The United States government recently added a page on cannabis and cannabinoids to their cancer advice website cancer.gov. The page includes some information on why cannabis is useful for cancer treatment, a brief and interesting history of cannabis use in the United States, and most interestingly, a section titled Antitumor Activity. The idea that cannabis can prevent the growth of cancer cells has been around for a while, but many have dismissed it as a conspiracy theory or hippy pipe dream. This is the first time such an official source has taken this stance, at least in the states, and it’s backed up by a list of studies done on mice, animals, and lab-grown cancer cells. According to the site, the evidence points towards cannabis not only preventing tumor growth, but actually killing existing cells in several kinds of cancer, along with being useful for treating many symptoms of cancer and side-effects of other treatments. This information could have a huge effect in the next few years, both for the health of cancer patients and for public opinion on cannabis legalization. Check it out for yourself: http://www.cancer.
