Cannabis chemicals may help fight prostate cancer

[BadDonkey]

Source: Reuters

LONDON (Reuters) - Chemicals in cannabis have been found to stop prostate cancer cells from growing in the laboratory, suggesting that cannabis-based medicines could one day help fight the disease, scientists said Wednesday.

After working initially with human cancer cell lines, Ines Diaz-Laviada and colleagues from the University of Alcala in Madrid also tested one compound on mice and discovered it produced a significant reduction in tumor growth.

Their research, published in the British Journal of Cancer, underlines the growing interest in the medical use of active chemicals called cannabinoids, which are found in marijuana.

Experts, however, stressed that the research was still exploratory and many more years of testing would be needed to work out how to apply the findings to the treatment of cancer in humans.


Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE57I02Z20090819

[Hawkeye-X]

1. More reason to legalize weed.

[Chulanowa]

5. No, it's not

Really? If weed is legalized, you're going to set up a labratory, extract the chemicals from the plants, and then find a way to apply the stuff to your prostate cells?

Please, PLEASE, stop with the fakey-ass "wonderplant" reasons for legalizing it. it should be legal simply because there's no reason for it to be illegal. We don't need this "It whitens teeth too!" stuff. Just say you want to get high, it's a good enough reason right there.

[WriteDown]

6. Post of the day.

Thanks.

[RoccoR5955]

9. But it DOES whiten teeth....

And it's a furniture polish.
Cannibis IS the Wonder Plant.
You just don't realize it yet.

Seriously, there are a few plants out there that do have a plethora of uses. Hemp is one of them. The main reason why it is illegal is that when it was being used for rope, its manufacturers were competing with other, more connected manufacturers of other rope. It was also during a time when the Prohibitionists had lost their case on alcohol, and decided to go after something else.
The medicinal qualities of cannabis have long been known, however, due to these prohibitionists, and the Police/Industrial Complex, there has been a long standing view that this substance is quite harmful.
But a lot of it was sheer racism. The major player in the prohibition, Harry Anslinger, Assistant Prohibition Commissioner, was in fear for his job, because alcohol was now legal when he said the following:
"There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos, and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz, and swing, result from marijuana use. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers, and any others."

"...the primary reason to outlaw marijuana is its effect on the degenerate races."

"Marijuana is an addictive drug which produces in its users insanity, criminality, and death."

"Reefer makes darkies think they're as good as white men."

"Marihuana leads to pacifism and communist brainwashing"

"You smoke a joint and you're likely to kill your brother."

"Marijuana is the most violence-causing drug in the history of mankind."

So you see, it's about racism and fear. Kind of reminds you of what's going on today with health care, doesn't it?

There's plenty of facts about this plant that grows just about anywhere. Just do a little googling.

[WriteDown]

15. The AMA has destroyed many great cures such as...

Think about how many millions of people have been sentenced to a life of deafness because there was no rattlesnake oil available.

[Chulanowa]

43. I'm fully aware of all that

Although the rope / paper / fuel thing seems more apocryphal, a sort of fable about the evils of big business, simply because I keep hearing hte identical story about so many various products, and it flies in the fact that if the competing industries had that much power, they would simply buy out hemp and keep the monopoly with a new product.

The rest though is pretty solid.

My point is, I see no reason that we need to "justify" legalization. It's the prohibition that needs to be justified, since the prohibitionists are the oens making claims about how awful it is - in a logical argument, the claimant has to present solid facts.

[Bluenorthwest]

10. It is what keeps me and millions of Americans able to function

and many other from going fucking blind. So your "wonderplant" if you just want to get high crap is just that, crap. Eyesight to the blind. Better that white teeth, actually. It is medicine. Deal with the reality of that.

[WriteDown]

14. What if there was a way to make it in pill form

but without any of the "high" side effects?

[Flaneur]

18. Marinol doesn't seem to work as well.

Perhaps because it only contains THC and not all the other cannabinoids in the natural plant.

[Bacchus39]

38. yeah, then it would just be a regulated pharmaceutical drug, not what I would desire

yeah, if it cured an illness I would take it for that (I am sure it does have beneficial physiological effects). certainly not what I would prefer to use it for though.

[Occulus]

40. It's called Marinol, and some docs prescribe it so their patients can smoke actual cannabis.

I have a friend with HIV whose doctor prescribed Marinol specifically so he won't get fired when he tests positive for THC. His doctor told him that cannabis itself is more effective and doesn't have the side effects that Marinol doesn't share with cannabis. He filled the scrip solely so he could say he had a prescription. He never actually took Marinol; he smokes cannabis instead.

Real cannabis is better for you then Marinol when taken for the exact same ailments, which is why his doctor does this.

[WriteDown]

45. I'm aware of Marinol....

but I'm curious what would happen if there was another more effective medication that couldn't be used recreationally.

