Marijuana Research Supports Its
Safety and Benefits
May 16, 2015
Story at-a-glance
−
Israel is the marijuana research capital of the world,
thanks to the work of Dr. Raphael Mechoulam who’s spent
his entire career studying the health benefits of
cannabis
Your body has its own endocannabinoid system, with
endogenous chemical messengers very similar to those in
marijuana acting on matching receptors located on cells
throughout your body
Most research to date shows that cannabis offers
significant health benefits for minimal risk, thanks to
your endocannabinoid system
By Dr. Mercola
The use of marijuana for medical purposes is now legal in 23
states and, as of this writing, 9 states have pending legislation or
ballot measures to legalize medical marijuana.1
Estimates are that between 85 and 95 percent of Americans are in
favor of medical cannabis, and nearly 60 percent support complete
legalization of marijuana.
And doctors agree. In 2014, a survey found that the majority of
physicians—56 percent—favor nationwide legalization of medical
cannabis, with support being highest among oncologists and
hematologists.2
However, many families are still unable, legally or otherwise, to
obtain this herbal treatment. Families with a sick child are being
forced to split up, just so that one parent can live in a place
where medical cannabis can be legally obtained in order to help
their child.
A major part of the problem lies at the federal level, where
marijuana is classified as a Schedule 13
controlled substance—a category reserved for the most dangerous of
drugs, including heroin, LSD, and ecstasy.
According to the 1970 Controlled Substances Act, Schedule 1 drugs
are defined as those having a "high potential for abuse" and "no
accepted medical use." Research to date shows that marijuana meets
neither of these criteria.
The featured documentary covers some of the most recent research
on the medical applications of marijuana. In light of recent
science, it's clear that marijuana does not meet Schedule 1 criteria
and it's high time to revise this classification.
Prominent Physicians Shifting Their Stance on Medical Marijuana
A number of prominent physicians are reversing their opinions
about marijuana's medicinal utility. A recent example is US Surgeon
General Vivek Murthy, who in a recent CBS interview, acknowledged
that
marijuana may be useful for certain medical conditions.
CNN's chief medical correspondent and neurosurgeon Sanjay Gupta
also made a highly publicized reversal on his
marijuana stance after the production of his two-part series
"Weed."4
This is a Flash-based
video and may not be viewable on mobile devices.
The US seems to want it both ways. The federal government
classifies marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug. But in October 2003, the
US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) obtained a patent
for marijuana as a "neural protectant," claiming it can protect your
brain against stroke and trauma.5
How can HHS own a patent for the medical use of cannabis, while
the federal government still classifies it as an unsafe drug
with no medical value?
The US Has Much to Learn from Israel
The US is far behind many other countries in harnessing the
healing power of marijuana.
Israel is the marijuana research capital of the world, thanks to
Dr. Raphael Mechoulam, who was the first to investigate the
medicinal properties of marijuana way back in the 1960s and the
first to isolate THC and CBD.
Israel is now using marijuana to treat cancer, epilepsy,
Parkinson's disease, Tourette's syndrome, and many other
conditions. As shown in the film, even residents of Israeli nursing
homes are being treated with marijuana.
But in the US, the fact that marijuana remains classified as a
dangerous Schedule 1 drug has all but halted scientific progress.
American scientists have to jump through a frustrating array of
hoops, which are expensive and time consuming and ultimately
discourage the majority of researchers from conducting marijuana
studies.
Marijuana's Miracle Molecules: Cannabinoids
Cannabinoids are the general category of active chemical
compounds found in marijuana, or cannabis. Cannabinoids can be
separated into several subclasses—two of which are THC
(tetrahydrocannabinols) and CBD (cannabidiols).6
CBD is the most abundant cannabinoid, contributing up to 40
percent of cannabis resin. Cannabinoids produce biological effects
because, just like opiates interacting with your opiate receptors,
cannabinoids interact with specific receptors located in your cell
membranes.
The therapeutic and psychoactive properties of marijuana occur
when particular cannabinoids activate their associated receptors,
and the effects depend on the areas of your body and brain in which
they interact.
