The Potential of Cannabis as 21st Century Medicine
‘The quantity of herbal cannabis seized increased by 68% compared with the previous year, from 16,692 kg in the year ending March 2019 to 26,052kg in 2020’ (1)
The above figures suggest that cannabis consumption is growing rapidly in the U.K – and many people believe that the reason for this has nothing to do with its recreational use. Britain’s illegal medical cannabis industry, like those in other countries, has always existed to some degree, but it saw rapid growth in the decades following the discovery of the ECS. This growth, although significant, is nothing when compared to that which followed the 2018 legislation that failed to deliver the government’s promise to allow patient access to medical cannabis
Growing it myself, gives me the ability to control to some degree the levels of CBD and THC in my plants. (Anon, 2019).
"Most people in our industry said it was impossible to turn cannabis into a prescription medicine. We had to rewrite the rule book. We have the first approval of a plant extract drug in modern history. It has 420 molecules, whereas every other drug has one."
The majority of the British public are aware of the duplicity of the British government and the fact that we are really NOT ‘in it altogether.’ And after decades of being lied to, misinformed, and criminalised for life, most people know that cannabis is not the demon the British State would have us believe. However, not all people are aware of its true healing powers, and they are also not aware that some politicians such as Theresa May, Victoria Atkins, and others, profit significantly from their investments in Britain’s cannabis industry.
The fact that Theresa May and her cohorts can profit from medical cannabis, while simultaneously withholding medical cannabis from the British people (despite her promises), means that more and more people are choosing to grow or obtain the medicine they need illegally – and they will continue to do so, in larger and larger numbers as word spreads.
This is especially true when we are talking about cancer! As such, the huge increase in cannabis seizures highlighted above is very likely associated with a surging growth in people using cannabis for medicinal use – a growth that is bound to continue as more and more people become aware of the pharmaceutical powerhouse that is cannabis.
Britain’s illegal medical cannabis industry offers patients a wide choice of cannabis strains that have been especially created for specific health conditions and disease. These strains, which are grown from certified seeds, are successfully grown by people with many different health needs across Britain.
Furthermore, the illegal market for medical cannabis as developed and grown to such an extent that anyone can access a cannabis medication grown specifically for their health needs without too much difficulty.[1] The maturity of the illegal medical cannabis market means that there is a well-established network and rapidly growing community of people growing cannabis for medicinal purposes that is separate from those growing cannabis for recreational use. Growing high grade cannabis, as decades of illegal growing has shown, is not difficult as long as certain rules are followed, which is why so many more cannabis patients are growing their own medicine successfully.
Like pharmaceutical companies, illegal growers use certified cannabis seeds, which are available from long-established and highly professional seedbanks. As buying cannabis seeds is not illegal in the UK (figure that one out!), they are easily obtainable online, as is the equipment needed to grow successfully. And there are also plenty of free guides detailing the different growing methods and providing expert advice for those new to growing.
The most recent government report examining medical cannabis use admits that ‘growing cannabis plants themselves allows patients to try a much wider range of products than could otherwise be accessed, either through the black market or lawfully through prescription,’ and enables them to ‘identify and select plants which best met their individual needs, accentuating the therapeutic over time. They had learned, through trial and error, that particular plant genetics and growing conditions result in products with different health effects.’
The same report then goes on to explain how one patient with MS ‘grew some specific plants to help with fatigue and pain in the morning and other plants to use in the evening to unwind,’ while another ‘with type 1 bipolar effective disorder, showed us a particular blend of cannabis flowers that he kept for times when he was feeling suicidal. He told us that using it at times of crisis had saved his life countless times over the years’ (3). These comments suggest that the reason that more and more people are choosing to grow cannabis for medical reasons is because: (a) the medicine is more effective than pharmaceutical drugs; (b) medical cannabis does not have severe side effects, especially in comparison to prescription medications; (c) it is inexpensive and easily obtainable.
People would not risk prison unless their medicine worked. Although unable to buy their medicine from abroad legally, people are able to easily discover which strains are being used medically in countries such as Canada and the U.S and obtain the seeds for these plants legally online. The wide range of strains available on the current market enables consumers to cherry-pick suitable strains with THC/CBD ratios specific to their health need.
