USA: National Cancer Institute includes cannabis as a potential cancer treatment

In the United States, the National Cancer Institute has added information to its website regarding several studies that have confirmed the potential of cannabinoids in the struggle against cancer.

The National Cancer Institute is a U.S. agency dedicated to cancer research; cancer is a disease that kills 15 million people worldwide each year. It is part of the Ministry of Health and the Human Services American.

This addition of studies to the institution's official bibliography could be translated as further recognition from the federal government the United States that cannabis is an effective treatment for cancer. Despite this recognition, cannabis is still classified at the federal level as a substance from the Schedule I, with no proven medical benefits.

Cannabinoids can destroy cancer cells «while protecting normal cells»

One of these studies published on the National Institute's website revealed that the cannabidiol (CBD) is responsible for killing cancer cells, «while protecting normal cells.» The study showed that cannabinoids inhibit tumor cell growth by blocking the development of blood vessels that are necessary for tumor growth.

What's more, another study A laboratory study was conducted on the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells, i.e., primary liver cancer. It showed that delta-9-THC damaged HCC by killing the cancer cells. This same THC suggests that the same effects also act on lung cancer cells. Finally, when THC is combined with CBD, it can increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy.

After recognizing the benefits of CBD, the Food and Drug Administration has also approved two synthetic THC compounds, drabinol and nabilone, for the treatment of symptoms caused by chemotherapy.

Mehdi Bautier