# Medicinal Hemp - "Run from the cure" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 9, 2009, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicinal-hemp-run-from-the-cure/509412 "2009-09-09T12:43:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jakesteele](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ed8c4c/32.png) [@jakesteele](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jakesteele)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicinal-hemp-run-from-the-cure/509412/1 "2009-09-09T12:43:45Z")
I was wondering if anyone is familiar with this guy and his claims about the health benefits of Hemp Oil? Home page [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/08hY647BroU/hqdefault.jpg "Run From The Cure : The Rick Simpson Story Part 1 of 6") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08hY647BroU) Youtube vid - part 1 or 6 [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/08hY647BroU/hqdefault.jpg "Run From The Cure : The Rick Simpson Story Part 1 of 6") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08hY647BroU) ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicinal-hemp-run-from-the-cure/509412/2 "2009-09-09T12:53:58Z")
Could you summarize his claims? ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicinal-hemp-run-from-the-cure/509412/3 "2009-09-09T12:59:25Z")
It could be one of two things: 1. The guy is a stoner making outrageous claims because he wants to use it as a backdoor way of legalizing his drug of choice, 2. Real researchers are ignoring a medical miracle which could earn them a Nobel prize. ---
**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:** [September 9, 2009, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicinal-hemp-run-from-the-cure/509412/4 "2009-09-09T15:10:00Z")
Rule of thumb-the more things an item is claimed to cure, the less likely the claims are true. On a logarithmic scale. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicinal-hemp-run-from-the-cure/509412/5 "2009-09-09T16:36:40Z")
Your two links are both to the YouTube video. ---
**Author:** ![jakesteele](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ed8c4c/32.png) [@jakesteele](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jakesteele)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicinal-hemp-run-from-the-cure/509412/6 "2009-09-09T17:07:31Z")
[http://www.phoenixtears.ca/index.php](http://www.phoenixtears.ca/index.php) That’s the link to his main site, sorry. To summarize, he makes a kind of oil out of cannabis that he is claiming is showing great results for healing a number of different things, including great results with melanoma, skin cancer. ---
**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:** [September 9, 2009, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicinal-hemp-run-from-the-cure/509412/7 "2009-09-09T17:26:42Z")
From the above linked site. > [@](#): > > Hemp oil if produced properly is a cure-all that the pharmaceutical industry can’t patent. There is no such thing as a cure all.Ever notice how many charlatans each push his own favorite “natural” product as a cure all? How can they all be cure-alls? You only need one cure-all, all the rest have to be fake. Just more of the usual"they want to profit from drugs, they’re suppressing knowledge, they want you to suffer rather than admit they were wrong", etc. No real studies, just testimonials. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicinal-hemp-run-from-the-cure/509412/8 "2009-09-09T17:36:45Z")
Plus, the pharmaceutical industry could definitely patent this. Oh, maybe not “hemp oil” exactly, but they could just extract whatever is the claimed magic ingredient and patent that and the process. There are plenty of drugs out there derived from natural plants - aspirin is from a willow bark extract, paclitaxel/taxol (an anti-cancer drug) is from a particular species of yew tree, warfarin is a foxglove extract, and so on. ---
**Author:** ![jakesteele](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ed8c4c/32.png) [@jakesteele](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jakesteele)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicinal-hemp-run-from-the-cure/509412/9 "2009-09-09T17:37:24Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Rule of thumb-the more things an item is claimed to cure, the less likely the claims are true. On a logarithmic scale. [http://www.nowpublic.com/health/new-us-study-affirms-smoked-marijuana-protects-against-cancer](http://www.nowpublic.com/health/new-us-study-affirms-smoked-marijuana-protects-against-cancer) This link pertains to a govt. funded study that was intended to prove that cannabis with bad but it tended to go the other way. We know that it benefits glaucoma, chemo insomnia and other sleep orders, but what else can it do? This study and the Run from the Cure guy point to cancer preventative/healing benefits. I’m wondering if there is any validity to this and to what degree if there is. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicinal-hemp-run-from-the-cure/509412/10 "2009-09-09T17:44:15Z")
> [@jakesteele](#): > > We know that it benefits glaucoma, chemo insomnia and other sleep orders, but what else can it do? Its effects against glaucoma are pretty mild unless you take high doses - ah yes, here’s the [American Academy of Ophthalmology’s opinion](http://one.aao.org/CE/PracticeGuidelines/Therapy_Content.aspx?cid=9871fa42-cf40-4c1f-b05c-c816d5f93126) on the use of marijuana against glaucoma: > [@](#): > > Because duration of the induced fall in IOP is short, an individual would have to smoke a marijuana cigarette eight to ten times a day in order to control IOP over 24 hours. (IOP=intraocular pressure) That’s a whole lot of pot smoked up to avoid having to put eyedrops in a few times a day. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicinal-hemp-run-from-the-cure/509412/11 "2009-09-09T19:36:36Z")
