Marijuana/Cannabis is medicinal!

Medical studies support that marijuana/cannabis treats
severe pain and boost appetite, especially
in cancer patients.
IT is illegal. But medical experts say it is
medicinal, but with devastating
consequences when abused. Cannabis or
marijuana has been a subject of intense
debate worldwide. While some states in the
United States have legalised cannabis
ostensibly for medical purposes, it remained
banned in Nigeria.
However, The Guardian learnt that some
doctors in Nigeria use it for their patients
with terminal illness like cancer to beat pain
and improve appetite.
Indeed, more studies are lending support
for medical cannabis.
According to a new study published online
in the cancer journal, Annals of Oncology,
the active ingredient in cannabis can
improve the appetites and sense of taste in
cancer patients.
Loss of appetite is common among cancer
patients, either because the cancer itself or
its treatment affects the sense of taste and
smell, leading to decreased enjoyment of
food. This, in turn, can lead to weight loss,
anorexia, a worse quality of life and
decreased survival; therefore, finding
effective ways of helping patients to
maintain a good diet and consume enough
calories is an important aspect of their
treatment.
Researchers in Canada ran a small pilot
study from May 2006 to December 2008 in
21 adult patients with any advanced cancer
(except brain cancer) who had been eating
less as a result of their illness for two weeks
or more. All were either being treated with
chemotherapy or had been in the past.
The patients were randomly assigned to
receive medication from a pharmacist in a
double-blind manner, which meant that
neither the patients nor the doctors knew
which treatment they were receiving. 11
patients received oral capsules containing
delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) — the
main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis
— and eight patients were assigned to the
control group to receive placebo capsules.
The active capsules contained 2.5mg of THC
and the patients took them once a day for
the first three days, twice a day thereafter,
and they had the option to increase their
dose up to a maximum of 20mg a day if
they wished; however, most followed the
dosing protocol, with three patients in both
groups increasing their dose to three times
a day. The treatment ran for 18 days.
From patient answers to questionnaires
conducted before, during and at the end of
the trial, the researchers found that the
majority (73 per cent) of THC-treated
patients reported an increased overall
appreciation of food compared with
patients receiving placebo (30 per cent) and
more often stated that study medication
“ made food taste better” (55 per cent)
compared with placebo (10 per cent).
The majority of THC-treated patients (64 per
cent) had increased appetite, three patients
(27 per cent) showed no change, and one
patient ’s data was incomplete. No THC-
treated patients showed a decrease in
appetite. By contrast, the majority of
patients receiving placebo had either
decreased appetite (50 per cent) or showed
no change (20 per cent).
According to the study, although there was
no difference in the total number of calories
consumed by both groups, the THC-treated
patients tended to increase the proportion
of protein that they ate, and 55 per cent
reported that savoury foods tasted better,
whereas no patients in the placebo group
reported an increased liking for these
foods. (Cancer patients often find that meat
smells and tastes unpleasant and, therefore,
they eat less of it).
In addition, THC-treated patients reported
better quality of sleep and relaxation than
in the placebo group.
Leader of the study and associate professor
at the University of Alberta (Edmonton,
Canada), Dr. Wendy Wismer, said: “This is
the first randomised controlled trial to show
that THC makes food taste better and
improves appetites for patients with
advanced cancer, as well as helping them to
sleep and to relax better. Our findings are
important, as there is no accepted treatment
for chemosensory alterations experienced
by cancer patients. We are excited about the
possibilities that THC could be used to
improve patients ’ enjoyment of food.
“Decreased appetite and chemosensory
alterations can be caused by both cancer
and its treatment; untreated tumours cause
loss of appetite, and by itself, chemotherapy
also causes loss of appetite. In any
individual patient, some part of both of
these effects is usually present.
“It is very important to address these
problems as both appetite loss and
alterations to taste and smell lead to
involuntary weight loss and reduce an
individual ’s ability to tolerate treatment and
to stay healthy in general. Additionally, the
social enjoyment of eating is greatly
reduced and quality of life is affected. For a
long time everyone has thought that
nothing could be done about this. Indeed,
cancer patients are often told to ‘cope’ with
chemosensory problems by eating bland,
cold and odourless food. This may well have
the result of reducing food intake and food
enjoyment. ”
The researchers said that larger, phase II
trials should test their findings further.
Wismer said that doctors could consider THC
treatment for cancer patients.
She said: “It could be investigated for any
stage of cancer where taste and smell
dysfunction and appetite loss has been
indicated by the patient. In addition,
treatment would not necessarily have to be
limited to the 18 days of the study. Long
term therapy with cannabinoids is possible,
however, in each case this would be up to
the patient ’s physician to determine.”
Although the study was unable to show that
THC treatment could increase total calorie
intake, Wismer said this was unsurprising.
“ In the healthy adult population, we know
from personal experience that we usually
eat more of something if it tastes better.
However, in this advanced cancer
population, there is a real struggle with
appetite; normal appetitive pathways do
not seem to be functioning. We know from
our earlier work that individuals with
advanced cancer have diminished appetite
and have to make a big conscious effort to
eat; they are motivated to eat simply to
survive. So, although THC did not
significantly increase total calorie intake, the
fact that it improved appetite and protein
intake is important. ”
Also, scientists in Italy and the United
Kingdom have identified substances in
marijuana with promise for fighting deadly
drug-resistant bacterial infections, including
so-called “superbugs,” without causing the
drug’s mood-altering effects.
They said besides serving as infection-
fighting drugs, the substances also could
provide a more environmentally-friendly
alternative to synthetic antibacterial
substances now widely used in personal
care items, including soaps and cosmetics.
In the new study, Giovanni Appendino and
colleagues point out that scientists have
known for years that marijuana contains
antibacterial substances.
However, the researchers said little research
has been done on those ingredients,
including studies on their ability to fight
antibiotic resistant infections.
To close that gap, researchers tested five
major marijuana ingredients termed
cannabinoids on different strains of
methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
(MRSA), a “superbug” increasingly resistant
to antibiotics.
They said all five substances showed potent
germ-killing activity against these drug-
resistant strains, as did some synthetic non-
natural cannabinoids.
The scientists also showed that these
substances appear to kill bacteria by
different mechanisms than conventional
antibiotics, making them more likely to
avoid bacterial resistance. They noted that
at least two of the substances have no
known mood-altering effects, suggesting
that they could be developed into
marijuana-based drugs without causing a
“ high.”
Also, cannabis has shown promise as an
effective remedy for cancers. According to
a study conducted by researchers from the
Complutense University in Madrid, Spain,
and published in the Journal of Clinical
Investigation, the active ingredient in
marijuana appears to target cancerous
brain cells for destruction while leaving
healthy cells alone.