The UK Review of Medicinal Cannabis (2020) reports:
“A 2018 UPA survey found that a third (32%) of medically-motivated cannabis growers would continue to grow their own even if a wide variety of strains and types were available from a dispensary.
Most of the respondents in this survey had been dealing with their primary health condition for more than ten years or since birth and had been using cannabis for many years or even decades.
For some, the conditions under which the cannabis is grown and extracted is just as important as the cannabinoid profile so there is a disinclination towards cannabis-based medicines grown and produced on an industrial or commercial scale.
Research has shown that empowering individuals to make their own health choices can lead to better health outcomes.
The risks associated with self-medication should therefore be weighed up against an individual’s health and well-being interests” (2).
The emergence of and easy access to the equipment needed to successfully grow cannabis is another reason for the surging growth in people using medicinal cannabis. Grow lights and tents, and specified equipment for different growing methods, plus fast-growing, auto-flowering strains, mean that growing cannabis has become far easier. This is particularly true in the U.K, due to the climate being too cold to grow outside, and it is also the reason why resin is no longer so prolific as it was during the latter decades of the 20th century. Although cannabis cultivation has its challenges (e.g. crops can fail), patients have far more control over the product they are using by growing their own medicine.
Global reform is not taking place because of a sudden change in attitude towards cannabis, but because of the discovery of the endocannabinoid system and its vital role in human health – and, of course, the profits that can be made from this news. More than 20,000 studies and scientific reports have been published during the past twenty years, all attesting to the medicinal properties of the cannabis plant and its ability to treat and/or bring relief to a multitude of diseases and health conditions. This evidence has been critical in developing support for medical cannabis legislation around the globe.
Today, some 93 percent of Americans and almost 80 percent of U.K citizens support cannabis reform in some way, and the amount of people favouring cannabis reform continues to grow across Europe. In Germany, for example, more than ‘half of the population considers medical cannabis as a good alternative to traditional medicines and is likely to take medical cannabis as a treatment’ (4).
Despite this, the British government has never had any intention to legalise cannabis in any form. Instead, the government under the leadership of Theresa May, who was Prime Minister at that time, introduced new legislation in 2018 that failed to deliver their promise to enable patient access to medical cannabis, choosing instead to reschedule cannabis in a way that facilitated the marketing and licensing of cannabis-derived treatments that had been created by GW Pharmaceuticals.
Cannabis and Clinical Trials
WHAT SCIENCE SAYS:
‘Even if the use of cannabinoids in clinical practice needs further preclinical research, in order to confirm safety, efficacy, doses and administration protocols, the cannabinoids could provide unquestionable advantages compared to current anti-tumour therapies:
(1) cannabinoids selectively affect tumour cells more than their non-transformed counterparts that might even be protected from cell death;
(2) systematically administered selective inhibitors of endocannabinoid degradation would be effective only in those tissues where endocannabinoid levels are pathologically altered, without any significant psychotropic or immunosuppressive activity;
(3) selective CB1 agonists unable to cross the blood–brain barrier would be deprived of the immunosuppressive and psychotropic effects of cannabinoids and therefore could be efficaciously used as antineoplastic drugs in a large number of tumours, with the exception of glioma;
(4) cannabinoids could represent an efficacious therapy in COX‐2‐expressing tumours that have become resistant to induction of apoptosis: acting as COX‐2‐substrates with no effect on the protective properties of COX‐2‐derived products, they could offer some advantage with respect to the NSAID in order to enhance the sensibility to conventional anticancer therapies.
Even if further in vivo research are required to clarify cannabinoids action in cancer and especially to test their effectiveness in patients, the cannabinoid system represent a promising target for cancer treatment.’ (LINK)
The British government, like the American state, holds that clinical trials are the ONLY way of testing whether a potential medicine is safe. Robust research is needed prior to the licensing of synthesised pharmaceutical drugs due to them being man-made chemicals that have often proved fatal. Cannabis, however, is not man-made – it is a botanical plant that has a 100% safety record that goes back thousands of years, and without the same debilitating and often life-threatening side effects associated with many prescription drugs and current treatments for cancer. So, while clinical trials should be mandatory for synthesised chemicals, the scientific approach to cannabis should be tailored to the plant rather than trying to fit this multifaceted and complex plant into a process tailored to pharmaceutical drugs.
