer, significantly decreased the formation of pre-cancer (tissue aberrance and polyps) and cancer growths (tumors). Additionally, this study showed that CBD induces cell death and inhibits tumor formation in cultured colon cancer cells through a variety of cellular pathways. By exploiting these disease-dependent pathways together, CBD may create an inescapable means of killing off and prohibiting the growth of cancer cells. This is a truly remarkable task for any single molecule — to attack multiple disease pathways while maintaining function in healthy cells. This study strengthens the evidence for CBD’s anti-tumor effects and provides evidence for CBD as a novel preemptive strike against colon cancer.

Brandie M. Cross is a Ph.D. candidate at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in the Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology Program. She is a recipient of the Thomas J. Kelly Award, specializes in the mechanisms of calcium signaling and transport in the body, and was formerly a professional breakdancer. She is a guest blogger for MPP.

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In the new study, rats were taught to self-administer heroin and conditioned to associate that behavior with a light that flashed on above the lever that dispensed the heroin. At various stages in the procedure, some of the rats were treated with cannabidiol (CBD), a cannabinoid that doesn’t make you high, but which has a number of really interesting properties.

CBD didn’t have any effect when given to the rats who were actively dosing themselves with heroin, but it had a marked effect on rats who had been abstinent from heroin for two weeks. These rats-in-recovery were again shown the cue light, and those who hadn’t been given CBD immediately resumed pushing the heroin lever, seeking a dose of the drug. But in the CBD rats, this heroin-seeking behavior was markedly reduced – and the effect continued for a full two weeks after the last CBD treatment.

The researchers conclude, “CBD may be a potential treatment for heroin craving and relapse.” It might also imply that high-CBD strains of marijuana could be preferable for those who are trying to stay off of other drugs.

Ah, but how do you know if the marijuana you’re buying is high in CBD (which is probably not the case most of the time)? Well, if it were a legal, regulated product, marijuana could be labeled for cannabinoid content – just like that bottle of wine now tells you, “alcohol 13.8%” or whatever. What a concept.

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

The article devotes a lot of space to cannabidiol (CBD), the most studied of these compounds, noting that “CBD exerts several positive pharmacological effects that make it a highly attractive therapeutic entity in inflammation, diabetes, cancer and affective or neurodegenerative diseases.” Notably, CBD has antipsychotic actions, but fewer side effects than “typical antipsychotics.” Lots of other cannabinoids have potentially useful properties as well. For example, cannabichromene has antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activity, plus “modest” analgesic effect.

The article tends to be a bit dismissive of THC because of its psychoactivity, and focuses mainly on cannabinoids as individual chemicals rather than as components of an herbal medicine that has proven extraordinarily useful in its natural form (biases that are pretty much typical in the medical literature), but even with these limitations, it’s an important read.

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