CBD- The Other Healing Cannabinoid

[Jim Finnel]

Part 1- CBD and ALS

Everyone knows about THC- it's the chemical in Cannabis that gets you high, and has a number of documented medical uses. However, because it makes you feel "much too good", many politicians and some doctors are against it. But there is more to Cannabis than plain old "get you high as a kite" THC. There are hundreds of chemicals in natural Cannabis. CBD, cannabidiol, is one of them.

As a psychoactive, get-you-stoned chemical, CBD is one great big flop! Almost no bounce to the ounce! A gentle "mellowing" effect is about the most you can expect even from a massive dose of CBD. But because it comes from the Cannabis plant, our government has banned it.

As a Cannabis plant grows, it produces a chemical that changes into either THC or CBD, depending on the plant's genetics. The recreational/medical strains are high in THC, but are usually very low in CBD. Fiber hemp plants tend to be the opposite- high in CBD with little or no THC.

CBD has many medical uses, and next to THC, it is the most studied of the natural cannabinoids. A 2005 study used CBD and delayed the onset of a form of ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) in mice. In 2007, neuroscientist Dr. Mary Abood used a THC/CBD mixture and conducted a similar experiment. To her amazement-

"The treatment delayed disease progression by more than seven days and extended survival by six days. In human terms, this would amount to about three years. That's a significant improvement over the only existing ALS drug, riluzole, which extends life by two months."

Three years versus two months! If you had ALS, and were given the choice, would you choose the "conventional" treatment of riluzole, or would you try Cannabis? Could the two medicines compliment each other giving even better results? What would a larger dose of CBD do? Why are there are no studies on this?

Way back in 2001, in the Journal of Palliative Care, Drs. Carter and Rosen stated- "Marijuana is a substance with many properties that may be applicable to the management of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). These include analgesia, muscle relaxation, bronchodilation, saliva reduction, appetite stimulation, and sleep induction. In addition, marijuana has now been shown to have strong antioxidative and neuroprotective effects, which may prolong neuronal cell survival. In areas where it is legal to do so, marijuana should be considered in the pharmacological management of ALS."

"In areas where it is legal to do so..." If you have ever seen anyone ravaged by ALS, you should be outraged that CBD is not available for all ALS patients. CBD won't get you high, but it may hold the key to ending the misery of ALS. It is time to reschedule cannabis so all the facets of this amazing plant can be freely researched.

Source: CBD- The Other Healing Cannabinoid Part 1 - Salem-News.Com

 

[Jim Finnel]

Part 2 - CBD and Cancer

There is a lot more to cannabis than just THC. Although the press and science have focused on THC because of its effects on the brain, the other cannabinoids are potent medicines in their own right. Studies reveal that CBD, a non-psychoactive cannabinoid, may affect cancer cells of many types. Breast cancer, leukemia and glioma (a rather nasty brain cancer) are all slowed, or even killed by CBD.

I usually put in something amusing into my articles, but I find nothing amusing about cancer. Both of my grandmothers died of it. So please forgive me if I do not amuse you this time, but "cut straight to the chase".

In 2006, a study called "Anti-tumor activity of plant cannabinoids with emphasis on the effect of cannabidiol on human breast carcinoma," (see: Breast cancer: Antitumor Activity of Plant Cannabinoids with Emphasis on the Effect of Cannabidiol on Human Breast Carcinoma) compared the effect of five different compounds found in cannabis on an aggressive breast cancer. CBD was the clear winner.

In a short article about the study, it was stated "Cannabidiol (CBD) was the most potent cannabinoid in inhibiting the growth of human breast cancer cells injected under the skin of mice.

CBD also reduced lung metastases deriving from human breast cancer cells that had been injected into the paws of the animals." To put it simply, CBD slowed the growth of the breast cancer and kept it from spreading into the lungs.

The glioma studies (see: Glioma apoptosis: Inhibition of Glioma Growth in Vivo) and (Glioma apoptosis: Cannabidiol triggers caspase activation and oxidative stress in human glioma cells) are very interesting, since the CBD attacked only the cancerous brain cells while leaving healthy brain cells untouched. Gliomas are one of the most malignant forms of cancer, resulting in the death of affected patients within 1–2 two years after diagnosis. Current therapies for glioma treatment are usually ineffective or just palliative. So how does CBD work to inhibit gliomas and other cancers?

