By: Harold Camaya
Can you use cannabis to cure cancer?Many people have come up with testimonies, attesting how the CBD oil and cannabis have helped in managing various side effects that come along with cancer treatment. Others claim that they use marijuana to cure cancer.
Many researchers around the globe are investigating how cannabis supports cancer treatment. The study uses both natural and man-made cannabis products including cannabis oil, hemp oil, and cannabinoids.
There is a lot about cannabis and cancer, and reviewing this article will help to know more about cancer research and cannabis
Cancer and medical marijuana
The use of cannabis for therapeutic purposes is growing exponentially. For centuries, people have been using marijuana as a herbal remedy in treating a variety of health conditions. People are now embracing cannabis as a drugand they are using it to manage various health conditions.
Marijuana is rich in active ingredients known as cannabinoids, which helps in regulating various biological functions in your body. THC also called delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, is beneficial in managing the side effects of chemotherapy, and it also leaves the user with a high feeling. The other cannabinoid is CBD, also called cannabidiol has a potential application in managing medical conditions like cancer.
Cannabinoids and how they work
Cannabinoids are complex chemicals available in the cannabis plant, and they can either be human-made or natural. Scientists have been researching the active ingredients of cannabis, and their efforts bore fruits in the 1960s after the discovery of the chemical compound THC. Later in the 1980s, there was a discovery of the cannabinoid receptor. Shortly after discovering these chemicals, there was another discovery from the researchers that the body creates cannabinoid-like chemicals known as endocannabinoids.
The body has two forms of cannabinoids receptors, which stay in various locations in your body and perform different functions. The receptors are CB1 and CB2.
CB1 is mostly in the nervous system cells, especially in the brain cells and the nerves throughout your body. You can find CB2 receptors in the immune system cells.
According to the researchers, cannabinoids receptors, and the endocannabinoids are involved in various functions in the body, including heart function, controlling brain activities, pain, immune system, and reproduction, among others. Due to this molecular multitasking, they implicate in a wide range of ailments from neurodegenerative diseases to cancer. People generally ask does CBD gets you high? The answer is no, it doesn’t.
Lab research
cientific researchers are investigating whether you can use cannabinoids to treat cancer, and they are growing cancer cells in the lab for use in the study. Other researchers are using animal models for studying the effect of cannabis on cancer cells.
The recent discovery from scientists is that cannabinoids have numerous effects in the lab, such as:
- Stopping division of cells.
- Triggering death of cells through apoptosis.
- Preventing new blood vessels from developing tumors.
- Reducing the spread of cancer cells by preventing cells from infecting the neighboring tissue.
- Speeding up the autophagy process, leading to cell death.
The CB1 and CB2 receptors are responsible for the above effects. The researchers have come up with positive results after using cannabinoids from the cannabis plant and those from synthetic compounds. Using THC in high doses can help in killing cancer cells.
Can cannabis prevent cancer?
In recent experiments, researchers administered high THC doses to mice, and it seems to lower the risk of spreading cancer cells.
Cannabis as a complementary cancer therapy
Cancer treatment has severe side effects, and they can deteriorate the overall health of the patient. The use of marijuana might complement cancer treatment and make the patient feel better. People going through cancer treatment claims that cannabis is beneficial to them in managing side effects such as:
- Pain- cancer treatment can cause unbearable pain. It may be due to nerve injury, pressure on the internal organs, or inflammation. Cannabis has anti-inflammatory effects, thus, it treats pain from the root. THC can act on CB1 receptors and help in reducing the pain that results from nerve damage.
- Stimulating appetite– the majority of cancer patients going through the therapy report loss of appetite. These symptoms may make it hard to maintain a healthy weight for the treatment. Ingesting cannabis will deliver cannabinoids to the body, which may help increase the appetite.
- Nausea and vomiting– THC may help reduce nausea in cancer patients.
- Cachexia- many cancer patients experience weight loss, wasting syndrome, the decline in the body’s functional abilities and fatigue. Medical marijuana may help to overcome these experiences by increasing appetite.
Conclusion
CBD seems to be beneficial to cancer patients. It is an excellent complementary treatment in chemotherapy patients, as it helps in managing most of the side effects.
Cannabis has anti-inflammatory properties, and its use on the cancer patient may help to improve the treatment. It may help to manage chronic pain, thus enabling cancer patients to bear with the treatment process. You can visit the best local cannabis store in toronto, ca for high-quality cannabis products.
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