[Chulanowa]

42. You're missing my point

Of course Marijuana has medicinal uses. Every plant has medicinal uses. Every leaf, flower, weed, shrub, and tree has a collection of chemicals that can be used in some form to help some ailment. I promise you that there's another plant out there that helps glaucoma as much as marijuana. All that's lacking is study. And as soon as that plant is found, what then? Does the need to legalize marijuana diminish any? Not any more than the fact that rapeseed oil is better for cooking than hempseed does.

When you argue for legalization on medicinal or utilitarian grounds, you are in effect doing two things - one, you are making an argument for industrialization. When the cannabinoid that helps glaucoma is isolated, do you think marijuana will be legalized? Hell no, it'll be clamped down tighter and big pharma will pimp the isolate to you. Similarly, if all the cries for a renewed hemp industry catch on, what do you think will happen? Yeah, you'll still get busted for pot, while genetically-treated THC-free plants are industrially grown. Two, you are justifying continued prohibition by denying (or even attacking) the recreational uses of marijuana. I've seen so many pro-pot arguments that start off by denigrating recreational smokers as useless or degenerate, and then trying to sell the idea of hemp oil as the secret to freeing ourselves from foreign oil (which, in my opinion, involved more bud than seed...)

The argument for legalization should be based on the reason it's illegal in the first place, and the situations surrounding that. Most of the people advocating legalization aren't doing so because they have glaucoma or are wanting to fry stuff in hempseed oil - they're doing it because they want to smoke, or want people to be able to smoke without reprisal. But they don't want to admit as much, lest they be labeled "degenerates" or "hippies" or whatever, so they go with "Hemp the Wonderplant." But byy hitching the legalization of the plant to its "wonderplant" properties, all that does is undermine the reasons for legalization, creating an easily-defeated "yes but" argument.

[WheelWalker]

13. Best possible reason IMHO.

[elocs]

19. "Just say you want to get high", that kind of honesty certainly would be refreshing here.

This reminds me of hunters who say all they really want to do is to enjoy nature and being in the woods. I would respect them more, although still disagreeing, if they were simply honest and say they just like to go out and shoot animals. So just say you want to get high rather than grasp at everything and anything that comes down the pike in order to justify marijuana use. I can at least respect that.

I think if there was a religion that many of the religion-hating DUers would eagerly embrace, marijuana would be its God.

[bertman]

25. Come on, elocs, put down that bong and start over again. You missed on that one.

[pattmarty]

32. Okaaaaaaay, I just want to get high, how's that? Honest enough for ya???

[Bacchus39]

39. amen, no other reason needed n/t

s

[endless october]

16. pot should be legal.

[aquart]

2. Heh. Heh. Heh.

[DebbieCDC]

3. Well there you go

With all the dicks in the Congress, pot will be legal in a week.

Think not? Just remember how many insurance plans cover Viagra and how many don't cover birth control pills.

[Poll_Blind]

4. FINALLY! My "unconventional" method of smoking joints could...

...get some vindication!

PB

[kirby]

7. Careful...There is another study that says the opposite n/t

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090209075631.htm

[Soylent Brice]

8. so, cure your prostate, lose your balls?

decisions decisions...

[RoccoR5955]

11. Isn't there ALWAYS a "study" that contradicts a previous one? n/t

[aquart]

12. Which to keep, your balls or your mind?

[condoleeza]

17. Isn't the brain in the balls-I'm so confused...

[sofa king]

20. So...

If I, like, smoked a shitload of pot, dude...! What was I saying?

Oh, yeah. If I, like smoked a lot of pot from the ages of 15-35, and then pretty much quit after that, am still I at a lower risk for prostate cancer?

Or should I go back to smoking a shitload of pot, dude...? What was I saying, again?

[fascisthunter]

22. believe it or not, alcohol and cigarettes are much worse

for your brain

[sofa king]

24. Oh, I know it.

Or at least I think I know it. Or I knew it. Or something.

[fascisthunter]

29. good... glad you agree

[fascisthunter]

21. but it can cause schizophrenia, didn't ya hear?

:sarcasm:

[elocs]

27. That's pretty funny since marijuana use trigger my daughter's psychotic breakdown.

Sure it didn't "cause" it, but it sure did trigger it. Schizophrenia, a clear link in her case. It gives me no comfort to split hairs on terminology.

[fascisthunter]

28. elocs... not everyone is schizophrenic.

if it weren't marijuana it would have been something else. Nothing is funny about it... but blaming marijuana is a huge leap.

We'll just have to agree to disagree. Sorry.

[elocs]

30. The thing is that here at DU marijuana use is like "Drink MilK". So harmless,

and that is simply not true. Many or most may have no problem with it, but for some, marijuana use is a disaster and I don't see why it is necessary to crush that in order to justify its use by others.

