# Cannabis Extracts for the Primary Treatment of Cancer, Epilepsy, and More **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 11, 2013, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannabis-extracts-for-the-primary-treatment-of-cancer-epilepsy-and-more/673684 "2013-11-11T22:30:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannabis-extracts-for-the-primary-treatment-of-cancer-epilepsy-and-more/673684/141 "2013-11-13T00:06:55Z")
> [@JKander](#): > > At some point, someone has to find the truth. If people doubted all those who found truth, we wouldn’t be using computers right now. . . . That sentence tells everyone that anything else you say can be ignored. Go away. ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannabis-extracts-for-the-primary-treatment-of-cancer-epilepsy-and-more/673684/142 "2013-11-13T00:08:59Z")
**BCP** : I’m not sure whether to laugh or cry at this. Undoubtedly one of my finest moments on the Dope to date! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannabis-extracts-for-the-primary-treatment-of-cancer-epilepsy-and-more/673684/143 "2013-11-13T00:48:50Z")
> [@JKander](#): > > At some point, someone has to find the truth. If people doubted all those who found truth, we wouldn’t be using computers right now. I’m not sure why one article said there was a great deal of conflicting evidence surrounding future use of cannabinoids, as most other articles make it clear in their conclusions that there is likely great potential future use for cannabinoids. I have dozens of peer-reviewed scientific articles in my journal making those claims. This is not pseudoscience, there is legitimate, serious scientific evidence supporting the experiential results. I haven’t done the research so I can’t confirm this, but I just can’t imagine that there is this much science supporting any other alternative therapy. One thing to realize is the article I linked to is a review, so they looked at original research papers and summarized the findings. Your report is a review of sorts, but did you present conflicting or negative evidence? You’ve referred to McAllister and his work. Here is how some of it was cited in the review article and is one example why the authors stated the research is conflicting: > [@](#): > > Results are not clear-cut as to whether ∆9-THC causes pro- or antiproliferative effects in breast cancer cells. A study of ∆9-THC in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells (≤ 5μM) reported proliferation in response to cannabinoid treatment. [62] This finding is supported by the work of Takeda et al, who also documented a proliferative response to ∆9-THC in MCF-7cells. [70] In contrast, McAllister et al reported decreased proliferation in MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-468 cells, while studies in EVSA-T cells also showed ∆9-THC inhibited cell growth. [71] So, does treatment with ∆9-THC cause MDA-MB-231 cells to grow or not? (And decreased proliferation is not the same as causing cell death). ---
**Author:** ![JKander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8797f3/32.png) [@JKander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKander)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannabis-extracts-for-the-primary-treatment-of-cancer-epilepsy-and-more/673684/144 "2013-11-13T03:29:27Z")
I’m not sure of the causes or reasoning behind the supposed pro-proliferative effects of cannabinoids. I have a theory though. In the above quote, it says “results are not clear-cut as to whether delta-9-THC causes pro- or antiproliferative effects in breast cancer cells.” First, CBD has shown much more promise in breast cancer than THC. Second of all, the effectiveness of cannabis extracts comes from the synergy of the different cannabinoids. I would imagine that in some cases THC could potentially increase cancer growth, but when combined with the other cannabinoids, inhibits it. The science is extremely complex and in my report I only address the overarching themes and trends, because the exact pathways of how this stuff works is something only scientists can understand. As to the subject of truth, there is truth that exists. Like I said, pain is truth. That’s not a belief - you don’t really really _really_ believe in pain. You **know** it. And as certainly as you know that if you were touched with a hot iron you would be in agonizing pain, I know that cannabis extracts work against cancer and other diseases. It’s not a belief, it’s truth. But I also understand from an objective point how crazy that sounds. Every proponent of every quack cure probably feels similarly. There’s nothing I can do to convince you all that this is different and special, because this knowledge is largely experience based. If I were in your shoes, I definitely wouldn’t believe someone telling me that their issue is special. I do believe that if an extensive comparison was made between cannabis oil and other alternative cures, cannabis oil would win every time, and that’s something logic can demonstrate. But in terms of true knowledge, only experience can deliver