For decades, scientists in Spain and other countries have been researching the effectiveness of marijuana in treating cancer. Dr Cristina Sanchez is a molecular biologist at the University of Madrid (Spain) and, together with her team, has done extensive research on the anti-tumour effects of cannabinoids over the last 12 years. Her lab is not the only one investigating the potential of cannabis in this context. In many parts of the world, including the USA, the ability of cannabinoids to fight different types of cancer has been demonstrated.
In an interview with Cannabis Planet TV, Dr Sanchez describes how her team came to the discovery and the special property of cannabinoids on cancer cells. She and her team came to research more intensively with cannabinoids and their effect on tumour cells more or less by chance. It turned out that the cannabinoid THC, as a main component in cannabis, is able to kill cancer cells in the petri dish. So logically, it was suspected that cannabis could have an anti-tumour effect and further research was done.
First of all, breast cancer and brain tumours were analysed in more detail in animal models with the combination of cannabis. Cannabis was found to be an effective treatment for breast cancer, and in further experiments with brain tumours, cannabinoids were found to be an extremely effective weapon against tumour growth.
The team now began experiments in animal models of glioblastoma and brain tumours, and found that cannabinoids reduced tumour growth. There are different ways in which cells can die. With cannabinoid treatment, cancer cells die "in a clean way". This is because they commit suicide, also known as apoptosis. This is exactly what is desirable in an anti-tumour effect.
Marijuana has the distinct advantage over all other drugs related to the disease that it has no toxic effect on normal cells (like chemotherapy, for example). When Dr Sanchez's team discovered the anti-tumour effects, they decided to focus their research entirely on this topic. The team is in contact with doctors from all over Spain who are willing to integrate medical marijuana into their treatment.
Besides THC, CBD is a very special cannabinoid. It is not psychoactive, but it is an extremely powerful antioxidant. It protects the brain from stress and damage and kills cancer cells. When combined with THC, it has a synergistic effect, which means that the effectiveness of THC against cancer cells is increased. At the present time, there is already sufficient evidence of the effectiveness and anti-tumour properties of cannabis.
Thus, Dr. Sanchez comes to a similar conclusion as numerous other studies with cannabis.
Here is a detailed video with Dr Sanchez:
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