The National Cancer Institute is the main federal government dependent agency of the USA dedicated to cancer investigation and training in this area.
The NCI has just published a report about marijuana and its medical uses. In said report, updated in late August, NCI recognizes the virtues of THC as a tool for fighting different cancer types, eg. bladder, breast or liver cancer.
We don’t want to exaggerate, or fantasize about the advantages of our friendly plant. The reality is that there are still many clinical trials to be performed before we can definitely show the value of cannabis as a medicine. Most of the studies carried out have used tests on animals in-vitro or on reduced patient groups.
Therefore we can’t state with absolute certainty that the possible medical uses of cannabis are effective in each and every cancer case. In cannabis.es we try to be very cautious with this kind of information, to avoid generating unrealistic expectations. But the fact that such an important institution as the NCI makes a statement about this matter, and reveals the facts that can be read in the report (based on a large group of studies of therapeutic cannabis), makes us a little more optimistic. It should be remembered that we are talking about complementary and alternative therapies that can and/or should be combined with conventional prescribed treatments, and always under strict medical supervision.
The main psychoactive component of cannabis, THC, has shown its efficiency in reducing, certain cancers, and other data now confirmed show that it is an irreplaceable tool in the fight against this group of diseases.
Furthermore it has been confirmed that there is no risk of a lethal overdose of cannabis and its addictive potential is substantially inferior to those of other medicines being used currently.
The reports also suggest that cannabis does not cause any kind of cancer in aerodigestive tracts and is not associated with lung problems. In fact, given its powerful antitumor effect, cannabis does not cause any kind of cancer.
The report cites studies that have shown that cannabis is far more effective than conventional antiemetic treatments (those medicines used to prevent nausea and vomiting associated with certain treatments), and also that inhaled marijuana is more effective against the nausea generated by chemotherapy than any other treatment available.
Another “discovery” from this study is the efficacy of cannabis in stimulating appetite and the consequent weight gain in people with cancer, with an efficiency percentage far superior to the best medicines currently being used.
Regarding pain, and the forms of cancer that resist opiate treatment, cannabis has also been shown to have high efficiency in diverse therapeutic aspects.
Something that has really caught our attention is that cannabis has been proven to be more efficient than codeine. According to this report 10mg of cannabis are more effective than 60mg of codeine, and raising the dose for long term pain treatment was not required.
Its high efficiency against neuropathic pains, when compared to conventional drugs results has also been proven, together with an improvement in the quality of sleep and well being, as well as helping to lessen anxiety.
You can check the whole report here: http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/cam/hp/cannabis-pdq