This is not to say that clinical trials are not important, even essential, in cannabis research, because, of course, they are. They are an important tool, which can and should be used to assess and learn more about the cannabis plant. But a lack of large clinical trials should not be used as an excuse to withhold what is often vital medicine from people – and it is perhaps this why so many countries have or are fully reforming their cannabis laws – because they believe (KNOW) that cannabis is medicine.
What right does the state – any state – have to withhold a natural, herbal medicine from its citizens – even if it includes THC? It doesn’t – and it is for this reason countries such as Canada, Portugal, and more and more American states have or are in the process of fully legalising cannabis.
The potential of cannabis as a 21st century medicine is huge, but it is unlikely to happen anytime soon because of the current framework of medical licensing laws. Although ‘there is no typical length of time it takes for a drug to be tested and approved, it can take 10-15 years or more to complete all 3 phases of clinical trials before the licensing stage’ (5) – and that is simply too long for people who have been diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, such as cancer.
It is infuriating that the British authorities, along with its American counterpart, continue to misinform the public, despite knowing about the ability of cannabis to not only treat many different illnesses, but also to effectively fight cancer for a very long time. [3] Why withhold this treatment from people? Why keep it listed as a schedule 1 drug when it has a 100 percent safety record? Why deny its medicinal properties while simultaneously furnishing GWP with the patents and licenses to profit from cannabis medicines? Yes, it’s about the money – we all get that – but when you think about all the people that have died from cancer, MS, and so many other diseases in the past couple of decades, what does that say about government duplicity and their attitude towards the sick and dying? Their actions are, in fact, immoral and flying in the face of universal human rights. [4] Something really does need to change
So Let's Talk about Getting High
So, just what is the British government’s problem with THC? What is the problem with getting high? This is the question asked by the highly-respected and world-renown Dr. Lynda Balneaves (RN, PhD), when speaking at Canada’s National Brain Tumour Conference in 2018.
Dr. Balneaves, who ‘has been a nursing leader in the fields of psychosocial oncology’ (120), for nearly 30 years, discusses current research on the role of cannabis in treating brain tumours. Her presentation, which includes the issues and risks surrounding treatment, usage, and patient access, is not only extremely positive, [5] [6] but proof that THC-rich cannabis oils are effective in treating cancer. But to return to Dr. Balneaves question – one that is particularly pertinent to those who have an opinion on cannabis but have never felt the effects of THC – what is the problem with getting high?[7]
Getting high is nothing like getting drunk – it doesn’t even come close – and, believe me, you do not see pink elephants and you do not lose control or not remember what you were doing – there is no black hole in your memory, as there often is when drinking excessive amounts of alcohol. Words such as ‘relaxing,’ and ‘chilled,’ describe what it’s like to be high, as does its association with slogans such as, ‘Peace and love, man!,’ and its use by people with creative talents, including artists, writers, and musicians. It is also a drug that heals the mind, and often a catalyst for deeper thought, new ideas, and, for some, a richer sense of the spiritual. The reality of getting high is far removed from the ‘reefer madness’ portrayed by our governments, and most people now realise this – including those that have never used cannabis. Getting high is far, far less risky than getting drunk.
Despite this, cannabis (like alcohol) is not for everyone. High levels of THC can make some people paranoid, feel sick, dizzy, or sleepy (especially those new to cannabis), and some people simply dislike the effects of THC. Well, the truth of the matter is, you can take THC (even in very high doses) without feeling the effects of THC by taking the medicine in suppository form. Taking herbal medicines via suppositories is as ancient as medical cannabis itself and this route was used to treat a wide variety of ailments. It is also widely considered as the fastest route to feeling the medicines therapeutic effects.
Medicines that are rectum-administered (RA), act faster than those taken via other methods because they directly enter the bloodstream, thus bypassing the liver and then quickly entering into the vascular system. This means that the gut and liver are avoided, so the compounds in the medicine are not broken down and, as such, there are no or very little psychoactive effects.[8]
This is because ‘the liver is a key to getting high. THC travels through the liver to the brain to induce a head high. When smoked, it travels through the lungs to the villi, then on to the liver. When taking it orally, it makes its way to the liver through digestion. This method takes the longest because of the digestive process and the amount of travel it takes to get to the brain’ (6). As such, there are thousands of people who take medical cannabis via this route (regardless of THC levels) and is the only route for those wanting to avoid the effects of THC.