that. I will reiterate again the purpose of my report. Right now, there are no clinical trials indicating cannabis extracts eliminate cancer in humans. But people are doing it, it’s happening. My only possible path, not being able to run a study myself, was to make this report with the information available in the world, to convince people there’s something to this. So far it’s been doing that job well. It doesn’t definitively prove that cannabis cures cancer, but anyone who reads the whole thing cannot adequately disagree with my call to action, which is hospice trials. Like I said, to say every experience is coincidental or there were confounding variables is simply absurd. There was actually quite an interesting synchronicity tonight… I am taking a Judaism related class, and we were talking about creation. To prevent any further questioning on my sanity, I do not believe the world was created in six days, just gotta get that out there. However, in the creation story, there were two things that weren’t mentioned to be “good” - humanity and nature. Science is a part of nature. Both humanity and science have the potential to be very, very good. But they also have the potential to be bad. Humans create hospitals and holocausts. Science creates medicine and bombs. It also blinds people to the higher connection that exists, to the spirituality that is greater than science. That is a personal belief and I’m not arguing for it in the slightest, but it is interesting that I learned about these ideas just as I was thinking similar things. I love science, I love chemistry, I love the specific things that science has unveiled. I love **Breaking Bad** - greatest show of all time. But for all its glory, science has also led to these unfortunate disconnections, but once people experience this cannabis revolution, all of these disconnections will dissolve. Spontaneous summary: 1. Studies show cannabinoids kill virtually any cancer cell type 2. Endocannabinoids kill cancer cells and cancer cells have higher expressions of cannabinoid receptors, potentially indicating the human body is programmed to have cannabinoids kill cancer cells 3. There are studies indicating the endocannabinoid system is involved in systemic homeostasis, which would explain why cannabinoid therapy is effective against so many diseases. 4. Doctors, corporations, individuals, and dispensaries have all seen cannabis extracts eliminate cancer in humans, replicated many times over many years. It’s not one case, it’s not one person, it’s not even one type of extract. I’ll write more after I finish making my oatmeal, it’s going to start to burn soon if I don’t tend to it. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannabis-extracts-for-the-primary-treatment-of-cancer-epilepsy-and-more/673684/145 "2013-11-13T04:11:59Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I think this is the snake-oiliest sentence ever written. After this you start to sound more like Kevin Trudeau and that’s actually an improvement. That is stone cold. True, but cold. 😉 > [@Truman\_Burbank](#): > > Is there any research correlating cannabis usage and the Dunning Kruger effect? There is probably no research because nobody will pay for studying a connection that is so obvious. And I apologize to the OP for misreading something and thinking he said he was 60. When someone is Gish Galloping about total bullshit I tend to skim. I thought he was a fellow elderly hippie and had no idea he was so young. With a Marketing degree. And who didn’t pay any attention in the classes about marketing research or statistics because he’d know the difference between good, useful studies and bad, worthless studies. I was his age once, just a year or two after cracking my first Marketing text and exclaiming, “I have wasted four years of college being an indifferent student in a somewhat difficult major when I could have studied Marketing and shone as a student while still being high and drunk the whole time!” And not end up working in a factory after graduation, too. ☹ However, my life mistakes, and total lack of respect for Marketing degrees, are not the subject of this thread. **JKander** , you did not address my accusation that, with your website and unsupported claims, you are acting as an inadvertent accessory to manslaughter. I’ll repeat: > [@dropzone](#): > > You want substance? Here’s some substance: You are selling a lie, and that lie can kill the people who buy it. You have blood on your hands. > > “Oh, but I’m not selling anything. I’m just providing information,” you would say, because that’s what people of your ilk say to defend their lies. And you did say it early in this thread, which is why it isn’t in the cornfield. > > Bullshit. You may not make money off it, but you are still selling your bogus belief, a belief that can kill because it is not true. If you are the good person I believe you are, one who just wants to help people, I ask that you listen to the people here who are telling you that your belief needs to be tested, that the tests you describe are worse than useless crap, and that you should shut down your site and quit playing prophet because your magical belief in the power of pot is killing the people who listen to you. So, what say you? ---
