Senator McCain Should Use Medical Marijuana to Treat His Brain Cancer

Arizona Senator John McCain was diagnosed with a brain tumor on July 19 at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale. The tumor, a glioblastoma, was discovered during a surgery to remove a blood clot from above the senator’s left eye last week.

The question on everyone’s mind is: Will Sen. McCain use medical marijuana to treat his brain tumor?

It would be a wise choice to do so because the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a U.S. federal government research institute that is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has confirmed on its website that “extracts from whole-plant marijuana can slow the growth of cancer cells from one of the most serious types of brain tumors” and “treatment with purified extracts of THC and CBD, when used with radiation, increased the cancer-killing effects of the radiation.”

Sen. McCain has supported marijuana in the past; At a Tucson town hall meeting in 2013, he said, “Maybe we should legalize [marijuana]. We’re certainly moving that way as far as marijuana is concerned. I respect the will of the people.”

Cancer is a qualifying condition for medical marijuana in Arizona. So, if Sen. McCain decides to try medical marijuana, he can easily get a medical marijuana card from an Arizona doctor and find high-quality medical marijuana at Arizona dispensaries.

Photo: Dong/Flickr/cc