Some cannabinoids are psychoactive, whereas others are not. THC
is the most psychoactive, the one that produces the "high"—which is
why marijuana plants have been bred over time to produce
ever-increasing amounts of this compound.
However, selectively breeding pot for high THC has diminished its
medicinal value and increased its likelihood of producing adverse
effects. Although research is still in its infancy, the cannabinoids
appear to work in tandem with each other, balancing one another out.
According to the University of Washington:7
"CBD may actually have anti-anxiety effects and lessen
the psychoactive effects of THC. This means that a plant with a
greater percentage of CBD may reduce the intensity of the
effects of the THC, which in effect lowers the potency of the
plant.
Use of a cannabis plant with less CBD has been shown to
have an increased psychological impact and result in unwanted
effects such as anxiety."
So, by breeding out the CBD, pot growers have created more
intense psychoactive effects that lack any modulation, which is why
some people experience adverse reactions such as anxiety and even
psychosis. Mother Nature created a delicately balanced chemical
system in this plant, which humans have upset with their tampering
and manipulation.
Like It or Not, You Are Wired to Respond to Marijuana
The fact that there's a plant that acts on your body's own
cannabinoid receptors is a phenomenon Dr. Mechoulam calls a "quirk
of nature." He's referring to the fact that we didn't develop these
receptors in order to smoke pot—we have them because we have our
own endogenous cannabinoid system.
Your body makes its own cannabinoids, similar to those found in
marijuana but present in much smaller amounts. These
endocannabinoids appear to perform signaling operations similar to
your body's neurotransmitters, such as dopamine and serotonin.
Cannabinoid receptors can be found on cell membranes throughout your
body—in fact, scientists now believe they may represent the most
widespread receptor system.8
Two receptor types have been identified:
CB1: Cannabinoid receptors that are extremely prolific in
your brain (excluding your brain stem), but also present in your
heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, pancreas, and other parts of your
body
CB2: Cannabinoid receptors primarily found in your immune
system
Your endocannabinoid system is thought to help regulate nearly
every physiological process and plays an important role in
maintaining homeostasis—and yet, it's not taught in medical school!
We've shared this important system with all vertebrate species and
even sea squirts for more than 600 million years. Science to date
suggests that your endocannabinoid system is integral to the
following biological processes, and chances are we've barely
scratched the surface.9
The fact that your body is replete with cannabinoid receptors,
key to so many biological functions, is why there's such enormous
medical potential for cannabis. If it can help restore homeostasis,
it will prove itself as a very powerful therapy. CBD may be the most
potent and beneficial of the cannabinoids, particularly for tamping
down an overactive immune system, as is the case with autoimmune
disease. CBD also has antipsychotic properties but does not get you
high or stoned.
The response of cancer patients to cannabis treatment is very
encouraging. Not only does cannabis help with the unpleasant side
effects of traditional chemotherapy (including pain, nausea, and
insomnia), but the cannabis itself appears to be a natural
chemotherapy agent. Over the past several years, dozens of studies
point to marijuana's effectiveness against many different types of
cancer, including
brain cancer, breast and prostate, lung,
thyroid, colon, pituitary, melanoma, and leukemia. It fights
cancer by at least two mechanisms, making it difficult for a cancer
to grow and spread:
Cannabis is pro-apoptotic, meaning it triggers apoptosis
(cellular suicide) of cancer cells, while leaving healthy cells
untouched
Cannabis is anti-angiogenic, meaning it cuts off a tumor's
blood supply
This may explain why chronic pot smokers have such surprisingly
low rates of lung and other cancers, especially when compared to
cancer rates among tobacco smokers.
10,11
In addition to cancer, cannabis has been found effective against an
ever-growing list of illnesses. Research has been limited, but we
may be turning the corner. It's likely we'll soon be expanding this
list as the evolving political climate becomes more favorable to
cannabis research.