In my daughter's case marijuana was clearly the trigger for her schizophrenia. Could it have been something else? Certainly, but it wasn't, it was marijuana and that is not a huge leap, a clear cause and effect. In her case marijuana clearly was to blame and you only need to see it to believe it. No marijuana use and she was ok, marijuana use led to psychotic breakdowns and hospitalizations.

[awoke_in_2003]

31. was it just marijuana...

or could it have been "wet" (dusted with PCP)? Someone gave me a joint about 10 years ago and I just smoked it. He neglected to tell me what it really was- real nice guy, huh?

[fascisthunter]

36. that has happened to me and a friend....

not sure what it was, but it definitely wasn't just herb. People do have to be careful...

[pattmarty]

34. Hey, I like pot. Drink your alcohol or whatever your need and leave.........

.............me the fuck alone. This country also has a lot of illegal pill poppers out there too, go pick on them, or the drunk drivers.

[windoe]

23. Cannabis is a powerful herb

not only for the body but for the mind and soul. I have always felt that one seldom acknowledged reason it is kept illegal is that it opens the mind to possibilities, helping one to see through appearances, and helps envisioning. It helps one to 'think outside the box.' and to think creatively. Combined with it's pleasurable effects, it is easy to understand why a culture like the West, with Puritan repressive fundamentalist roots, would repress an herb that helps one question authority, tradition, and resist institutional thinking.

In order to legalize this herb, it is best to address this psychological aspect directly, perhaps by acknowledging that it may not be appropriate for surgeons, pilots, operating heavy machinery, or under certain circumstances. If RESPONSIBLE USE is not addressed at the outset, re criminalization will happen again, based on some 'stoned' professional who made some dangerous mistake, 'because he was stoned'.


Besides the countless physical benefits of this herb, I personally think that we need to revive this herb to help with creativity, and dare I say, our pursuit of happiness.

[bertman]

26. I know this doesn't fit into the "surgeon" category but I knew quite a few exceptional pilots

who stayed stoned while they were flying gunships, Cobras, and slicks in Vietnam. Those guys were so good at what they did it was mind-blowing. I'm talking about under heavy fire, at night, as well as during more normal circumstances.

I, on the other hand, get the "stoopids" when I smoke weed. Which is why I am only a social smoker.

[windoe]

37. The study of herbs is fascinating

in that to do so requires a paradigm shift only some folks are willing to take. Herbs are living beings and we are living beings, and the interaction between us can be very unique, or typical this or that. Plants vary and so do people's ability to harmonize/benefit from them. It is like discovering what foods are beneficial at any given time in an individual's life, this can change. Unfortunately, human instincts are still in the realm of superstition, a whole hemisphere of our brain, dismissed. Only facts and figures mind you, are acceptable in this world of boxes and categories. We need these tools, but we also need to let go of them and risk flying once in awhile, maybe have a mystical experience while we're at it.

Legalizing cannabis will take building a bridge between progressives and skeptics/conservative thinkers. I think that the conservatives will have to be appeased somehow, by some laws that perhaps limit cannabis use, and give them the confidence that it will be used appropriately. The linear logical types need to be appeased and this can be achieved.

One issue behind legalization of cannabis, is where does personal responsibility for one's health end and professional responsibility begin? Do people have the right to self medicate, as long as it does not harm others? How can that be evaluated? If people have the 'right' to smoke tobacco until lung disease sets in, or drink alcohol until they are addicted, or take pharmaceuticals until their livers give out, then why not other herbs?

Whoa, I set out to respond and wrote a small novel. I am drinking herbal teas only BTW :*

Peace, Windoe

[bertman]

48. All good points about herbs and how foods affect us. I agree with you about the mystical

experience aspect. If these religious extremists would take the time to experience some real mysticism they might open their minds to the possibilities the universe offers us all. Whoa. There I go pontificating. My apologies.

Among the many people I know who smoke pot AT LEAST half are conservatives. Republicans. I find it difficult to imagine that most of them are opposed to legalizing pot, even if they feel that it's not likely to happen. The barrier to legalization, or decriminalization, is from the top of our government--the elites who profit from the illegal element of prohibition.

Funny you should mention personal responsibility because I'm currently discussing that aspect of drug use/abuse with a friend who has a close relative who is a serial abuser of EVERYTHING--tobacco, alcohol, pot, crack. This person is constantly in and out of the hospital receiving extraordinary medical care to keep him alive. But once he's brought back from the brink by our socialized medical system for the indigent, he's right back on the street engaging in the same behavior. There are no rehabilitation options for him. The family has tried to get him to quit, but he will not. They have been called in several times because he was so close to death. It's a terrible decision for them to make to deny him care, but now they are considering it. If he would stop doing the drugs they would give him all the support he needs, but he will not cooperate.