So what has been the outcome in places where THC is allowed to be consumed? It should come as no surprise that the success or failure of cannabis reform is primarily being evaluated through economic factors rather than patient experiences and needs. The illegal market, for example, is seen as a significant threat because it provides patients with a better, cheaper product (7), while GWP claims superiority over ‘street’ cannabis, the reality in Canada and other places where full legalisation has taken place is that the quality of illegally grown cannabis is far better than that grown commercially and it is around half the price (8). This is why it is seen as such a threat. But, of course, it is not a threat to patients, but instead offers them a very wide choice of strains that, like in the U.K’s illegal medical cannabis market, are often grown by people with similar medical needs.
There has also been very few reports of cannabis reform causing the harms and social issues often cited in opposing arguments. Instead, reports have been overwhelmingly positive from just about every sector of society (10). The number of young people using cannabis, for example, did NOT increase, as predicted by those opposed the cannabis reform. Instead, cannabis use among younger generations reduced, quite significantly in places, as did drug-related crime. Even more important however, is that no increases in psychotic episodes among young people were reported (11). In fact, from the patients point of view, cannabis reform has been an overwhelming success in places where the changes in the law have truly enabled patient access to medical cannabis.
"Most people in our industry said it was impossible to turn cannabis into a prescription medicine. We had to rewrite the rule book. We have the first approval of a plant extract drug in modern history. It has 420 molecules, whereas every other drug has one."
The British government does not want to legalise cannabis in any form because it wants to control the cannabis industry. As such, it has only introduced laws that benefit the pharmaceuticals because of the significant financial return they and their cohorts stand to gain. This is not due to issues about safety, no matter what they claim, but about trying to ensure a controlled, profitable industry that benefits shareholders and investors. As such, the only cannabis-based treatments available to the public will be those produced by pharmaceuticals – and you can bet your bottom dollar that these, like those already marketed by GWP, will be nowhere as effective as those procured through illegal routes.
Medicinal cannabis in the form of RSO offers hope to cancer patients. Thousands of people in the U.K are already using RSO successfully, and the number of people choosing this route is growing at a phenomenal rate because IT WORKS! In California, where cannabis is fully legalised, medical professionals are now advising their patients to take RSO to treat their cancer (LINK), and the oil is widely available as an over-the-counter product in pharmacies where medical cannabis has been legalised. The recent documentary Weed the People (2018), which follows the families of babies and young infants with terminal cancers using RSO forms of cannabis oil over a five year period, is a must watch – especially for the cynics out there!
Stories such as these are behind the current surge in the illegal use of cannabis as medicine in the UK – a notion that is supported by the massive increase in cannabis seizures since the 2018 changes to cannabis legalisation. Fortunately, the British public are not so easily fooled.
Cannabis, like any botanical plant, is a herbal medicine that could be made by almost anyone if cannabis were legally available. It is therefore a major threat to Big-Pharma, and the reason why GWP, with the help of the British government and the medical licensing authorities, is trying to create standardised herbal medicines that can be marketed for huge profits. However, standardised herbal medicines, like synthesised cannabinoid treatments, are simply not as effective because the standardisation process causes a corresponding displacement and lack of other constituents.
Civil Disobedience: Grow Your Own Medicines
Martha Benedict, a licensed acupuncturist, clinical herbalist, and a professional AHG member, with more than 25 years experience states:
“Standardization of itself is a chimera. There are too many plant components, interactions and interdependencies for us to be so witless as to think we can CONTROL the outcome of a complex event merely by controlling one or a limited number of active components of a plant. What hubris! Are we about to recapitulate the same narrow thinking which makes Western medical drugs so dangerous?” (12 )
Pharmaceutical cannabis based products will never be as good therapeutically as those you and I can produce because the processes used to achieve licensing changes the formula of the cannabis plant. This is why Epidiolex is not as good as a cannabis product that includes THC – even in tiny amounts – and it is also why Sativex does not work as well for patients as raw cannabis or full spectrum products that include THC. At the end of the day, GWP’s products are nothing more than standardised herbal medicines.