Mental disorders, including Post-Traumatic Stress
Disorder (PTSD), mood disorders, and Tourette's syndrome
Pain and insomnia
Degenerative neurological disorders, dystonia, and
tremor
Many prescription drugsare known to be
dangerous. Pharmaceuticals in general are among the
leading causes of death in the US, and some drugs have killed
tens of thousands of individuals. The
painkiller Vioxx is one classic example that killed over 60,000
before being pulled off the market. According to Dr. Margaret Gedde,
MD, PhD, owner and founder of Gedde Whole Health and the Clinicians'
Institute of Cannabis Medicine, you don't have to look far to find
research confirming that
cannabis is safer and less toxic than many prescription drugs.
This includes liver and kidney toxicity, gastrointestinal damage,
nerve damage, and of course death. Moreover, cannabinoids often work
when pharmaceutical drugs fail, so not only is cannabis safer but
it's typically more effective. One of the strongest areas of
research regarding marijuana's health benefits is pain control.
In 2010, the Center for Medical Cannabis Research (CMCR) released
a report12
on 14 clinical studies about the use of marijuana for pain, most of
which were FDA-approved, double-blind, and placebo-controlled. The
report revealed that marijuana not only controls pain, but in many
cases it does so better than pharmaceutical alternatives.
If you compare prescription painkillers (opiates) to marijuana,
marijuana is much safer. Opioid painkillers can lead to
slowed respiration and death if an excess is taken—and the risks are
compounded if you add alcohol to the equation. By contrast, cannabis
overdose cannot kill you because there are no cannabinoid receptors
in your brain stem, the region of your brain that controls your
heartbeat and respiration.
The statistics speak for themselves. In 2010,
prescription painkillers were responsible for 16,600 deaths, and
painkiller overdoses claimed more women's lives than cocaine and
heroine combined. In the CDC's Public Health Reports study,13
prescription drugs were involved in fatal car crashes at three times
the rate of marijuana.
In states where medical marijuana is legal,
overdose deaths from opioids like morphine, oxycodone, and
heroin decreased by an average of 20 percent after one year, 25
percent after two years and up to 33 percent by years five and six.
As noted by Dr. Gedde:
"There's an ongoing death rate from use of pain
medications as prescribed. So, even as prescribed, they're
highly dangerous and they are open to abuse. As far as
medications used in the pediatric population to control
seizures, there are also severe toxicities to organs. Many of
them are very sedating. The children become unable to function
or really to interact because of the sedating effects. Other
medications have a side effect of rage and behavioral problems.
Unprovoked rage is actually a known side effect of some
of the anti-seizure medications. Cannabis and in particular
cannabidiol has none of these issues. No toxicities. The main
side effect of cannabidiol is sleepiness. As a child gets
accustomed to it, that does wear off and the child can be very
alert and functional on the cannabis oil once they have worked
into the dosing. Once you put them against each other, there
really is no comparison in terms of safety."
Education Is Key
Because of the issues already discussed, it can sometimes be
challenging finding accurate, science-based information about
cannabis. Dr. Gedde offers the following suggestions for obtaining
reliable information:
"The reason why it's difficult is that the preponderance
of research funds have been to show harm related to cannabis, as
a drug of abuse... [L]ook for the real research that's there on
the endocannabinoid system and the ways that marijuana cannabis
has been helping people for centuries. And look into the history
of medical practice; that's where the information starts to come
out."
She also recommends looking to current clinical practice, which
is possible in states where cannabis is now safely and legally
accessible. This is where you can learn more about optimal dosing
and protocols found effective for various conditions. Other
resources that may be helpful include the following:
Cancer.gov,14
the US government's cancer website, contains research relating
to the use of cannabis
PubMed15
is a searchable public resource containing a vast amount of
medical literature, including studies involving cannabis
The Journal of Pain16
is a publication by the American Pain Society with a long list
of studies on the pain-relieving effects of cannabis
National Institute on Drug Abuse17
is an excellent resource, including information about
preclinical and clinical trials are underway to test marijuana
and various extracts for the treatment of a number of diseases,
including autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and
Alzheimer's disease, inflammation, pain, and mental disorders.
I also recommend listening to my previous interview with Dr.
Frankel, in which he discusses many of the
medical benefits of cannabis.
Copyright 1997- 2015 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.