> [@jakesteele](#): > > [Phoenix Tears | Rick Simpson](http://www.phoenixtears.ca/index.php) > > That’s the link to his main site, sorry. To summarize, he makes a kind of oil out of cannabis that he is claiming is showing great results for healing a number of different things, including great results with melanoma, skin cancer. Of course he does. ALL of these people do. If you’re going to make shit up, why bother claiming that it can cure diarrhea or warts? Go for the gold, baby. Cancer is where it’s at. ---
**Author:** ![sevenwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@sevenwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sevenwood)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicinal-hemp-run-from-the-cure/509412/12 "2009-09-09T19:39:07Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > That’s a whole lot of pot smoked up to avoid having to put eyedrops in a few times a day. I sense a Cheech and Chong movie developing here… ---
**Author:** ![brossa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brossa/32/3040_2.png) [@brossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brossa)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicinal-hemp-run-from-the-cure/509412/13 "2009-09-09T21:29:47Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > Plus, the pharmaceutical industry could definitely patent this. Oh, maybe not “hemp oil” exactly, but they could just extract whatever is the claimed magic ingredient and patent that and the process. There are plenty of drugs out there derived from natural plants - aspirin is from a willow bark extract, paclitaxel/taxol (an anti-cancer drug) is from a particular species of yew tree, warfarin is a foxglove extract, and so on. Digitalis is a foxglove derivative; warfarin is a moldy-sweet-clover derivative. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicinal-hemp-run-from-the-cure/509412/14 "2009-09-09T21:54:19Z")
> [@sevenwood](#): > > > [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > > > That’s a whole lot of pot smoked up to avoid having to put eyedrops in a few times a day. > > I sense a Cheech and Chong movie developing here… Which is amusing because most of the pop smokers I knew tended to use a fair amount of visine every day. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicinal-hemp-run-from-the-cure/509412/15 "2009-09-09T22:24:22Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > Plus, the pharmaceutical industry could definitely patent this. Oh, maybe not “hemp oil” exactly, but they could just extract whatever is the claimed magic ingredient and patent that and the process. There are plenty of drugs out there derived from natural plants - aspirin is from a willow bark extract, paclitaxel/taxol (an anti-cancer drug) is from a particular species of yew tree, warfarin is a foxglove extract, and so on. Nitpick: Warfarin is from woodruff. Foxglove extract is digitalin. ---
**Author:** ![JFLuvly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ac91a4/32.png) [@JFLuvly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JFLuvly)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicinal-hemp-run-from-the-cure/509412/16 "2009-09-09T22:46:10Z")
What if he’s right? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicinal-hemp-run-from-the-cure/509412/17 "2009-09-09T22:48:46Z")
What if the moon is made of cheese? ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicinal-hemp-run-from-the-cure/509412/18 "2009-09-09T22:55:11Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > What if the moon is made of cheese? It has been hushed up by the powerful dairy lobby. The truth is out there. Dig deeper. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicinal-hemp-run-from-the-cure/509412/19 "2009-09-09T22:56:17Z")
> [@gazpacho](#): > > It has been hushed up by the powerful dairy lobby. The truth is out there. Dig deeper. But the rind is the best bit. ---
**Author:** ![JFLuvly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ac91a4/32.png) [@JFLuvly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JFLuvly)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicinal-hemp-run-from-the-cure/509412/20 "2009-09-09T23:24:00Z")
We have already been down this road. > **[Is this the cure for cancer?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=517783)** > > This guy claims that hemp oil can cure cancer. An article about him: http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Cure-For-Cancer---Hemp-Oil&id=2216524 I am still waiting to see the proof that it does not work. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/medicinal-hemp-run-from-the-cure/509412.md?page=2)