Medical Cannabis: Cancer Cure or Just a Placebo?
Ryan Allway
February 24th, 2016
Exclusive, Policy, Top Story
The federal government began to restrict the use of medical marijuana in the 1930s, against the recommendation of the American Medical Association, beginning a decades-long fight between patients and lawmakers. With widespread recreational consumption in the 1960s, the drug developed a negative connotation throughout mainstream society. People found themselves unable to distinguish between the recreational and the medical side of the drug.
Of course, opioids are widely abused by recreational drug users and come with far harsher side effects, but the consumption of these drugs is rarely in public and scantly publicized. The opioid industry also benefits from the support of multibillion dollar corporations that have successfully lobbied both governments and doctors. By comparison, the cannabis industry is widely unable to fund the basic research under draconian laws, much less invest in marketing.
“There have been significant limitations on these studies in the United States thus far because one needs a Controlled Substance License,” explains Stu Titus, CEO of Medical Marijuana Inc. (OTCQB: MJNA), a publicly traded company that’s studying the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes. “These were infrequently granted, however, now there is an easier path to potentially study CBDs and other cannabinoids and engage in clinical studies.”
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced late last year that it would ease some of the regulatory requirements for those who are conducting FDA-approved clinical trials on non-psychoactive CBDs. The modifications are designed to foster ongoing scientific studies assessing the cannabinoid’s potential medicinal value without worrying about a crackdown by law enforcement that has become all-too-common in the community.
Research Shows Promise
The scientific community relies on robust clinical trials to prove safety and efficacy before a drug is released to the public. With these clinical trials becoming easier to conduct, a growing body of evidence has shown that cannabis could be effective in treating serious medical conditions like cancer. However, there’s still much work to be done and patients shouldn’t jump to any immediate conclusion based solely on early clinical studies.
In a 2011 study, researchers showed that CBD down-regulated a gene associated with aggressive human breast cancer. The same study then looked at the effects of CBDs in mouse models and found that the compound significantly reduced primary tumor mass as well as the size and number of lung metastatic foci in two models of metastasis. With limited treatments for aggressive breast cancer, non-toxic CBDs could be a highly beneficial alternative treatment.
The benefits of cannabis may not be limited to CBDs, however. In a 2007 study, researchers showed that THC inhibited tumor growth in non-small cell lung cancer lines. The researchers conducted mouse studies in-vivo and found that THC had an anti-proliferative and anti-angiogenic effect on tumors. THC could therefore be a promising and novel agent for controlling the growth and metastasis of certain lung cancers.
A 2013 study showed that pure cannabinoids and extracts had pro-apoptotic effects on prostate cancer cells both in-vitro and in-vivo. Additional studies have shown potential in treating blood cancers, oral cancer, liver cancer, pancreatic cancer, and a wide array of other cancers, although all of these remain at early stages. With the doors open to CBD trials, this kind of research should be able to progress more quickly moving forward.
Benefits & Drawbacks
Cannabis is unique in this indication because in-vivo human data is widely available given the widespread usage of the drug. As a result, there’s potentially less of a hurdle to overcome when it comes to demonstrating safety, which often comprises Phase I clinical studies. This means that success in pre-clinical trials could point to a rapid move to Phase II clinical trials that could become licensed drugs a lot more quickly than traditional pharmaceutical compounds.
While the early research looks promising, it’s important to note that most studies haven’t been conducted in-vivo in humans. Mice are genetically very similar to humans, but there are many examples of pharmaceuticals that showed tremendous promise in mice and in-vitro human studies, but ultimately failed to achieve clinical outcomes in Phase III clinical trials. The good news is that these pivotal studies could come sooner rather than later.
It’s also worth noting that smoking anything is carcinogenic, albeit at differing levels depending on the substance. Cannabis oils are an alternative form of obtaining cannabinoids, which doesn’t suffer from these effects. Companies like Vape Holdings Inc. (OTCQB: VAPE) are developing their own brand of CBD oil that’s compatible with their vaporizer products in order to help make these compounds more readily available.
Self-medicating may not have the same benefits as clinical trials, however, since the concentrates of cannabinoids and delivery mechanisms differ. In fact, some studies have shown that the absorption of cannabinoids differs widely between users, which means that an effective delivery mechanism may be necessary for in-vivo therapeutics to achieve the same level activation as in-vitro studies see in cell cultures.
Looking Ahead
Cannabis has been demonized since the 1930s, but lawmakers are finally starting to relax their regulations. With a growing body of research showing early promise, cannabis could become a wider field of study for cancer indications. The good news is that safety is already out of the way to a large extent, which could expedite the approval processes for these drugs. In many ways, the government remains the biggest barrier to these advancements.
This article was published by CFN Enterprises Inc. (OTCQB: CNFN), owner and operator of CFN Media, the industry’s leading agency and digital financial media network dedicated to the burgeoning CBD and legal cannabis industries. Call +1 (833) 420-CNFN for more information.
About Ryan Allway
Mr. Allway has over a decade of experience in the financial markets as both a private investor and financial journalist. He has been actively involved in the cannabis industry since its inception, covering public and private companies.
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