Isn’t It Ironic? Marijuana May Be the Cure for Lung Cancer

A U.S. study found that the active ingredient in marijuana may turn out to be an excellent treatment for lung cancer.

Harvard researchers used lab and mouse studies to show that the compound, known as THC, cuts lung tumor growth in half and helps prevent the cancer from spreading. Researchers also demonstrated that THC inhibited the growth and spread of cells from two different lung cancer cell lines and from patient lung tumors.

They injected THC into mice that had been implanted with human lung cancer cells. After three weeks, tumors shrank by about 50%, compared with tumors in untreated mice, says Anju Preet, PhD, a Harvard University researcher in Boston who tested the chemical.

Preet notes that animals injected with THC seem to get “high,” showing signs of clumsiness and getting the munchies. “You would expect to see the same thing in humans, so if this work does pan out, getting the dose right is going to be all important,” she says.

The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.

After the presentation, all of the researches got high. OK, not really, but maybe they did.

Note: Inhaling marijuana smoke is actually bad for your lungs. Only the controlled administration of the THC compound was shown to treat lung cancer in lab animals (not party animals).

Posted by Rebecca Sato

Comments

[BabyGirl]

Thank Goodness I smoke Weed.

[Deni]

I always thought that it was in the correct thing

[The Mighty Greedo]

Not to mention that smoking crack is great for freshening one's breath!

[Scott Jennings]

This would seem to be old news:
http://www.ehponline.org/docs/2000/108-10/correspondence.html#thc

Though it was news to me. I did, however, already know that while marijuana clearly contains most of the same carcinogenic compounds found in tobacco smoke, studies consistently fail to find any link to cancer:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/25/AR2006052501729_pf.html
http://www.webmd.com/lung-cancer/news/20060523/pot-smoking-not-linked-to-lung-cancer

As far as I could tell, they had no theories why this should be, but perhaps this article provides a lead.

[MedStudent]

This is a potentially dangerous and misleading article. Med Student: This is a post about current Harvard Medical School research just published. We publish the research and news around it; that's what we do. Also, it's a known fact that marijuna is used by many cancer patients, albeit not legally in many instances. My thanks for your insights and commentary! Casey Kazan, Editor.

Thank goodness you had the cop-out phrase at the end.

If there is any benefit it is from the *extracted COMPOUND*...Smoking marijuana has been shown to cause quite a number of pathological changes in the respiratory tract and looks to be associated with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and the pathological argument for lung-cancer assosiation looks sound (we're just waiting for the results of conclusive studies on lung cancer - COPD is pretty much accepted).

This article is irresponsible to the point that it may cause people to *damage* their respiratory tract in an attempt to avoid lung-cancer.The title should read that it is an *extract* and the text should make a mention of the *dangers* in the first parragraph.

Here's a reference for the COPD and toxic effects:

Van Hoozen BE, Cross CE, Marijuana. Respiratory tract effects.
Clin Rev Allergy Immunol. 1997 Fall;15(3):243-69.

[juantuffgai]

bla! bla! bla! NARC! Point is marijuana should be legal. It would solve so many problems, not to mention completely end marijuana drug trafficing and crime. There is no reason that tobacco and alcohol should be legal and marijuana criminal.

[Edwardo]

Love THC!
Check out the stuff they got here:

http://glasswork.zlio.com

[Windy]

I hate that i am a law abiding citizen in every way save one. Legalize it! Cause children of alcoholics shouldn't drink!

[mark allen]

thc kills cancer cells
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rick simpson
curing cancer's since 2003
thc hemp oil
eat it ,rub it on,cancer gone

[Summer Glau]

You're all crazy!!!

[David Hagert]

Yes as a medical researcher I know this is true! But research on this subject has a long way to go before we understand exactly what is going on here.
Also the government should not be involved with research in this area!!! I truly believe the government wants lies to come out saying smoking dope causes lung cancer. But the government did pay for the research through the NIH for a study to say smoking dope does indeed cure lung cancer! I bet the NIH didn't think research would support such an ideal as this. I mean the scientists are payed by the government. But if you are retiring as a scientist why not speak the truth.

[Reconstructions]

To Scott Jennings,

The Van Hoozen abstract you cite on COPD, cancer, and marijuana makes it clear that the researcher is SPECULATING about harm it may cause. He writes, "decrements in pulmonary function MAY be predictive of the future development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease". This is speculation, not a study. He does not produce any new data on "the mutagenic/carcinogenic properties of marijuana smoke" but simply writes that they "are also well-established", which is contradicted by the more recent study you call dangerous, etc. He talks about the potential for carcinogenic effects but admits, "a relative risk ratio for the development of these tumors has not yet been quantified". He concludes by writing that, "this hypothesis remains speculative at best".

By the way, here is a real study on COPD and marijuana which finds no association:

http://ajrccm.atsjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/155/1/141

I have looked for studies on the other side but have not found any.

[Affiliate Promotion]

Inhaling marijuana smoke is actually bad for your lungs. Only the controlled administration of the THC compound was shown to treat lung cancer in lab animals (not party animals).

well a lot of medicins the people use now had their start with animals too....

[Children Anxiety Disorder]

TCH everyne talks about that component, i cant understand why the people had to run the lives ro everyone else... why we cannot decide if we want use somethimg or not... i think we are free to decide anything if that doesnt hurt someone else... if i want to use marihuana as a medication or as a drug i think we had to be free to decide it!!!

[pulmonary disease]

Effects of passive smoking or "second-hand smoke" on the lungs are not well-known; however, evidence suggests that respiratory infections, asthma, and symptoms are more common in children who live in households where adults smoke.

Cigarette smoking damages the lungs in many ways. For example, the irritating effect of cigarette smoke attracts cells to the lungs that promote inflammation. Cigarette smoke also stimulates these inflammatory cells to release elastase, an enzyme that breaks down the elastic fibers in lung tissue.

[cheapest viaga uk]

Well marijuana is my favourite narcotic. I also like weeds and crack.

[online pharmacy]

For example Smoking marijuana has been shown to cause quite a number of pathological changes in the respiratory tract and looks to be associated

[Ben Koshkin]

How ironic, if true.

Ben Koshkin

[Careprost]

Hola,Ha hecho un trabajo muy bueno. Hay muchas personas en busca de eso ahora van a encontrar suficientes fuentes por tus consejos.espera para obtener más consejos acerca de que

[legal highs]

If it is true then that would be a good news. However I read an article last week that smoking weed can cause the same disease as smoking cigarette. I am not sure if that is true though. Thank you for sharing your interesting post.

[Kamagra]

Skönt att vara besöka din blogg igen, har det varit månader för mig. Väl här artikeln som jag har väntat så länge. Jag behöver den här artikeln för att slutföra mitt uppdrag i kollegiet, och den har samma tema med din artikel. Tack, bra aktie.!!

[Xenical]

If the resaerch is true, than yes- it deserves the irony award!

[careprost]

Really great post, Thank you for sharing This knowledge.Excellently written article, if only all bloggers offered the same level of content as you, the internet would be a much better place. Please keep it up!..

[methoxetamine]

If that is the case then i'm not going to stop my grandfather from smoking.

[relationship advice]

It's really good to know that, atleast now we know that marijuana can also be a cure. I hope this information must not be misuse by others, i hope others will use this in good terms but not an excuse.