GWP will lose a very large part of their profits if Britain reforms its cannabis laws. A recent study found that ‘a total of $165.2 million per year [was] saved across the USA from states with implemented medical marijuana laws, thanks to the savings of not having to prescribe expensive drugs’ (128), and this, of course, resulted in less profits for Big-Pharma. It is for this reason that GWP has attempted to discredit the CBD wellness industry and differentiate the cannabis it grows from ‘street’ cannabis. The firm, like other pharmaceutical companies that fabricated the truth in order to devise and sell synthesised cannabis replacement products that are significantly less effective than natural cannabis, are conducting a campaign that essentially vilifies illegal cannabis by attempting to portray itself and the cannabis it grows as being of a far higher standard and grade that can only be achieved by professionals such as themselves. Their campaign discusses and highlights unproven theories about the quality of illegal cannabis and CBD wellness products, while creating medicines from cannabis plants alone that apparently aren’t cannabis – and you and I are supposed to believe that. What utter claptrap!
Epidiolex is made with strains of cannabis plants that are CBD rich and Sativex is made with two strains of cannabis, one CBD rich and the other THC rich. Both medicines are easy to make at home – as is any tincture. It is the strain of cannabis that is the most important. All people have to do is obtain certified seeds that are known to be best for their particular illness (full advice is available on many overseas websites based in places where cannabis is legal), grow the seed into mature plants, choose your delivery method, and if choosing something other than vaping/smoking the raw material, make a tincture/extract, gummies, infused tea, or whatever method you choose.
While it may take a bit of trial and error in the beginning, growing cannabis is like growing any hothouse plant, and so not dissimilar to growing tomatoes in a heated greenhouse for those of you living in Britain. You will find, like most people, that it does not take long before you can produce a top quality product that meets your medicinal needs. Start slow when beginning your medicine and then build up the dosage until you experience the required effect. You will find that its therapeutical benefits will far exceed anything produced by pharmaceuticals.
Cannabis oil also works very well on skin cancer, being applied directly on to cancer lesions. Cannabis has not been suppressed because it gets you high, as legal alcohol is much more devastating to life. Cannabis has been suppressed because it stops cancer LINK.
The fact of the matter is that many pharmaceutical products are far more dangerous and addictive than cannabis medications, including synthesised cannabinoid remedies. According to research, the ‘use of synthetic cannabinoids increases the risk of developing serious psychiatric and medical conditions, as well as increasing instances of significant adverse effects, like respiratory difficulties and hypertension,’ (13), while Epidiolex fails to treat rare forms of childhood epilepsy effectively because it does not include the very necessary ingredient – THC. Even Sativex, which has a 1-1 ratio of CBD/THC, is reported by patients as being not as effective as the medicine they make at home or acquire illegally – a factor that must be of deep concern to the medical cannabis industry and its investors.
Although important for synthesised pharmaceutical drugs, the need for clinical trials to prove the safety and efficacy of cannabis is somewhat moot because of its impeccable 100% safety record, as well as a catalogue of experience and knowledge gained by health professionals in countries where medical cannabis has been properly legalised. Patients living in these places, are provided with state-licensed pharmacies where they can access a huge database of medicinal strains of cannabis and their seeds. These include cannabis strains that have a very high THC levels, CBD-alone strains and a multitude of other THC/CBD ratios that are known to be effective in treating particular health conditions and symptoms, which enables patients to sample the different options available for their particular health need. In addition, patients are provided with expert advice from professional health providers (e.g. dosage, how often you should take the medicine, and so forth). I wonder if these people realise just how fortunate they are.
There are millions of people globally who are using unlicensed cannabis products to treat their particular health condition – both legally and illegally. Cannabis reform has been taking place for at least 40 years around the world, so where are the reports showing that the British authorities have been justified in keeping cannabis illegal and forbidden to those wanting to use it medically. Has cannabis reform resulted in an increase in a form of ‘Reefer Madness?’ Has it increased psychosis or caused an increase in the mental health of the young people in, for example, Canada, or one of the 36 states where medical cannabis has been legalised? Has the decriminalisation of cannabis resulted in more and more young people using the drug, or has it caused or led to any of the other potential issues often used in opposition to cannabis reform? The answer to all of these questions, is no (14).
In the 35-40 years that have passed since cannabis reform began, no one using cannabis has reported the adverse side effects described by the British authorities. No one – not one single person – has ever died due to cannabis use (no matter how it is taken), and it is impossible to overdose on cannabis, even when taken in very high doses. In contrast, ‘prescription drugs are the third leading cause of death after heart disease and cancer in the United States and Europe’ (15), and yet the British government deems them as being safe while simultaneously claiming to be concerned about cannabis safety. Ho, Ho, Ho! Really?
