Marijuana Compound May Fight Lung Cancer:

[Praxius]

Marijuana Compound May Fight Lung Cancer

TUESDAY, April 17 (HealthDay News) - While smoking marijuana is never good for the lungs, the active ingredient in pot may help fight lung cancer, new research shows. Harvard University researchers have found that, in both laboratory and mouse studies, delta-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) cuts tumor growth in half in common lung cancer while impeding the cancer's ability to spread. The compound "seems to have a suppressive effect on certain lines of cancer cells," explained Dr. Len Horovitz, a pulmonary specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. According to the researchers, THC fights lung cancer by curbing epidermal growth factor (EGF), a molecule that promotes the growth and spread of particularly aggressive non-small cell lung cancers. "It seems to go to (EGF) receptor sites on cells and inhibit growth," said Horovitz, who was not involved in the study. The findings are preliminary, however, and other outside experts urged caution. "It's an interesting laboratory study (but) you have to have enough additional animal studies to make sure the effect is reproducible and to make sure that there are no overt toxic effects," said Dr. Norman Edelman, chief medical officer of the American Lung Association. "It's a little more than tantalizing because it's a compound that we know has been in humans and has not caused major problems." The findings were to be presented this week at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) in Los Angeles. Lung cancer is the number one cancer killer in the world. Lung tumors that over-produce the EGF receptor tend to be extra-aggressive and don't respond well to chemotherapy. THC is the main active ingredient of Cannabis sativa -marijuana. It has been shown to inhibit tumor growth in cancer, but specific information on its action against lung cancer has so far been limited. In the new study, the researchers first showed that two different lung cancer lines, as well as samples from patient lung tumors, produced the cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2. Endocannabinoids - cannabinoids produced naturally in the body - are thought to have an effect on pain, anxiety and inflammation when they bind to cannabinoid receptors. Next, the researchers injected standard doses of THC into mice implanted with human lung cancer cells. After three weeks of treatment, tumors shrank by about 50 percent in animals treated with THC, compared to those in an untreated control group, the researchers reported. The findings may shed light on a question that has been puzzling Horovitz: Why hasn't there been a spike in lung cancer in the generation that smoked a lot of marijuana in the 1960s. "I find it fascinating, wondering if the reasons we're not seeing this spike is that THC inhibits lung cancer cells," he said. "It would be very ironic, although you certainly wouldn't tell somebody who smoked cigarettes to add marijuana." A second set of findings presented at AACR suggested that a viral-based gene therapy could target both primary and distant tumors, while ignoring healthy cells. When injected into 15 mice with prostate cancer, this "smart bomb" therapy eliminated all signs of cancer - effectively curing the rodents. Researchers at Columbia University, in New York City, said the therapy also worked in animals with breast cancer and melanomas. And in a third hopeful trial reported at the meeting, German researchers at University Children's Hospital, in Ulm, said they've used measles viruses to treat brain tumors. In mouse experiments, the virus attached to the tumor from the inside out, the team said.

This would explain why I never had any lung issues in the 10 years of smoking pot and now, just recently have been having problems with them since I began smoking ciggs.

This would also debunk those other claims by some that Marijuana contains more cancerous ingredients then Tobacco..... which I have never believed, since there was nothing proving this.

All I gotta say is I can't wait until the governments catch up with society and make weed legal.

[Osborn F Enready]

Word Prax, keep up the good fight, I know I will.

[treme]

Quote by: Osborn F Enready Word Prax, keep up the good fight, I know I will.

wtf are you telling me it's illegal to be smoking this?

<--shrugs

Actually, my neighbor just got hauled to jail for fighting his and his nephew's lung cancer. Not that they actually have it. Can smoking be considered a preventative measure too?

[Copernicus]

All I gotta say is I can't wait until the governments catch up with society and make weed legal.

They won't. They are all fully aware that pot is harmless; the hypocritical bastards smoked it themselves. The truth is that they wouldn't risk their own reputation to fight to legalize the substance, so it will never happen.

[Clarence]

I haven't smoked in weeks and it was weeks before that when I smoked. been smoking almost daily since I was 15 am now 25. I'm not feeling a whole lot different yet, though I've saved at least a hundred dollars. It's all the same fucking day

[Praxius]

Quote by: Copernicus They won't. They are all fully aware that pot is harmless; the hypocritical bastards smoked it themselves. The truth is that they wouldn't risk their own reputation to fight to legalize the substance, so it will never happen.

