Cannabis For Leukemia

Time Magazine published and article on marijuana ans cancer. Study: Marijuana Compounds Can Kill Some Cancer Cells. It opens with:

Compounds derived from marijuana can kill cancerous cells in patients with leukemia, according to a recent study.

The study, published in the Anticancer Research journal, was partially funded by GW Pharmaceuticals. which already produces a cannabis-derived drug to help people with multiple sclerosis. Dr. Wai Liu studied six different non-psychoactive cannabinoids (compounds derived from marijuana that don’t get the user high like its THC component does). He found that certain non-psychoactive cannabinoids “resulted in dramatic reductions in cell viability” and “caused a simultaneous arrest at all phases of the cell cycle,” according to the study summary posted online.

And then there is this report which although strictly anecdotal is very interesting.



We actually have some details of her cannabis use.

The girl, who calls herself "Brave Mykayla," takes a gram of cannabis oil daily to combat side effects of her chemotherapy, such as nausea, restlessness and loss of appetite, but she says that the pills make her feel "funny."

Mykayla's mother, Erin Purchase, credits cannabis with her daughter's remission, but Jesse Comstock, the girl's father, who is divorced from Purchase, is concerned that the use of medical marijuana will impair his daughter's mental development.

He is concerned about her mental development? How well do dead children develop mentally?

What we haven't seen so far is an assay of any of the oils used in treatment. I would think that such assays would be extremely helpful.

Here is another anecdote: Elias Cooper Story: Treating Leukemia With Cannabis Oil

By January 2013 Elias's condition had advanced so far that chemo was the option Elias's doctor left him with. Since Elias was opposed to chemo his wife, Debra Cooper, went online and started to look for alternative treatments for her husbands condition. Thank God for that decision because it is what has saved his life.

Debras research guided her to "Brave" Mykayla, the 8 year old who is using cannabis oil to treat her leukemia. Mykayla is one of the youngest medical marijuana patients in the US and has had great results using cannabis oil to treat her leukemia. Mykayla and her family have been on many TV news segments and shows sharing her story. Elias and Debra were very impressed at the results shown by Mykayla. They were so impressed that they decided to get Elias his medical marijuana card so he to could try cannabis oil.

When Elias finally had his medical marijuana card his wife again turned to the internet to find how to make cannabis oil. Her search for directions to make cannabis oil landed her here, cureyourowncancer.org, on the make the oil page. They followed the instructions here on the site to make Elias's oil and got him started on it right away. He took his first dose of cannabis oil on February 3rd 2013. Elias ingested the oil ever day for about 3 weeks before he went back to the doctor for a checkup. That checkup showed his white blood cell count was down 40,000.

Links at the link. Here is one to get you started: cureyourowncancer.org.

Pharmacology Is Coming Around

I just got a pitch for a new book on pharmacology. Pharmacology Condensed. Here is what they say about the body's endocannabinoid system.

Cannabinoids are extracts of Cannabis sativa, the marijuana plant, the psychoactive properties of which have been known to humankind for thousands of years. The main active component of marijuana is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and recent work has shown that, surprisingly, substances similar to THC occur in the human body and constitute part of the ‘endocannabinoid system’ which has a vital and hitherto unsuspected role in bodily function.

That is a very limited view. Because THC is not the only important cannabinoid. CBD - cannabidiol is another one - among many. But it is a start.

How Cannabis Cures Cancer

Dennis Hill explains how cannabis kills cancer cells in: How Cannabis Oil Works to Kill Cancer Cells.

First let’s look at what keeps cancer cells alive, then we will come back and examine how the cannabinoids CBD (cannabidiol) and THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) unravels cancer’s aliveness.

In every cell there is a family of interconvertible sphingolipids that specifically manage the life and death of that cell. This profile of factors is called the “Sphingolipid Rheostat.” If endogenous ceramide(a signaling metabolite of sphingosine-1-phosphate) is high, then cell death (apoptosis) is imminent. If ceramide is low, the cell is strong in its vitality.

Very simply, when THC connects to the CB1 or CB2 cannabinoid receptor site on the cancer cell, it causes an increase in ceramide synthesis which drives cell death. A normal healthy cell does not produce ceramide in the presence of THC, thus is not affected by the cannabinoid.

There is much more. Follow the link to read it.

