Cannabis & Cancer

With cancer being the second leading cause of death in the US, this deserves a look. More than not, I hear conversations surrounding cannabis ranging from how “smacked” someone got off of a particular strain or how much symptom relief was achieved by way of cannabis consumption. In my experience, most of those suffering from a chronic illness are dealing with some type of cancer or autoimmune disease. Now, many people think that cannabis is a cancer cure-all. That it stops cancer from happening and kills cancer cells on contact. While this sounds nice, it isn’t true. Cannabis is in the game of altering the way our body does business so that certain reactions will be more difficult like cancer cell proliferation (formation). There is nuance in all things, especially when it comes to the human body. Just as all people have unique voices and interests, cancer has similar characteristics. It is unique to each person and no two cancers are the same. Therein lies the problem with “broad stroke” language used when discussing cannabis and cancer.

Cancer is a series of unchecked mutations, over time, that cause changes to cells stripping them of their differentiated duties all while dividing out of control. When those cells divide, fleshy masses form. These are called tumors. Now, just like our body’s organs, tumors need a blood supply to receive nutrients and oxygen. When a tumor grows, it needs its blood supply to grow as well so it grows blood vessels. This is where cannabis comes into play. CBD notably has shown promise in lab conditions to inhibit cancer cell proliferation and halt blood vessel growth in tumors (angiogenesis). When a tumor and its cells have no available way to receive blood and oxygen it can’t survive. Cancer is tricky in that it will exploit most every option it can to stay out of the line of sight but these studies continue to show greater promise.

There are certain chain reactions that occur that stop cells from maturing and becoming specialized for use in the body. Some of these changes are caused by carcinogens in the environment others are inherited from family. There are a host of factors that play into whether or not someone will get cancer, keep it or get rid of it. Cannabis, however, shows very interesting promise in inhibiting (stopping) some cancer causing chain reactions from taking place. Efficacy with cannabis in cancer is seen more in halting or slowing tumor formation. In experimental studies the activation of CB receptors (CB1 & CB2) by cannabinoids is antitumorigenic in most cancers (stops tumor cells from forming) and induces apoptosis or “cell death”. Much has been seen in cannabinoids halting the survival of cells in the lining of arteries and from migrating. Which could mean that these cells won’t survive long enough to migrate and be changed into capillaries & blood vessels by cancer to feed tumors. Cannabis shows promise in changing the environment in the body that disallow certain reactions, along a chain, from happening. When you disrupt the assembly line, something gets missed and the product isn’t as effective.

**THIS SITE IS FOR ADULTS 18+ NONE OF WHAT IS CONTAINED WITHIN THIS SITE** **OR IN SERVICE IS TO BE TAKEN AS OR IN REPLACEMENT OF MEDICAL CARE** **FROM A LICENSED HEALTH CARE PHYSICIAN**

***I AM NOT A DOCTOR, I DO NOT HAVE A LICENSE TO PRACTICE MEDICINE***

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