It may never happen in the US, but it's a different situation in Canada, as decriminalization already was talked about, passed in parlament, but then became illegal again due to pressure from the US.....

And the pressure from the US was that they would increase their border security and have to screen Canadians more so then before, which would tie up the border crossings..... but since 9/11, all that has already occured.... so I don't see any useful threat or reason not to decriminalize it again..... that and our Prime Minister at the time was pretty slack when it came to standing up for Canadian Principles over US.

[Chancellor]

Quote by: Praxius Marijuana Compound May Fight Lung Cancer This would explain why I never had any lung issues in the 10 years of smoking pot and now, just recently have been having problems with them since I began smoking ciggs. This would also debunk those other claims by some that Marijuana contains more cancerous ingredients then Tobacco..... which I have never believed, since there was nothing proving this. All I gotta say is I can't wait until the governments catch up with society and make weed legal.

Before you get all excited (with glee), consider this from the article:

"The findings are preliminary, however, and other outside experts urged caution.

'It's an interesting laboratory study (but) you have to have enough additional animal studies to make sure the effect is reproducible and to make sure that there are no overt toxic effects,' said Dr. Norman Edelman, chief medical officer of the American Lung Association. 'It's a little more than tantalizing because it's a compound that we know has been in humans and has not caused major problems.'"

If they can show that the active ingredient reduces tumors in humans, then there might be something worth talking about.

[Osborn F Enready]

Sorry Chance, many of us already find it worth talking about, since it is a natural, common weed that the world has known about for centuries, yet has demonized, unjustly for mainly the last couple hundred years.

Hypocrisy in governments is always worth talking about.

[Chancellor]

Quote by: Osborn F Enready Sorry Chance,

Who?

many of us already find it worth talking about, since it is a natural, common weed that the world has known about for centuries, yet has demonized, unjustly for mainly the last couple hundred years. Hypocrisy in governments is always worth talking about.

This particular study, however, isn't really worth talking about. Now, if they had done the study on humans, there might be something worth talking about since the current law is against humans ingesting the substance in question. I agree with the statement from the article: "The findings are preliminary, however, and other outside experts urged caution."

Mere preliminary findings are never worth getting excited about.

[Praxius]

Quote by: Chancellor Before you get all excited (with glee), consider this from the article: "The findings are preliminary, however, and other outside experts urged caution.

Which is why I bolded that section originally, to show that I did not over look that part.

If they can show that the active ingredient reduces tumors in humans, then there might be something worth talking about.

And from that article:

Next, the researchers injected standard doses of THC into mice implanted with human lung cancer cells. After three weeks of treatment, tumors shrank by about 50 percent in animals treated with THC, compared to those in an untreated control group, the researchers reported.

They test on rats and other animals which have similar traits as our bodies, and the fact that they tested on Human Lung Cancer Cells rather then rat cancer cells and it worked on them, would suggest that there is a great chance this does indeed work.

Putting these results into practice with my own life and experiences in this topic of which I have personally encountered through my life matches their results they have reported, plus the countless people I have talked to about this drug for the last 10 years all seem to match closer to these results as opposed to the age old argument that weed has more tar and cancerous materials in it compared to ciggs, which never added up.

[5010]

Weed isn't illegal because of health. It is illegal for the same reason alcohol was prohibited: because pleasure is evil. It stays illegal because there isn't a majority who uses it, like there was with alcohol. A majority won't ever happen because people caught doing it are taken out of the voting set.

[Suburbanite]

5010, I live in Los Angeles where voters passed laws allowing for medical marijuana and have established a brilliant and loose system for acquiring marijuana legally. All my pot comes from a pot store, not some guy with a gun on the streets, or out of someone's car in a residential neighborhood. And all the cops let you go if you have a medical card.

[Praxius]

Where I live now, it is still illegal, but since the decriminalization fiasco, most cops have kinda reduced their strictness on weed around here.

When the Decriminalization occured for like that one week, if you were caught with 20 grams of weed in your possesion, they couldn't do anything. Anymore then 20g's and they could still charge you for trafficing.

But now a days, if they catch you, they'll usually just confiscate it on the spot and give you a warning.... sure you maybe out of weed for the night.... but at least you're not in jail.

And I know the people I get my stuff from..... not too many people here go around the streets looking for some random guy selling......

