How Cannabis Works
Overview
Cannabis is hailed by some, however also demonized by
others. Most commonly those who use the word marijuana which some consider a racist statement.
Cannabis contains a number of cannabinoids, of which the most abundant are THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), (CBD (cannabidiol) and CBN (cannabinol). The active ingredient, which gets you high, is THC.
In the plant, CBD is a precursor and CBN a metabolite of THC. see chemical composition
As cannabis gets
older, THC gradually breaks down to CBN.
Every vertabrate (animals with a backbone) on this plant has in their bodies, an endocannabinoid system containing CB1 receptors (respond to cannabis positively) which helps to regulate their entire biological system.
Video
The Endocannabinoid System - How cannabis oil works
Since 1974 studies have shown that cannabis has anti-tumor effects. The
results of the 1974 study, reported in an Aug. 18, 1974, Washington Post
newspaper feature, were that cannabis's component, THC, "slowed the
growth of lung cancers, breast cancers and a virus-induced leukemia in
laboratory mice, and prolonged their lives by as much as 36 percent."
In 1975 an article in the Journal of the National cancer institute
titled "Antineoplastic Activity of Cannabinoids," they reported that
"Lewis lung adenocarcinoma growth was retarded by the oral
administration of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabinol (CBD).
Mice
treated for 20 consecutive days with THC and CBD had reduced primary
tumor size."
In 1998, a research team at Madrid's Complutense University Led by Dr.
Manuel Guzman discovered that THC can selectively induce programmed cell
death in brain tumor cells without negatively impacting surrounding
healthy cells.
They reported in the March 2002 issue of "Nature
Medicine" they had destroyed incurable brain cancer tumors in rats by
injecting them with THC. And in 2007 even Harvard Researchers found
that compounds in cannabis cut the growth of lung cancer. There is also
an organization called The SETH Group that showed compounds in cannabis
can stop the growth of human glioblastoma multiforma (GBM) brain cancer
cells.
The SETH Group says "No chemotherapy can match this nontoxic
anti-cancer action." Even last year in 2012 a pair of scientists at
California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco found THC stops
metastasis in many kinds of aggressive cancer.