There are no safety issues with cannabis, or any major health risks, and there never has been. The research examining whether it is addictive[9] and/or causes psychosis in young people, is mixed,[10] but even if this was the case, it is not a reason to refuse people access to medical cannabis. [i] Instead, the notion of safety issues are used as a means of ensuring cannabis use remains illegal, so that the British medical cannabis industry, and dishonest politicians and investors can profit. In the meantime, increasing numbers of patients are choosing to treat their particular health issue with illegally grown or obtained cannabis, thus risking prison, while those wo are not so brave (or disbelieving), are deprived of medicine that could have a very profound impact on their health condition.
Putting it all Together
Unless something changes VERY soon, people living in the UK have little chance of accessing medical cannabis for years to come – and that, simply put, is beyond unfair.
“What stands out is that from the vast amount of research and data available, as well as the personal experiences of cancer survivors, is that no chemotherapy currently being used medically can match the non-toxic anti-carcinogenic and anti-tumorigenic effects of these natural plant compounds” (16).
Although not proven within a clinical setting, there is more than enough scientific and anecdotal evidence showing the effectiveness of cannabis in treating disease, including cancer. I am by no means the only person using RSO as a stand-alone treatment for cancer – far from it – and the reason for this is because it works! There are thousands of media reports, anecdotal testimonies, videos, personal and professional websites, and numerous scientific reports, that all describe successful results when using high-THC cannabis extracts to treat many different forms of cancer. We can’t all be lying… and why would we anyway?
Some of these people have been using RSO successfully for years (e.g. Oliver Newton-John, Tommy Chong), and they include people that were only given days to live (more info HERE). Of course, there are some people that have sadly died while using the oil (all having also followed chemo etc.). However, it is important to note that these people (who had terminal cancer and no further conventional treatment options), all lived longer (more than 3 years in certain cases) than that forecast in their original prognosis. And they did so with a far higher quality of life than that usually experienced by patients receiving palliative care.
The reason why some terminal cancer patients live while others have died, as well as many other questions pertaining to cannabis as a cancer treatment path is, of course, one of the reasons that we need further research. And there are numerous other reasons: e.g. questions over dosage such as how much and how often. However, these questions or unknowns are NOT a reason to withhold unlicensed cannabis treatments from cancer patients or anyone else suffering from a health condition; after all it is has an impeccable safety record! And, as the video above shows, health professionals abroad are recommending RSO (THC-rich forms of cannabis oil), to treat cancer, because they are seeing success within clinical settings. At the end of the day, whose life is it anyway?
I believe it is a human right for people to be able to choose their medication, especially when diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, or when living with chronic pain or any other debilitating symptom that cannabis treats. Many pharmaceutical products, as previously discussed, can have severe and even life-threatening side-effects, as do current treatment paths for cancer, and yet the NHS seems to have no problem prescribing these medications – despite the universal Hippocratic oath to do no harm (and believe me, although it does have some success, chemotherapy is the King of Harm). Conversely, cannabis has no severe side effects, it is impossible to overdose, and it has never killed anyone – ever!
Deryn Blackwell
Joy Smith
When I was diagnosed with cancer, I was lucky enough to have heard the rumours about cannabis being a potential cure for cancer and, as a long-term cannabis user, more open to believing in its ability to treat cancer – but I also knew the rumours could be wrong, filled with false truths, or over-stated. As it turned out, the notion of cannabis being able to treat this terrible disease was more than worth pursing – it was life-saving!
My decision to use RSO was also influenced by media interviews and reports of individuals such as 13 year-old Deryn Blackwell (see sidebar), who had just days to live when he was given cannabis oil by his mother in a last-ditch attempt to save his life. Then there’s Joy Smith (see sidebar), who is alive and well, despite a terminal cancer diagnosis in 2016, Olivier Newton-John, who managed to stay alive for decades using RSO (sidebar), and Tommy Chong who has treated more than one cancer successfully with RSO. And there are many, many other reports from cancer patients using RSO to treat their specific cancer.
