The National Cancer Institute is an organization mandated by U.S. law to provide education to Americans about cancer as well as latest research efforts. Recently, the Institute has quietly revised its FAQ page regarding marijuana and its medicinal properties regarding cancer. The website cites some recent studies which found that cannabis “may inhibit tumor growth by causing cell death, blocking cell growth, and blocking the development of blood vessels needed by tumors to grow” while at the same time protecting healthy cells from damage.
The hypocrisy is strong in this one
NCI’s website has a section that provides an overview of what cannabis is and how its compound called cannabinoids affect the human body. What no one saw coming is this section’s surprising bullet point: “Cannabis has been show to kill cancer cells in the laboratory (see Question 6).” The website references studies conducted on mice and rats: “A laboratory study of cannabidiol (CBD) in estrogen receptor positive and estrogen receptor negative breast cancer cells showed that it caused cancer cell death while having little effect on normal breast cells,” noted the NCI. “Studies in mouse models of metastatic breast cancer showed that cannabinoids may lessen the growth, number, and spread of tumors.” It goes without saying that hypocrisy is strong in this one, as the federal government still finds cannabis illegal and despite all the promising research, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not yet approved cannabis for use in treating cancer.
