Does cannabis cure cancer?

There is a strong and persistent opinion on the internet that argues that cannabis can cure cancer.

For example, there are many filmed testimonials claiming that people have been completely cured of cancer, says the prestigious Cancer Research UK organization.

Despite what supporters of these sources say, videos and anecdotes are not scientific evidence for the effectiveness of anti-cancer treatment. Extraordinary allegations require extraordinary evidence, and YouTube videos are not scientific evidence.

There are many cannabinoids studied by researchers for their anticancer properties. The first scientific efforts were made in the 1970s, and hundreds of works on cannabinoids and cancer have been published since then.

Almost all research who investigated the use of cannabinoids in cancer treatment was performed using laboratory-grown cancer cells or guinea pigs.

Through many detailed experiments, recently synthesized in the journal Nature Reviews Cancer, scientists have discovered that various cannabinoids have a number of lab effects, including:

• Causes cell death by a mechanism called apoptosis.
• Stop cell division.
• Prevent the appearance of new blood vessels in tumors.
• Reduce the chances of a cancer cell spreading through the body by stopping cell movement.
• Accelerates cell autophagy, which can lead to their death.

It is believed that all these effects are caused by the attachment of cannabinoids to the CB1 and CB2 receptors.

Researchers also found unpleasant features: cannabinoids may have undesirable effects on cancer.

For example, although high doses of THC can kill cancer cells, they also affect crucial blood vessels (although this could support the anti-cancer effect by preventing the growth of blood vessels in the tumor).

Also under certain circumstances, cannabinoids even encourage cancer cells to develop, or have different dosing effects and cannabinoid receptor levels present in cancer cells.

Some researchers have found that activation of CB2 receptors may even interfere with the ability of the immune system to recognize and destroy tumor cells, although others have found that certain synthetic cannabinoids can improve the immune system's struggle against cancer.

References:scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org, The conversation, Descopera.ro, SkepticalRaptors.

So, nothing is clear, keep smoking.