Another significant factor was the stack of scientific evidence reporting the effects of cannabis in treating cancer – albeit in mice. The issue with this is that what occurs in mice may no necessarily transfer to humans. I get that. But every single person in my cancer/cannabis group (30+), are all cancer free, despite having different cancers at different stages. Like Olivier Newton-John, I know that the cancer will get me in the end, but the fact that RSO prolongs life significantly is encouraging.
Like many cannabis users, I was aware that cannabis had been demonised for decades. I knew its use was low risk and only mildly addictive (if addictive at all), and I’d also heard of its healing properties. So when Theresa May’s government announced they were going to reform cannabis, I believed them. But when I read about the relationship between British politicians and the medical cannabis industry, and realised the authorities were aware that cannabis was a potential cancer treatment, I felt betrayed and angry.
GW Pharmaceuticals is currently conducting clinical trials with cannabis for brain tumours. Although this is a step in the right direction, the fact that they are testing Sativax is very disappointing. Used to treat the symptoms of MS, Sativex has a 1:1 CBD/THC ratio, which is nowhere near the levels in RSO (80%+THC/20%-CBD). Nevertheless, GW has been focused on using Sativax since 2013, which is when a previously unpublished GW trial showed that the medicine had extended the life of the patients to some extent – as in weeks, rather than years, and all of the subjects subsequently died. So why concentrate on Sativax when ALL medical cannabis patients with cancer are using RSO – a fact that is easily checked via websites like this one!
As such, we are YEARS, if not decades, away from being able to being able to access medical cannabis the way other people can abroad. The trials being undertaken by GW will not help cancer patients because they are using a product that is derived from standardised plants. And that is why people are illegally growing and making their own medicine.
Health Conditions that cannabis Potentially treats
eating
- Diabetes
- Crohn’s Disease
- Appetite Loss
- Cachexia
- Anorexia
- Gastric Disorders
- Nausea
Pain/Sleep
- Pain
- Arthritis
- Inflammation
- Muscle Spasms
- Fybromyalgia
- Spinal Injury
- Phantom Limb
- Insomnia
- Cramps
- Migraine/Headaches
Neurological
- Tourettes
- Seizures
- Tinnitus
- Epilepsy
- Spasticity
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Parkinson’s Disease
- Dementia
Mood
- Anxiety
- Bipolar
- Stress
- Depression
- PTSD
- PMS
RT news channel showing GW’s cannabis farm, naming UK politicians with investments in GW, and reporting that the UK has ben the world’s largest exporter of medical cannabis since 2017. No longer available in the UK.
Other
- Muscular Dystrophy
- Cancer
- HIV/AIDS
- ADD/ADHD
- Asthma
- Fatigue
- Glaucoma
- Lupus
- Hypertension
There are 852,000 results on Google Scholar for ‘cannabis studies,’ showing that thousands of papers and bench studies have taken place over the past three decades. Especially in places where medical cannabis law has been changed in ways that really enable people to access the medicine. Most of these countries now allow people to grow their own medicine at home, with law stating that only 3-6 plants may be grown at any one time, and medical cannabis pharmacists offer an array of products and professional advice. And that is the beauty of full legalisation – being given that choice.
Notes:
[1] I procured the medicine I needed (illegally) within six weeks of my cancer diagnosis.
[2] Although it is illegal to grow cannabis in the U.K., cannabis seeds can be bought legally (work that one out!).
[3] Although the majority of the British public has only recently found out about the discovery of the ECS in 1992, the licensing of GWP (under Blair) in 1998 to study cannabis, especially THC/CBD, means that the Home Office knew about its discovery, and that this meant that cannabis had huge medicinal potential. Their patents for cancer, which were applied for and granted between 2011-2013, also included scientific reports showing the ability of cannabis to fight cancer, and as the Home Office is responsible for granting GWP with the necessary paperwork, would have known this. Theresa May, as previously discussed, was the Home Secretary at that time, so her licensing of GWP and the legislation she introduced in 2018 when serving as Prime Minster, were all self-serving.
[4] ‘If a treatment is not approved it will only be available through the NHS if a patient’s local health authority agrees to provide special funding for it. Therefore, a treatment could be provided on the NHS for some patients but not for others. This may raise questions about whether there has been discrimination relating to access to the treatment based on where a patient lives. Human rights arguments may also be raised in relation to drugs which are deemed to have little impact [..] a drug may be shown to prolong life in terminally ill patients .. but not be approved for availability on the NHS. Patients may argue that by withholding treatment, the local health authority has breached their right to life.’ (LINK).
