Die, Cancer, Die! Cannabis Induced Apoptosis | Health
“There is a plant that helps the toxic cancer cells to die… so that the beautiful being may live.”
Every cell lives and every cell dies. Except for cancer cells. The toxic cancer cells lose their natural born ability to self-destruct, also known as apoptosis (A-POP-TOE-SIS). Apoptosis is a good thing. It’s the body’s way of cleaning house and getting rid of cells and making way for new cells. It’s out with the old and in with the new.
Cancer cells keep growing and growing and can move to other parts of the body (metastasis). Cancer is a ruthless invader of the body. Cancer cells can grow into tumors. Like all cells, cancer cells need nutrients that they get from the blood. But, the ruthless cancer cells make their own blood vessels to make sure that they are fed the nutrients to keep growing and growing until the host dies, usually from malnutrition and starvation.
It really does not make sense. The cancer invades the body and does what it can to get big and bad with the end result of killing its invader and thus killing itself. So toxic.
It is known in the world of medical research in the laboratories where doctors grow cancer cells in petri dishes and use experimental animals with cancer, that if the cells and animals are exposed to THC, CBD and other cannabinoids, then the cancer cells die WITHOUT killing healthy cells.
Countries like Israel, Australia, Spain, Japan and Italy have been doing research using Cannabis and its effects on cancer for years. The United States government has lagged behind in funding any such research. The DEA has allowed Cannabis to only be grown at the University of Mississippi and be used for minimal research. But, this is going to change this year.
In 2019, the United States will loosen restrictions on the research of Cannabis and the DEA will increase the amount of Cannabis grown in the U.S. for medical research from growing 1,000 pounds to 5,400 pounds. New Cannabis grow locations besides the University of Mississippi are expected to arise.
Dr. Christina Sanchez and her research team in Madrid, Spain have been studying the effects of Cannabis and its anti-tumor effects for the last 10 years. They discovered that THC had the ability to “turn on” apoptosis in cancer cells. She also discovered that THC in Cannabis directly targets cancer cells yet leaves healthy cells alone.
“One of the advantages of cannabinoid-based medicines would be that they target specifically tumor cells, They don’t have any toxic effect on normal non-tumoral cells. This is an advantage with respect to standard chemotherapy, that targets basically everything.” Dr. Christina Sanchez
A 2013 study in Italy found that CBD may lead to the death of prostate cancer cells.
A 2012 study in Japan used CBDA and found that it stopped breast cancer cells from moving to other parts of the body.
In Australia, Olivia Newton-John, the singer and actress who is battling cancer herself, opened up the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Center in Victoria, Australia. There, more than 200 clinical trials are in progress and some are studying Cannabis use and cancer.
More recently, scientists reported that THC and other cannabinoids such as CBD slow growth and/or cause death in certain types of cancer cells growing in lab dishes. Some animal studies also suggest certain cannabinoids may slow growth and reduce spread of some forms of cancer. There have been some early clinical trials of cannabinoids in treating cancer in humans and more studies are planned. While the studies so far have shown that cannabinoids can be safe in treating cancer, they do not show that they help control or cure the disease Taken from the American Cancer Society’s website
The American Cancer Society supports the need for more scientific research on cannabinoids for cancer patients and recognizes the need for better and more effective therapies that can overcome the often debilitating side effects of cancer and its treatment. The Society also believes that the classification of marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) imposes numerous conditions on researchers and deters scientific study of cannabinoids. Federal officials should examine options consistent with federal law for enabling more scientific study on marijuana.
May more beings with cancer be cured with Cannabis.
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Kimberly Landino is currently practicing at All Greens Clinic in Surprise, AZ where she certifies qualifying patients to receive their Medical Marijuana card and experience the therapeutic benefit from using medical marijuana to treat their health conditions. Before this, she practiced family medicine for 16 years in Arizona.