Cannabis For Brain Tumors

I'm going to post a medical abstract that covers brain tumors. Yes there is a lot of complicated medical terminology. So what is the bottom line? Cannabis seems to be the only medicine that affects these tumors and it does so without dangerous side effects. Not "no side effects" but side effects that do not kill you or introduce new problems (like cancer). See below for videos on the subject.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common form of primary brain tumor and is diagnosed in approximately 15,000 people each year in the United States alone. No cure for this type of cancer exists, and the current standard of care treatments provide little benefit and are associated with debilitating side effects. Recent evidence shows that a large number of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) invade the GBM tumor mass and secrete factors that directly and indirectly promote tumor growth. TAMs express a panel of unique receptors that could be targeted for therapeutic benefit. One such receptor, cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2), is a member of the endocannabinoid (eCB) signaling system, and its activation has been shown to tightly control the migration and phenotype of both macrophages and microglia. Additional receptors, also engaged by eCBs and cannabinoid-like compounds, are expressed by macrophages and microglia. These receptors also control cell migration and phenotype, but exhibit distinct pharmacological profiles and operate through a different mechanism of action. Strong evidence accumulated over the past decade indicates that membrane receptors expressed by TAMs represent novel targeting opportunities to treat GBM tumor progression. Here we review studies that significantly increased our understanding of the molecular mechanism of action of receptors engaged by eCBs and cannabinoid-like compounds expressed by GBM tumor cells and TAMs. This evidence provides a strong rationale for developing new therapeutics that target the eCB signaling of TAMs for the treatment of GBM while minimizing the typical side effects associated with standard care.

PubMed NIH - cannabinoid cancer.

Marijuana Prohibition is a crime against humanity.

Cannabinoid Profiles

Discoverer of THC Dr. Raphael Mechoulam is an Israeli professor of Medicinal Chemistry and Natural Products at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel.

THC - Delta-9 Tetrahydrocannabinol

THCA - Tetrahydrocannabinolic Acid

THCV - Tetrahydrocannabivarin

CBD - Cannabidiol

CBN - Cannabinol

CBG - Cannabigerol

CBC - Cannabichromene

Cannabinoids And The Reason Why The Establishment Hates Them, Dr Bob Melamede 30Aug2013

Doctor Bob had to put his shirt on. I'd have to put on a few more garments than that to be presentable for video blogging. Dr. Bob notes that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. That points to the fact that a given cannabis plant cannabinoid mix may be more effective than a single individual cannabinoid.

Scientific Research and Real Facts about the Cannabinoids in Cannabis narrated by an old buddy of mine Peter Coyote.

Cannabis CBD Videos

Here are a few videos about CBDs.


Greenwerkz - How to Get R4

Ganja Geezer

A schizophrenic reports on CBD:

Low THD Hi CBD cannabis strain developed in Israel:




More CBD videos

CBD - Charlotte's Web

This is a video about a special strain of Med Pot with one of the CBDs greatly enhanced.

CB2

Changes in endocannabinoid levels and/or CB2 receptor expressions have been reported in almost all diseases affecting humans,[34] ranging from cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, liver, kidney, neurodegenerative, psychiatric, bone, skin, autoimmune, lung disorders to pain and cancer. The prevalence of this trend suggests that modulating CB2 receptor activity by either selective CB2 receptor agonists or inverse agonists/antagonists depending on the disease and its progression holds unique therapeutic potential for these pathologies [34]

Medical Marijuana prohibition is a crime against humanity and a violation of the religious precept - heal the sick.

Pass it on.

H/T The Weed Blog

Helping Schizophrenics

Cannabidiol enhances anandamide signaling and alleviates psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia.

Cannabidiol is a component of marijuana that does not activate cannabinoid receptors, but moderately inhibits the degradation of the endocannabinoid anandamide. We previously reported that an elevation of anandamide levels in cerebrospinal fluid inversely correlated to psychotic symptoms. Furthermore, enhanced anandamide signaling let to a lower transition rate from initial prodromal states into frank psychosis as well as postponed transition. In our translational approach, we performed a double-blind, randomized clinical trial of cannabidiol vs amisulpride, a potent antipsychotic, in acute schizophrenia to evaluate the clinical relevance of our initial findings. Either treatment was safe and led to significant clinical improvement, but cannabidiol displayed a markedly superior side-effect profile. Moreover, cannabidiol treatment was accompanied by a significant increase in serum anandamide levels, which was significantly associated with clinical improvement. The results suggest that inhibition of anandamide deactivation may contribute to the antipsychotic effects of cannabidiol potentially representing a completely new mechanism in the treatment of schizophrenia.

You can find out more about cannabidiol at Endocannabinoids - The Science.

Uruguay - Marijuana Biotech Hub

Uruguay is about to become a biotech hub for medical marijuana research.

Presidential Spokesman Diego Canepa said Monday that foreign labs have told the government they'd like to set up there. Canepa is quoted by the local daily El Observador as saying that "Uruguay will become a hub for biotechnology."

It is about time there was a place in the world that research on the medical potential of cannabis can be done.

If only the Federal government in the US could see the potential.