**Author:** ![JKander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8797f3/32.png) [@JKander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKander)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannabis-extracts-for-the-primary-treatment-of-cancer-epilepsy-and-more/673684/146 "2013-11-13T04:27:53Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > That is stone cold. True, but cold. 😉 There is probably no research because nobody will pay for studying a connection that is so obvious. And I apologize to the OP for misreading something and thinking he said he was 60. When someone is Gish Galloping about total bullshit I tend to skim. I thought he was a fellow elderly hippie and had no idea he was so young. With a Marketing degree. And who didn’t pay any attention in the classes about marketing research or statistics because he’d know the difference between good, useful studies and bad, worthless studies. I was his age once, just a year or two after cracking my first Marketing text and exclaiming, “I have wasted four years of college being an indifferent student in a somewhat difficult major when I could have studied Marketing and shone as a student while still being high and drunk the whole time!” And not end up working in a factory after graduation, too. ☹ > > However, my life mistakes, and total lack of respect for Marketing degrees, are not the subject of this thread. **JKander** , you did not address my accusation that, with your website and unsupported claims, you are acting as an inadvertent accessory to manslaughter. > So, what say you? I’m sorry I had not addressed that quote earlier. You assumed I would respond with a statement like “Oh, but I’m not selling anything. I’m just providing information,” as a way to defend myself. But no. I am indeed **advocating** that people use cannabis oil over chemotherapy, or at least use it alongside chemotherapy if they feel more comfortable. It seems to work better without pharmaceuticals. Whether you agree or not, many people around the world have found the existing evidence to be enough to place their lives in the hands of this medicine. And in most cases, their hopes have been realized. What about the lives that have been saved by this medicine? They far outweigh the likely rare cases of people dying from foregoing conventional treatment, I personally have never seen such a case. All the people I’ve heard about who have died used cannabis oil as a last resort and already had terminal cancer. I’ve never heard of someone who had a non-terminal cancer, used cannabis oil, and then died. I just haven’t, in five and a half years of following this movement and all stories I could find closely. And I’ll give you a specific example where this truly got real. When my aunt’s friend, Dennis Hill, had aggressive prostate cancer. I encouraged him to use this medicine without chemotherapy, he did, and his prostate cancer disappeared. What am I to think after that? Oh, I guess it was just a coincidence and I should completely disregard this miraculous recovery of a close family friend. That’s a real case that’s close to me. These aren’t just random anecdotes. These are **real people**. Ultimately, that’s the source of this disconnect. The reason I **know** this to be true is because of my experience talking with so many patients over so many years. Many of the cases I include in the report are people I know, who I’ve known for years. They’ve told me of how they have treated FAR more people than who are listed in the report, and the vast majority are experiencing miraculous success. As I’ve been saying, this report is just a small piece, and the results that aren’t included aren’t failures, they are mainly successes. My formal education has little relevance to this, it is the experience of being in this movement that has given me the knowledge to write the report and talk about this. I do agree that marketing is one of the easiest degrees to get and I hold little respect for it myself, in comparison to other majors. I know that I learned a lot of great things in college that are useful, but comparatively, it’s so much easier than something like engineering, mathematics, or, of course, science. When I was young I wanted to be a chemist or a scientist, interestingly enough. In any case, it’s those people who will be the driving force of changing the world, those awesome people who have dedicated _so much_ time and energy to understanding the principles of this world. Science is so amazing, and our ability to understand and manipulate it, is just awing. I feel like this is a pretty good response for now. This has been an amazingly good day with even more good news on the cannabis extract front. The last two weeks alone have been incredible, and it’s just going to keep getting better. