By His Grace and Blessings, I write…
Cancer healing through Cannabis
Marijuana or cannabis is like a book that shall not be judged by its cover. So let’s sit together and chew the fat in this uncharted field of Cannabis. Even though knowledge of cannabis has stood to the test of time and benefited mankind for over 3,000 years, yet it gained notoriety and fell into oblivion on account of various reasons. In 1970’s, racism, xenophobia, Anti-Mexican sentiment and vested interest of big corporate pharma led to criminalisation and created an implicit bias against cannabis. It is slowly re-emerging from these clutches although it has a long path to tread before it establishes itself as a credible source of alternative treatment.
Marijuana/ Cannabis..What is it?
Marijuana is a name given to dried buds and leaves of varieties of Cannabis sativa plant, which can grow wild in warm and tropical climates and goes by many names like grass, pot, weed, hemp, hash, ganja, cannabis and dozen others.
How does it work?
The biologically active components of this plant are called cannabinoids compounds which primarily include chemicals such as THC and CBD. CBD helps in regulation of endocannabinoid system, which mainly controls sleep, pain and appetite and is involved in almost all human diseases. The varying combinations of THC and CBD have been found to be effective in treatment of certain types of cancer in general and paediatric cancers in particular. Cannabis helps in regulation of serotonin receptors and is an amazing medicine for many cancer treatment-related side effects -nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, pain, depression and anxiety. It has been found to slow growth and spread of certain types of cancer.
What the Research says…
In 1988, researchers discovered that human beings have cannabinoid receptors in their brains and neural pathways are partly governed by cannabinoid compounds. Cannabinoids of the marijuana work on these receptors like many artificial medicines, but more naturally and with significantly lesser side effects. The cannabis plant operates through Entourage Effect in which all parts of the plant work together. Researchers have further established that cancer cells when soaked in cannabis oil commit suicide which is otherwise a natural ability of all healthy cells when they undergo some faulty mutations.
Challenges before Cannabis
Firstly, the research in this field is still in a very nascent stage and many of the effects are not in black and white.
Secondly, it is considered illegal to possess or use these substances and it may pose legal challenges to anyone wanting to use them, even for medicinal purposes.
Thirdly, the effectiveness of cannabis actually is a matter of proportions of its 2 fundamental compounds, THC and CBD. Due to lack of research and funding this magic proportion is yet to be found which can become very effective in alleviating pain from conventional treatments and act as substitute to these treatments.
Fourthly, the governments in general and pharmaceutical lobbies in particular have a vested interest in thwarting any progress in this field. The reason are amply clear, it is unlikely to generate supernormal profits to them.
Fifthly, cannabis can be addictive and thus sometimes can create dependency on them. So it cut both ways and further research is the only way forward.
Sixth, one must factor in that there is lot of quackery involved in this field and it can turn out counterproductive. Cannabis is still regarded with unhealthy scepticism and its difficult for mos of us to get these implicit biases out of our systems.
Seventhly, relying on marijuana alone as treatment while avoiding or delaying conventional treatment may have serious health consequences. It is not a miracle care and works well alongside other treatments and may potentially be beneficial in treating some of the side effects associated with chemo radiation.
Lastly, these drugs cost an arm and a leg and thus out of reach for many.
In nutshell, in every challenge there lies the opportunity. Everything needs to be examined at the touchstone of scientific evidence without our rose tinted glasses on either side of the spectrum. Cannabis can do a great service to mankind provided we free ourselves from our implicit and explicit biases and also it is freed from corporate greed of big pharma. Jumping to premature conclusions about efficacy of these plants will not serve our purpose and a concerted efforts at research and development are required to unlock the fuller potential of these medicinal plants.
By His Grace and Blessings, I write…
Dr. Seema Chaudhary