Cells normally die through a process called apoptosis. Normal cells die after going through their programmed lifetime--but cancer cells refuse to die and begin to multiply rapidly. CBD "tells" the abnormal cancer cells that it is time to die by setting off the normal chain of events in programed cell death. The normal cells don't need to be "told" and are left alone.

But CBD doesn't stop there with putting a halt to gliomas. One of the things cancers do is to grow a lot of extra blood vessels to support their rapid growth. This is why a mole that bleeds when you scratch it may be suspected of being skin cancer. In a Spanish study, two glioma patients (stage IV) received CBD injected directly into their tumors, for 16 and 19 days respectively, before their tumors were removed surgically. Both showed evidence of regression of the blood vessels to the tumors. The authors considered the results as "promising" and worthy of further study.

A third area where CBD is "promising" is in the treatment of leukemia. In the study "Cannabidiol-Induced Apoptosis in Human Leukemia Cells", (see: Leukemia: Cannabidiol-Induced Apoptosis in Human Leukemia Cells) we find this in the abstract- "Exposure of leukemia cells to cannabidiol led to cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2)-mediated reduction in cell viability and induction in apoptosis. Furthermore, cannabidiol treatment led to a significant decrease in tumor burden and an increase in apoptotic tumors in vivo." Which is a fancy way of saying CBD killed the leukemia cells and reduced the number of tumors. And again, the authors urge further study.

Aside from feeling relaxed, there are no noticeable effects from CBD, even with very large doses.

On the other hand, modern medicine's chemotherapy is the practice of using poisons that are slightly more toxic to cancer cells than healthy cells. The idea is to poison you just enough so all the cancer cells die, while you, as an organism, live. A lot of healthy cells die in the process. Some patients die in the process. Even at its best, chemotherapy makes you feel very sick.

CBD or chemo? Which treatment sounds better to you?

Of course, these studies are just preliminary and need to be duplicated, refined and studied further. We need to examine the effects of CBD on these and other cancers. Until then, we are stuck with chemotherapy and all of its side effects. We must reschedule cannabis for research.

Source: CBD and Cancer - Salem-News.Com

 

[Jim Finnel]

Part 3 - CBD and Diabetes

Everyone knows about THC- it's the chemical in Cannabis that gets you high, and has a number of documented medical uses. However, because it makes you feel "much too good", many politicians and some doctors are against it. But there is more to Cannabis than plain old "get you high as a kite" THC. There are hundreds of chemicals in natural Cannabis. CBD, cannabidiol, is one of them.

As a psychoactive, get-you-stoned chemical, CBD is one great big flop! Almost no bounce to the ounce! A gentle "mellowing" effect is about the most you can expect even from a massive dose of CBD. But because it comes from the Cannabis plant, our government has banned it.

As a Cannabis plant grows, it produces a chemical that changes into either THC or CBD, depending on the plant's genetics. The recreational/medical strains are high in THC, but are usually very low in CBD. Fiber hemp plants tend to be the opposite- high in CBD with little or no THC.

CBD has many medical uses, and next to THC, it is the most studied of the natural cannabinoids. A 2005 study used CBD and delayed the onset of a form of ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) in mice. In 2007, neuroscientist Dr. Mary Abood used a THC/CBD mixture and conducted a similar experiment. To her amazement-

"The treatment delayed disease progression by more than seven days and extended survival by six days. In human terms, this would amount to about three years. That's a significant improvement over the only existing ALS drug, riluzole, which extends life by two months."

Three years versus two months! If you had ALS, and were given the choice, would you choose the "conventional" treatment of riluzole, or would you try Cannabis? Could the two medicines compliment each other giving even better results? What would a larger dose of CBD do? Why are there are no studies on this?

Way back in 2001, in the Journal of Palliative Care, Drs. Carter and Rosen stated- "Marijuana is a substance with many properties that may be applicable to the management of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). These include analgesia, muscle relaxation, bronchodilation, saliva reduction, appetite stimulation, and sleep induction. In addition, marijuana has now been shown to have strong antioxidative and neuroprotective effects, which may prolong neuronal cell survival. In areas where it is legal to do so, marijuana should be considered in the pharmacological management of ALS."

"In areas where it is legal to do so..." If you have ever seen anyone ravaged by ALS, you should be outraged that CBD is not available for all ALS patients. CBD won't get you high, but it may hold the key to ending the misery of ALS. It is time to reschedule cannabis so all the facets of this amazing plant can be freely researched.

Source: CBD and Diabetes Part 3 - Salem-News.Com