Sep22

Written by:di
9/22/2010 4:55 PM 

Boulder Kind Care co-owner, Lance Smith was diagnosed with lymphoma early in the spring of 2010. He is recently cancer-free, and attributes it to his access to medicinal marijuana.

“It was literally the only thing that made me feel better during my chemo treatments.”

Cannabis has been found to help cancer patients with pain and nausea, and recent research indicates it has tumor-reducing and anti-carcinogenic properties as well. It has proven highly effective at controlling the nausea associated with chemotherapy, and its appetite stimulation properties help combat wasting. Cannabis can also help control the pain associated with some cancers, as well as that resulting from radiation and chemotherapy treatment (Americans for Safe Access).

Because of his own success story, Lance is frustrated and saddened for all the other cancer patients in the U.S. who don’t have access to MMJ, especially considering how commonplace cannabis is discussed among the general medical community.

“In my initial consultation with the master pharmacists, one question was, ‘well, what about the herb?’” said Lance.

“Marijuana is one of the best-known nausea medicines in the world,” replied the pharmacist.

These aren’t MMJ-sympathetic, card signing doctors; these are every day oncologists and pharmacists prescribing marijuana. If MMJ is accepted in the general medical community, even as just a nausea treatment, excluding all the other health benefits (tumor fighting, anti-carcinogenic), then who is the federal government to say that it has “little or no health benefits?”

What’s more, is that overseas studies are finding that cannabinoid compounds have cancer/tumor fighting qualities:

More than twenty major studies published between 2001 and 2006 have shown that the chemicals in cannabis known as cannabinoids have a significant effect fighting cancer cells. We now know cannabinoids arrest many kinds of cancer growths (brain, breast, leukemic, melanoma, phaeochromocytoma, et al.) through promotion of apoptosis (programmed cell death) that is lost in tumors, and by arresting angiogenesis (increased blood vessel production). Recent scientific advances in the study of cannabinoid receptors and endocannabinoids have produced exciting new leads in the search for anti-cancer treatments. There is growing evidence of direct anti-tumor activity of cannabinoids, specifically CB1 and CB2 agonists, in a range of cancer types including brain (gliomas), skin, pituitary, prostate and bowel. The antitumor activity has led in laboratory animals and in-vitro human tissues to regression of tumors, reductions in vascularisation (blood supply) and metastases (secondary tumors), as well as direct inducement of death (apoptosis) among cancer cells (Americans For Safe Access).

Until the federal government loosens it’s chokehold on clinical MMJ supply, to allow for up to date, legitimate studies, little can be done for cancer patients outside of the 13 legalized states and Washington, D.C.

“How do we move past to our underground acknowledgement of benefits, to a mainstream understanding?” asks Lance.

We know who is blocking U.S. research of MMJ, but why, when there is so much irrefutable evidence that marijuana has significant medical benefits? Would legalization make other drugs obsolete? We can only assume that the powers that be don’t want to see MMJ legalization come to fruition.

“We’re talking about a plant. It’s in the pure form. Other drugs are processed beyond recognition,” said Lance.

Thankfully, we live in a state that has given us the opportunity explore MMJ’s health benefits. But let’s not let us forget about cancer patients, and other’s who are suffering from MMJ treatable illnesses. We must push the movement forward for them.