Marijuana and Cancer: Scientists say Cannabis May Stop Metastasis

More research has come to light to support the fact that marijuana actually helps patients with cancer! Check it out, a pair of scientists at California Pacific Medical Center have found that  a compound in marijuana could stop metastasis in many kinds of aggressive cancer. The compound? You guessed it: CBD.  The findings have already undergone both laboratory and animal testing, and is awaiting permission for clinical trials in humans.

Here is the back-story according to Huffington Post: Desprez, a molecular biologist, spent decades studying ID-1, the gene that causes cancer to spread. Meanwhile, fellow researcher Sean McAllister was studying the effects of Cannabidiol, or CBD, a non-toxic, non-psychoactive chemical compound found in the cannabis plant. Finally, the pair collaborated, combining CBD and cells containing high levels of ID-1 in a petri dish.

“What we found was that his Cannabidiol could essentially ‘turn off’ the ID-1,” Desprez told HuffPost. The cells stopped spreading and returned to normal.

The team has found that cannabidiol works in the lab and with animals. Now, it is time to begin studying whether it works in humans as well, and Desprez hopes that clinical trials will begin immediately.

“We started by researching breast cancer,” said Desprez. “But now we’ve found that Cannabidiol works with many kinds of aggressive cancers–brain, prostate–any kind in which these high levels of ID-1 are present.”

“We’ve found no toxicity in the animals we’ve tested, and Cannabidiol is already used in humans for a variety of other ailments,” he said. Indeed, the compound is used to relieve anxiety and nausea, and, since it is non-psychoactive, does not cause the “high” associated with THC.

Its about time we see more of this research supporting marijuana as a medical treatment.