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannabis-extracts-for-the-primary-treatment-of-cancer-epilepsy-and-more/673684/147 "2013-11-13T04:36:05Z")
> [@JKander](#): > > As to the subject of truth, there is truth that exists. Like I said, pain is truth. That’s not a belief - you don’t really really _really_ believe in pain. You **know** it. And as certainly as you know that if you were touched with a hot iron you would be in agonizing pain, I know that cannabis extracts work against cancer and other diseases. It’s not a belief, it’s truth. This is the root of your problem. You do not fundamentally understand what truth is. When referring to physical, observable, identifiable properties, there is one, and only one truth - statistical evidence. That’s it - full stop - end of story. Your “truth” is belief; it’s unfounded and unproven. You can want it to be true with all your heart, you can believe in it with all your soul, you can compile all the stories in the world of so called successes… It still isn’t the truth. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannabis-extracts-for-the-primary-treatment-of-cancer-epilepsy-and-more/673684/148 "2013-11-13T04:48:36Z")
> [@JKander](#): > > I am indeed **advocating** that people use cannabis oil over chemotherapy, or at least use it alongside chemotherapy if they feel more comfortable. It seems to work better without pharmaceuticals. Now you’ve crossed the line. This is no different than practicing medicine without a license. You’re a marketing major, not a doctor, and you have no fucking business telling anyone that kind of shit. You do have blood on your hands. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannabis-extracts-for-the-primary-treatment-of-cancer-epilepsy-and-more/673684/149 "2013-11-13T04:55:05Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Now you’ve crossed the line. This is no different than practicing medicine without a license. You’re a marketing major, not a doctor, and you have no fucking business telling anyone that kind of shit. > > You do have blood on your hands. Agreed and I’m reporting the quoted post for submitting dangerous and incorrect medical advice. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannabis-extracts-for-the-primary-treatment-of-cancer-epilepsy-and-more/673684/150 "2013-11-13T05:10:01Z")
> [@JKander](#): > > As for my methodology for choosing cases, I have collected many testimonials over several years, and I collected the ones I thought were the best or most notable. It was all subjective. Then you don’t have a methodology. This is not the first time you’ve thrown around a scientific term you didn’t understand because you thought it would make your case sound stronger. > [@](#): > > Which prior alternative medicine quack am I starting to sound like now 😉 ? All of them. ---
**Author:** ![JKander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8797f3/32.png) [@JKander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKander)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannabis-extracts-for-the-primary-treatment-of-cancer-epilepsy-and-more/673684/151 "2013-11-13T06:21:15Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Now you’ve crossed the line. This is no different than practicing medicine without a license. You’re a marketing major, not a doctor, and you have no fucking business telling anyone that kind of shit. > > You do have blood on your hands. You make it sound like I’m the main and only person telling people to do this. The vast majority of the patients in my report who have eliminated their own cancers advocate the same thing. Do they all have blood on their hands? Of course not. In their experience, chemotherapy didn’t work or wasn’t working well, or they were terminal, or they were afraid of chemotherapy and wanted to try something else. One patient in the report specifically said chemotherapy was scary and he tried cannabis oil to avoid it, and his cancer markers decreased dramatically. In any case, I’m not going to stop telling people this, and anybody who **seriously** looks into this issue knows it’s not snake oil. Also, the only person who I’ve directly told to use the oil and then followed the case of is Dennis Hill, and his was a success. The cancer stuff aside, it’s extremely clear that cannabis oil has miraculous results. Dr. Sanjay Gupta himself reported on Charlotte Figi, who experienced the same level of healing I’m claiming in other patients. To go from **300 grand mal seizures a week** , to **less than three minor seizures a month** , while exhibiting a whole host of other improvements, is miraculous. And it’s been repeated in dozens of other children, these same miraculous-level results. For epilepsy, a very complex brain disorder, that’s amazing. And it works for so many different types of epilepsy. In reality, what I’m claiming isn’t far off from the magnitude of what Dr. Gupta reported, I’m just claiming that it works this way for other diseases too. If the equivalent of Charlotte’s magnitude of healing were applied to cancer, what would be the manifestation? Elimination of the cancer. And that’s what’s happening. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannabis-extracts-for-the-primary-treatment-of-cancer-epilepsy-and-more/673684/152 "2013-11-13T06:56:01Z")
I’ve noticed that most all of the reports of cures are just in the last 2-3 years, not enough time for a true picture. 5 years is considered the time span to declare a cure. Further, it’s not all roses. [http://scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org/2012/07/25/cannabis-cannabinoids-and-cancer-the-evidence-so-far/](http://scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org/2012/07/25/cannabis-cannabinoids-and-cancer-the-evidence-so-far/) > [@](#): > > Researchers first looked at the anticancer properties of cannabinoids back in the 1970s, and many hundreds of scientific papers looking at cannabinoids and cancer have been published since then. > > But claims that this body of preclinical research is solid “proof” that cannabis or cannabinoids can cure cancer is highly misleading to patients and their families, and builds a false picture of the state of progress in this area. > [@](#): > > It’s not all good news though, as there’s also evidence that cannabinoids may also have undesirable effects on cancer. > > For example, some researchers have found that although high doses of THC can kill cancer cells, they also harm crucial blood vessel cells, although this may help their anti-cancer effect by preventing blood vessels growing into a tumour. And under some circumstances, cannabinoids can actually encourage cancer cells to grow, or have different effects depending on the dosage and levels of cannabinoid receptors present on the cancer cells. > [@](#): > > Others have discovered that activating CB2 receptors may actually interfere with the ability of the immune system to recognise and destroy tumour cells, although some scientists have found that certain synthetic cannabinoids may enhance immune defences against cancer. > > Furthermore, cancer cells can develop resistance to cannabinoids and start growing again, although this can be got round by blocking a certain molecular pathway in the cells known as ALK. > [@](#): > > But that’s the lab – what about clinical research involving people with cancer? Results have been published from only one clinical trial testing whether cannabinoids can treat cancer in patients, led by Dr Manuel Guzman and his team in Spain. Nine people with advanced, terminal glioblastoma multiforme – an aggressive brain tumour – were given highly purified THC through a tube directly into their brain. > > Eight people’s cancers showed some kind of response to the treatment, and one didn’t respond at all. **All the patients died within a year** , as might be expected for people with cancer this advanced. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannabis-extracts-for-the-primary-treatment-of-cancer-epilepsy-and-more/673684/153 "2013-11-13T07:59:18Z")
Well, for the time being, I’ll stick with lamictal and zonegran. > [@JKander](#): > > I don’t think you understood what I meant by “to know this is true.” I mean it literally - that you know it is truth. If you did **know** it, you _wouldn’t_ wait years for the trials. To do so is to watch millions of people die needlessly. I choose to take what I know is true and act in the way I feel is fastest to bring it forward. I can’t say for certain the hospice trial is the best route forward, but I strongly believe that if people saw such a trial be successful, it would be enough. Years of profound experience has given me that belief, and that’s what I act on. But that’s just it – double blind studies are essential, because lives are at stake. You want to be absolutely positive that this is true – and also that you’re not going to see some nasty side effects down the line. (Thalidomide?) ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannabis-extracts-for-the-primary-treatment-of-cancer-epilepsy-and-more/673684/154 "2013-11-13T09:25:52Z")
> [@JKander](#): > > You make it sound like I’m the main and only person telling people to do this. The vast majority of the patients in my report who have eliminated their own cancers advocate the same thing. Do they all have blood on their hands? Of course not. Are they spending a lot of time trying to convince other people to buy into an unproven cure with shoddy evidence? If so, then yes, they _do_ have blood on their hands. JKander, do you understand why until you have a selection methodology which includes _everyone_ who has tried the drug, rather than just the successes, your study is worthless? Do you understand why it’s important to determine who you are going to examine _before_ the start of the study? ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannabis-extracts-for-the-primary-treatment-of-cancer-epilepsy-and-more/673684/155 "2013-11-13T10:55:30Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > If it’s going to be marketed as a pharmaceutical ( **Jackmannii** explained why that’s necessary), then yes, studies are required. Otherwise it’s just going to get thrown into the bag of crap that is supplement marketing… It’s already begun: [**Sativex®**](http://www.gwpharm.com/Sativex.aspx) England-based GW Pharmaceuticals has been exploring/testing cannabinoids for quite some time now for treatment and possible cures of any number of ailments. Fact is, the US lags far behind in medical cannabis studies for a number of reasons that I am sure you’ll be able to figure out on your own – for instance, what did hemp do to anyone to be outlawed in the US? Fortunately, a number of other countries have taken the lead in R&D – expect some amazing developments within a decade or less. Another study from England: [**Non-Hallucinogenic Cannabinoids Could Cure Cancer: Is A Cheap Anti-Cancer Drug On The Way?**](http://www.medicaldaily.com/non-hallucinogenic-cannabinoids-could-cure-cancer-cheap-anti-cancer-drug-way-259962) Israel: [**Israel Medical Marijuana Program**](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYkZ7xJLCKU) Spain: [**Active Ingredient in Marijuana Kills Brain Cancer Cells**](http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/cancer/articles/2009/04/01/active-ingredient-in-marijuana-kills-brain-cancer) You could also do worse with your time than spending 45 minutes or so watching [**Dr Sanjay Gupta’s CNN Special “WEED”**](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3IMfIQ_K6U) Good on them and good _for_ us. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannabis-extracts-for-the-primary-treatment-of-cancer-epilepsy-and-more/673684/156 "2013-11-13T11:25:51Z")
Good, people are doing real research. Doesn’t make **JK** ’s crap stink less, but hey - it’s good news for all those involved. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannabis-extracts-for-the-primary-treatment-of-cancer-epilepsy-and-more/673684/157 "2013-11-13T12:11:59Z")
I, and others, have posted many exhaustive, detailed explanations of the flaws in what you are posting. You have ignored all of it. Your only response is to repeat ad nauseum your little stories and reiterate again and again how much you really really _believe_ what you’re saying, encouraging us to have the same faith. You ARE an alternative medicine quack, pure and simple. Nothing more. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannabis-extracts-for-the-primary-treatment-of-cancer-epilepsy-and-more/673684/158 "2013-11-13T12:51:36Z")
> [@JKander](#): > > I’m not sure of the causes or reasoning behind the supposed pro-proliferative effects of cannabinoids. I have a theory though… Seeing as all you have is a degree in marketing, you really can’t say you have a _theory_. At best, what you have is a _guess_ based on insufficient knowledge filtered through a biased mindset. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannabis-extracts-for-the-primary-treatment-of-cancer-epilepsy-and-more/673684/159 "2013-11-13T12:57:42Z")
> [@JKander](#): > > You make it sound like I’m the main and only person telling people to do this. No-the problem is that, amongst all the people doing this, you are the least qualified we’ve seen in a long time. You come across as a caricature of a used car salesman at times. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannabis-extracts-for-the-primary-treatment-of-cancer-epilepsy-and-more/673684/160 "2013-11-13T14:03:37Z")
> [@RedFury](#): > > It’s already begun: [**Sativex®**](http://www.gwpharm.com/Sativex.aspx) [Here’s the abstract of a recent paper](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22483680) on the potential use of this drug for treating chronic pain in cancer patients: _“Nabiximols, a novel cannabinoid formulation, may be a useful add-on analgesic for patients with opioid-refractory cancer pain. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, graded-dose study demonstrated efficacy and safety at low and medium doses.”_ So what we have here is a pharmaceutical derivative showing promise as an additional pain medication in cancer therapy. This is several dozen light-years away from “miraculous” results in treating cancer just by having people smoke street marijuana. It does not surprise me that limited medical uses for cannabinoids have been started or proposed. On the other hand, sweeping claims of the kind made by **JKander** are not to be trusted. One of **Jackmannii’s Laws of Alt Med** states that the more diseases and conditions an herb or supplement is claimed to treat, the less likely it is to be effective for any one of them.\* \*my favorite, which I believe I mentioned earlier is [apple cider vinegar](http://naturalsociety.com/apple-cider-vinegar-cures/), which in addition to being a great drug for cancer, Crohn’s disease, arthritis, diabetes, athlete’s foot and myriad other skin and internal medicine complaints, helps you lose _or_ gain weight (there’s a two-fer), and also kills weeds, lice and moles. What person wouldn’t want to have a few gallons of ACV in the house at all times? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannabis-extracts-for-the-primary-treatment-of-cancer-epilepsy-and-more/673684.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannabis-extracts-for-the-primary-treatment-of-cancer-epilepsy-and-more/673684.md?page=9)