My opinion is that someone who will not respond to counseling and who continues to abuse drugs of any type, should have no right to get endless medical care to repair the damage that he/she is doing to his/her body. In the case I described above, the individual has lived his entire adult life as someone who has done all of his business by cash so he did not have to pay taxes into the "system" that he felt was corrupt and overbearing. Now he is getting free medical care of the highest order paid for by the rest of us who work within the evil system. Aaaarggghhh.

Peace back to ya, Bertman

[DU GrovelBot]

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[snooper2]

46. Puff Puff Pass Grovelbot!

Always got to be the god damned bogart don't ya :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Name removed]

35. Deleted message

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[transeo]

41. So I can hear voices while curing cancer?

Sounds to me like everyone needs to calm down until there are enough legitimate studies that show causation rather than correlation, and proper use for medicinal results. Maybe it's neither a wonderplant that cures cancer or a dangerous drug that causes schizophrenia. Maybe it's both, depending on other mental/physical factors. These threads have been hilarious to watch. Why tear each other apart over studies that all say more studies need to be done to know for sure? Chill out and wait for further research to confirm findings and determine causation.

[Fly by night]

44. A response to the Reuters piece by my friend Paul Armentano, Deputy Director of NORML

August 18th, 2009 By: Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director

It was just yesterday that I was lamenting about the mainstream media’s failure to report on the anti-cancer properties of cannabis. And then along comes Reuters with this:

Cannabis chemicals may help fight prostate cancer
via Reuters News Wire

Chemicals in cannabis have been found to stop prostate cancer cells from growing in the laboratory, suggesting that cannabis-based medicines could one day help fight the disease, scientists said Wednesday.

After working initially with human cancer cell lines, Ines Diaz-Laviada and colleagues from the University of Alcala in Madrid also tested one compound on mice and discovered it produced a significant reduction in tumor growth.

Their research, published in the British Journal of Cancer, underlines the growing interest in the medical use of active chemicals called cannabinoids, which are found in marijuana.

Experts, however, stressed that the research was still exploratory and many more years of testing would be needed to work out how to apply the findings to the treatment of cancer in humans.

“This is interesting research which opens a new avenue to explore potential drug targets but it is at a very early stage,” said Lesley Walker, director of cancer information at Cancer Research UK, which owns the journal.

“It absolutely isn’t the case that men might be able to fight prostate cancer by smoking cannabis,” she added.
-----------

Well, well, well, leave it to the Main Stream Media to misrepresent the facts and miss the real story. First, the chemicals assessed in this study, R(+)-Methanandamide and JWH-015, are neither “cannabinoids” nor are they “chemicals in cannabis.” Rather, they are synthetic, selective CB2 receptor agonists. In short, they are chemicals created in a lab to mimic certain elements in marijuana, and to bind to specifically to those cannabinoid receptors that are not located in the brain. After all, we can’t possibly have the terminally ill feeling ‘better’, now can we?

Second, US federal researchers have known for some 35 years that the naturally occurring chemicals in cannabis — not just synthesized agonists — can halt the proliferation of multiple types of cancer, including including brain cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, skin cancer, and pancreatic cancer. We even know how.

Cannabinoids: potential anticancer agents
via Nature Reviews Cancer (2003)

Cannabinoids are usually well tolerated, and do not produce the generalized toxic effects of conventional chemotherapies. … Cannabinoids inhibit tumor growth in laboratory animals. They do so by modulating key cell-signaling pathways, thereby inducing direct growth arrest and death of tumor cells, as well as by inhibiting tumor angiogenesis and metastasis. Cannabinoids are selective anti-tumor compounds, as they can kill tumor cells without affecting their non-transformed counterparts.

Of course, the real question — conveniently ignored by Reuters and the rest of the MSM — is this: Why, after three decades and dozens of preclinical trials documenting cannabis’ potent anti-cancer abilities, are “many more years of testing” necessary? Last I checked, humans die en masse from cancer, not rats! Yet for some 35 years scientists have been content to replicate these cancer-killer findings in animals and in petri dishes, all the while warning, “It absolutely isn’t the case that men might be able to fight prostate cancer by smoking cannabis.”

Well why the hell not? Not only can cannabis alleviate cancer patients’ nausea and pain, elevate their mood, and increase their appetite, but also — as dozens of preclinical trials over the past three decades consistently demonstrate — marijuana may help to alleviate the very disease that’s ravaging their bodies. Of course, rather than put this theory to the test, investigators for more than three decades have been willing to let people with a terminal illness die while they piddle around with their petri dishes. And to date, not one reporter from the mainstream media has ever had the guts to ask them why.

[1]

47. see? now this is how you do a study. this is science we can believe in...

good science.

not like that other "bad science" study i read about here today.

good > bad.