Let's talk about cancer

[Vene]

From The Scientific Activist

A new study by Salazar et al. in The Journal of Clinical Investigation demonstrates that THC causes tumor cells to begin to degrade themselves from the inside (a process called autophagy, i.e. "self-eating"). Although autophagy has been shown to promote cell survival in some cases and cell death in others, the authors show that in this case it causes cancer cells to undergo programmed cell death (apoptosis). Thus, THC activates a series of events within cancer cells, inhibiting tumor growth.

I mentioned this on IRC, but felt like I should share it here too. I realize that this is just one study, but I hope that if this is shown to be an effective treatment for cancer that it's used instead of being restricted due to politics.

Also, peer review article for those interested.

[MaybeNever]

Apr 2, 2009 20:37:51 GMT -5 Vene said:

From The Scientific Activist

A new study by Salazar et al. in The Journal of Clinical Investigation demonstrates that THC causes tumor cells to begin to degrade themselves from the inside (a process called autophagy, i.e. "self-eating"). Although autophagy has been shown to promote cell survival in some cases and cell death in others, the authors show that in this case it causes cancer cells to undergo programmed cell death (apoptosis). Thus, THC activates a series of events within cancer cells, inhibiting tumor growth.

I mentioned this on IRC, but felt like I should share it here too. I realize that this is just one study, but I hope that if this is shown to be an effective treatment for cancer that it's used instead of being restricted due to politics.

Also, peer review article for those interested.

More proof that the use of the demon weed goes against god's plan! EVERY OUT OF CONTROL CELL IS SACRED!

Seriously, though, I wonder how it has to be administered. Will somebody with lymphoma get better from toking up? I assume so. Will somebody with, say, bone cancer? That seems a bit less likely to me. Still, any progress toward arresting or curing cancer is good news. All we need to do now is wait until 2040 when pot will be marginally legalized!

[perv]

It's already marginally legalized. fourteen states permit medical marijuana, and it looks like the DEA may stop interfering under the new administration.

[MaybeNever]

Oh, I meant on a national scale. People in Denver voted to decriminalize small amounts of pot, but got shot down by the state laws. I figure it's only a matter of time, though. Once the twenty-somethings of today are the ones with the lawmaking power, I'd guess we'll see a national decriminalization to some extent.

[Napoleon the Clown]

Vaporizers. Just sayin'.


I heard of this awhile ago. Making sure that kill switch gets hit isn't a bad idea. Now it's a question of if there's anything out there that can do the same thing as THC without causing the altered perceptions. If not, we've got something that's a bit less... harsh than current chemo.

[malicious_bloke]

There's a big difference between targeting a substance at a tumour and smoking pot.

If you think a regular joint is going to cure cancer you'd be dead wrong.

In fact, yer inhaling incandescent organic material, the amount of free radicals and other highly reactive and carcinogenic shit in there is easily enough to outweigh any beneficial effects of THC

[Star Cluster]

Apr 3, 2009 13:10:15 GMT -5 MaybeNever said:

I figure it's only a matter of time, though. Once the twenty-somethings of today are the ones with the lawmaking power, I'd guess we'll see a national decriminalization to some extent.

Yeah, we thought the same thing when I was that age and now that I'm in my fifties, not much has changed.

I've been a proponent of legalizing, not just marijuana, but most drugs for a long time. It's the only way law enforcement is going to get a handle on the situation. I know the comparison has been done to death, but this really is no different than Prohibition back in the '20's and early '30's.

[MaybeNever]

Apr 4, 2009 7:10:03 GMT -5 malicious_bloke said:

There's a big difference between targeting a substance at a tumour and smoking pot.

If you think a regular joint is going to cure cancer you'd be dead wrong.

In fact, yer inhaling incandescent organic material, the amount of free radicals and other highly reactive and carcinogenic shit in there is easily enough to outweigh any beneficial effects of THC

That's true. I was mostly thinking in terms of blood distribution, but even then I'd guess the proportion of THC in the bloodstream would be tiny. And of course paired with lots of other crap.

Apr 4, 2009 7:11:44 GMT -5 Star Cluster said:

Apr 3, 2009 13:10:15 GMT -5 MaybeNever said:

I figure it's only a matter of time, though. Once the twenty-somethings of today are the ones with the lawmaking power, I'd guess we'll see a national decriminalization to some extent.

Yeah, we thought the same thing when I was that age and now that I'm in my fifties, not much has changed.

I've been a proponent of legalizing, not just marijuana, but most drugs for a long time. It's the only way law enforcement is going to get a handle on the situation. I know the comparison has been done to death, but this really is no different than Prohibition back in the '20's and early '30's.

That's kind of depressing. I'll elect to remain hopeful until reality catches up, though.

I don't know how I feel about legalizing most drugs, but I'd be tentatively in favor of it. If somebody wants to go take hits of acid or heroin in his basement or whatever, that's really his own business. As long as we have appropriate laws for people who are caught doing stuff they shouldn't while influenced (like drunk driving laws), all I see is something of a relief for police forces, a source of potential income for a struggling government, and hopefully a knee to the crotch of drug rings and related black market. And lots and lots of angry fundies and assorted social conservatives. I can live with that.

[Aqualung]

Of course you couldn't just smoke it; they would have to somehow extract the THC and perhaps synthesize it like they do with insulin and inject it directly either into the blood or the tumors themselves.

Interesting.....

[Vene]

I didn't really think smoking would help. But, I really don't expect politicians (or the general public) to know science or even worry about facts. I really don't want a potentially good thing ruined due to political bickering.