[5] Dr. Balneaves explains in her presentation, ‘Clearing the Smoke: Cannabis and Cancer,’ that she found out about the effectiveness of THC-rich cannabis oil in treating cancer when she was asked to attend a meeting that was discussing several families with children that had been diagnosed with terminal cancer – the doctors couldn’t understand how these children could still be alive three years later.
[6] You can watch Dr. Balneaves presentation, which is aptly entitled, ‘ Clearing the Smoke: Cannabis and Brain Cancer’ HERE.
[7] At 23mims 28 seconds into video. Dr. Balneaves speaks about treating brain cancer just after this.
[8] There have been reports of some people experiencing some effects of THC, but this is relatively rare.
[9] For more information about cannabis ‘addiction’ see the section entitled ‘Cannabis – Setting the Record Straight.’
[10] Cannabis (like alcohol) should not be accessible legally anyway to young people, unless prescribed by a doctor.
Appendix:
[i] The side effects of a drug do not usually qualify a reason to ban it – think about opiates (e.g. morphine). Therefore, if research conclusively found cannabis use caused, for example, an increased risk of psychotic episodes in young people (with an underlying mental health illness or risk already present), this should not count as a reason to ban a medicine as even the research that support this notion admit such outcomes are rare – even rarer than becoming addicted to cannabis (another myth – see the chapter, ‘Cannabis: Setting the Record Straight’). Also, the range of illnesses/health conditions and their symptoms that cannabis medicines could potential treat are so enormous than far more people would benefit than be harmed. In other words, the potential benefits outweigh the potential risks – a factor that is apparently important when licensing pharmaceutical drugs.
References:
1. Online Report (2021). Seizure of Drugs in England and Wales, financial year ending 2020.’ Retrieved 18/01/2021 from: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/seizures-of-drugs-in-england-and-wales-financial-year-ending-2020/seizures-of-drugs-in-england-and-wales-financial-year-ending-2020
2 Ibid., Official UK Gov. Report (2020).
3. Ibid.
4. Health Europa (2020). Online article: ‘Exploring growth in the European medical market.’ Retrieved 19/01/2021 from: https://www.healtheuropa.eu/exploring-growth-in-the-european
5. Cancer Research, U.K. Online article: ‘How long does a new drug take to go through clinical trials?’ Retrieved 04/02/2021 from: https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/find-a-clinical-trial/how-clinical-trials-are-planned-and-organised/how-long-it-takes-for-a-new-drug-to-go-through-clinical-trials
6. College of Nursing (Canada). Online Profile: Lynda Balneaves, RN ’ Retrieved 16/01/2012 from: https://umanitoba.ca/nursing/faculty-staff/lynda-balneaves
7. Online article: ‘Why Standardized Herbal Extracts?’ Retrieved 16/01/2021 from: https://planetherbs.com/research-center/phytotherapy-articles
8. Online article: How the Cannabis Industry is Affecting Big Pharma?’ Retrieved 09/01/2021 from: https://wayofleaf.com/blog/how-the-cannabis-industry-is-affecting
9. Ibid.
10. Online article: ‘Everything you Need to Know about Cannabis Suppositories.’ Retrieved 11/11/2020 from: https://cannabiscure.info/cannabis-suppositories
11. Ibid., Gordon (2020).
12. Ibid., Gordon (2020).
13. Online article: : ‘Why Standardized Herbal Extracts?’ Retrieved 16/01/2021 from: https://planetherbs.com/research-center/phytotherapy-articles
14. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, The Current State of Evidence and Recommendations for Research Committee on the Health Effects of Marijuana: An Evidence Review and Research Agenda, 2017. Available at https://www.nap.edu/read/24625/chapter/1#xii, (Accessed on 02/12/2020).
15. Gotzsche, P.C. (2014). ‘Our prescription drugs kill us in large numbers. Pol Arch Med Wewn. 2014;124(11):628-34. doi: 10.20452/pamw.2503. Epub 2014 Oct 30. PMID: 25355584. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25355584/
16. Online article: ‘Cannabis is a highly efficient natural cancer cure.’ Retrieved 11/01/2021 from: http://www.herbmuseum.ca/content/cannabis-oil-highly-efficient/
