Marijuana Is A Potential Cancer Cure, NIDA Suggests

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Mar 29, 2017 12:49 PM EDT

A new study suggests that cannabis has beneficial effects to some kind of cancer. Experimental animals showed that marijuana extracts could help in the destruction of particular cancer cells.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse in the United States, the size of cancer tumors may as well be reduced. Extracts from whole-plant marijuana can delay the progress of tumor cells from one among the most crucial types of brain cancers. It can also speed up the effects of radiation. This proof was observed from one of the laboratory animals during the study.

The term medicinal marijuana is the application of the entire fresh plant or its direct extracts to cure an illness or a certain symptom. Marijuana is not yet approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a medicine. However, studies of cannabinoids, which are the chemicals in marijuana, caused the FDA to favor the plant. Products that contain cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) are the only approved medication from marijuana.

According to Mail Online, there are almost 100 cannabinoids but these two main components of the marijuana plant are the curative point of interest. THC can be used to boosts appetite, decreases nausea, as a pain reliever, and to reduce inflammation and muscle control problems.

CBD, on the other hand, is an ingredient of marijuana that does not influence the mind or behavior. It is believed in minimizing pain and inflammation, controlling epileptic seizures and could likely to treat mental disorders as well as addictions.

In the UK, THC is the active content of the drug called Sativex. This is currently the only FDA approved medication from marijuana for pain caused by muscle spasms in MS patients.

Meanwhile, scientists are also working on the clinical trials and preclinical studies of marijuana effects on autoimmune diseases. That includes HIV and AIDS, multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease, inflammation, pain, seizures, substance use disorders and mental illnesses.

 

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