I could easily say the average person where I live probably knows at least three dealers. Whether they know they deal or not is another thing, but there's a lot.

In fact, another example of how the cops are dropping their stances on weed, would be last week when they did a crop hunt in Antigonish, NS.

Cops used helicopters and ground teams to hunt through the forests for crops people were growing. They found them and destroyed them, but they never charged or arrested anybody for the crops..... they claimed it was just more so as a deterrant and to slow the trafficing process a bit.

Although they still have to hold up the law, they seem to be a lot less strict up here then they were about 5 or 6 years ago.

And out in BC? You can pretty much smoke it right in front of the cops and not worry, as they really don't care, and have much better things to do with their time then bust some pot smokers.

[another day]

Yeah I live in vancouver and I wouldn't be worried if I walked past a cop smoking a joint. Infact I wouldn't even think of the fact that maybe I should be worrying.

But I wouldn't fire up a bong or a pipe infront of a cop because they love to take those away.

[Praxius]

Quote by: another day Yeah I live in vancouver and I wouldn't be worried if I walked past a cop smoking a joint. Infact I wouldn't even think of the fact that maybe I should be worrying. But I wouldn't fire up a bong or a pipe infront of a cop because they love to take those away.

Yeah, those dam things are expensive to just be taken away, lol.

[Chancellor]

Quote by: Praxius Which is why I bolded that section originally, to show that I did not over look that part. And from that article: They test on rats and other animals which have similar traits as our bodies, and the fact that they tested on Human Lung Cancer Cells rather then rat cancer cells and it worked on them, would suggest that there is a great chance this does indeed work. Putting these results into practice with my own life and experiences in this topic of which I have personally encountered through my life matches their results they have reported, plus the countless people I have talked to about this drug for the last 10 years all seem to match closer to these results as opposed to the age old argument that weed has more tar and cancerous materials in it compared to ciggs, which never added up.

It doesn't matter that they did the testing by injecting human lung cancer cells into rats because rats are not humans. Until they show in live humans that this substance does what they claim, I'm not buying it. Humans are not animals (and I don't give a rat's behind what some atheist in a lab coat claims).

For the record, it doesn't matter to me one way or another whether the substance is harmful: it's my position that the government does not have the constitutional authority to pass laws either legalizing such substances or making them illegal (merely refraining from passing a law against something does not make that something "legal") and it is my position that the government does not have the constitutional authority to try to protect people from themselves.

[5010]

Quote by: Suburbanite 5010, I live in Los Angeles where voters passed laws allowing for medical marijuana and have established a brilliant and loose system for acquiring marijuana legally. All my pot comes from a pot store, not some guy with a gun on the streets, or out of someone's car in a residential neighborhood. And all the cops let you go if you have a medical card.

Sounds good, but I'm getting mixed messages. Some report that the prison system has become dependant on having a population of non-violent inmates. I bet weed violators are easier to deal with in prison than violent offenders, and they get funded based on their population. And they suggest that this dependancy is expressed via lobbies and political character assassination in the sheep's clothing called "tough on crime".

Consider this interview with Ed Rosenthal.

Rosenthal had been deputized by the City of Oakland to grow medical marijuana. But after being busted by the Feds, he was not even allowed to mention his relationship to the lawful government of Oakland nor was he allowed to present witnesses who could talk about it.

...

Attorney for the Northern District of California who prosecuted the case decided to bring up charges again, adding new charges to the original. Again Rosenthal was not allowed to present the obvious defense — his deputization with the City of Oakland — and he was re-convicted.

...

Hillary McQuie actually met with the first jury as they came out from the courtroom after the trial. And she told them that she thought they had made a terrible mistake and that they should look the case up. They did. They found out the truth. They were all dismayed and started calling newspapers. Eight out of the 12 jurors, plus one of the two alternates agreed that an injustice had been done.

...

It also indicates that the State of California has to start protecting the providers, because there are now over 100 providers who have been arrested and charged. Dozens are in jail and there are over 100 under indictment right now. And the only difference between them and me is that I'm a little more notorious or famous, and I have perhaps a little more media savvy than they do. Most of them are going to wind up doing time. And very often they say to the person who runs the medical marijuana operation, "If you don't plead to a long term, we're going to take all your workers and give them each five years."

[Mia]

One of the news programs just did a list of the new 'super-foods'. I wonder why wasn't pot on there? Damn, come on, if warding off cancer doesn't give it any merit, what will?